STATEWIDE – This week’s episode of State of the Arts examines the phenomenon of artists who bring a range of cultural backgrounds and experiences to their work — transforming what American art looks like in the process. The encore presentation of The New American Art airs on Friday, April 6 at 8:30 pm, with a rebroadcast on Wednesday, April 11 at 11:30 pm. State of the Arts marks twenty-five years on NJN this season. The series has earned 25 Regional Emmy Awards, including a 2006 Mid-Atlantic Emmy and a 2005 New York Emmy. The New American Art was nominated for a 2005 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for outstanding community outreach.
The New American Art profiles several artists who are reinventing American art by infusing it with traditions from around the world, including:
• Jewish Indian artist Siona Benjamin, now living in New Jersey, who places ancient Hebrew figures into modern day situations in her paintings, combining imagery from her past with her present life in America,
• Armando Sosa, a Guatemalan artist who transports his ancestral craft of weaving into the 21st century, creating intricate images and patterns that he maps out on paper,
• Rutgers professor Raphael Montañez Ortiz, who brings his Puerto Rican, Portuguese, and Native American heritage to his computer generated art.
This special half-hour presentation of State of the Arts explores the core concepts of Transcultural NJ, a Rutgers University initiative produced in partnership with NJN, also involving museums and galleries throughout the state. According to the Census 2000 report released by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, New Jersey stands in the midst of a profound demographic transformation. Between 1995 and 2000, the state's Asian community increased 71 percent, the Latino community 39 percent and the African-American community 15 percent, adding to the state’s diversity and inspiring the launch of Transcultural NJ.
Transcultural NJ sponsored exhibits around the state, focusing on the work of a wide array of culturally diverse artists. The New American Art features not only the art, but also the thinking that is helping us better understand how America, and American art, is changing. The documentary includes interviews with leading scholars and cultural critics including Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, art historian and Rockefeller Foundation scholar, and James Hughes, the Dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. Also featured is Isabel Nazario, associate professor of arts and humanities at Rutgers, New Brunswick, and the director of the school’s Office for Intercultural Initiatives and the Latino Arts and Cultural Center.
This special production of State of the Arts was made possible by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, encouraging excellence in the arts since 1966. Additional support was provided by AT&T, the world’s networking company; by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities; by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, supporting cultural, educational and environmental initiatives that make our world more livable; and by Transcultural New Jersey: An Arts and Education Diversity Initiative at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The New American Art was written and produced by Susan Wallner, who is also series producer for State of the Arts. The executive producer is Nila Aronow.
State of the Arts, the award-winning, half-hour arts magazine, airs every Friday at 8:30 pm, followed by an encore presentation each Wednesday at 11:30 pm.
The current episode of State of the Arts can be viewed online at www.njn.net. Individual stories will be available to view following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts.
NJN is available on all New Jersey cable systems, satellite systems, and Time Warner Cable channel 750 in NYC.
State of the Arts is also available via video streaming at njn.net after the original broadcast.
Additionally, the program is repeated on NJN’s JerseyVision available on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey.
(Check http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html for detailed listings.)
NJN – Uniquely New Jersey
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