Language
On NJN’s State of the Arts
Sunday, May 2, at 6 pm

STATEWIDE – This month, NJN’s State of the Arts: Language explores how a modern dance choreographer, a traditional gospel singer and a conceptual visual artist use the language of their respective aesthetic traditions to create meaningful art. Every art form has its own unique language. Speaking the language fluently, be it gospel, conceptual art or the Queen’s English, is what the personalities featured in this edition of State of the Arts do – and with panache. The program also looks at one of the ultimate theatrical plays on language – My Fair Lady. The program airs on NJN on Sunday, May 2 at 6 pm ; Tuesday, May 11 at 6:30 pm ; Friday, May 21 at 8:30 pm ; and Wednesday (late night Tuesday), May 26 at 1:30 am .

State of the Arts takes the revival of the 1956 Lerner and Loewe classic My Fair Lady at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton as the starting point for a fascinating look at language, class structure and the prejudices we often associate with language. Is how you say something as important as what you say? Director Gary Griffin, who is mounting a chamber-sized arrangement of My Fair Lady with ten actors and two pianos, reflects on the relevancy of the 1956 musical to our own time. Two classic songs are featured: “The Rain in Spain ” and “Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children.” The musical plays May 4 through June 27 at McCarter Theatre in Princeton .

State of the Arts explores the language of gospel music through the legacy of the great Mahalia Jackson, as brought forth in Passage Theater's world premiere In Mahalia's Light starring Queen Esther Marrow.  Queen Esther met Mahalia Jackson in 1965, when Mahalia Jackson was headlining Dr. Martin Luther King’s World Crusade. Queen Esther’s musical style was inspired by Mahalia Jackson’s emphasis on traditional gospel and a shared belief in the power of music to change the world. The new musical was conceived by Queen Esther Marrow who stars with Roseanne Kirk, her collaborator. In Mahalia’s Light plays May 13 through June 6 at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton.

State of the Arts interviews Raphael Montañez Ortiz who creates art that is the product of self-imposed discipline, complex methods and ritualistic processes – drawing on his Puerto Rican, Portuguese and Native American heritage.  Language is key to his current large-scale digital collages in which words are visual and images can be read. In the 1960s, Ortiz developed his own movement, Destructivism, an experimental art process that included destroying and reconstructing objects such as mattresses, toys and furniture in public performances. Destructivism was made famous when Ortiz destroyed a piano on The Johnny Carson Show by "playing" it with an ax.  Ortiz founded and was the first director of El Museo Del Barrio in New York City in 1969.  A resident of Highland Park, he is a professor of visual art at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University , New Brunswick . Currently, he is one of eleven artists featured in “Crosscurrents in the Mainstream,” a Transcultural New Jersey exhibit at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University through July 31.

  In a look at the Highland Park based modern dance group Randy James Dance Works, State of the Arts explores the language of dance – what movement can say that simply can’t be said in words. Choreographer Randy James states, “I’m not a verbal person. I articulate physically. That’s why I’m a choreographer, not a playwright.” James has developed an international reputation as a master teacher and choreographer for his company, Randy James Dance Works, now in its eleventh season. James is also a professor of dance at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University . Randy James Dance Works will premiere its newest work, “Five Points of Discussion,” at the Joyce SOHO in New York City, June 17 through June 20.