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 Elsie Driggs, painter
Elsie Driggs (1898-1992) first became known as a painter for her “precisionist” works, a style that expressed the optimism of the machine age. However, through her long career (much of it spent in Lambertville, New Jersey) Driggs also painted plant life, animals, and created illustrations for folk tales. Currently, her work is on view at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, including work inspired by memories of Driggs’ student days in Italy and the dynamism of New York during the seventies and eighties. In 1990, State of the Arts interviewed Elsie Driggs, then 92 years old, who was still painting at her home in New York.
 where to see
• January 19 – April 13 •
James A. Michener Art Museum •
138 S. Pine St. •
Doylestown, PA 18901 •
215-340-9800 •
www.michenermuseum.org
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Marian McPartland, jazz pianist
March 20, 2008 marks the 90th birthday of one of the jazz world's living legends-- the indefatigable Marian McPartland. She released her first studio CD in 9 years, “Twilight World”, on March 11, 2008 from Concord Records. For almost 30 years, Marian has hosted her acclaimed weekly radio show, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz for NPR. In 1995, she visited State of the Arts to talk about her career as one of the first women in jazz. She also improvised on the State of the Arts opening theme (during the 1990s), which she composed.
also visit
Marian McPartland on NPR
www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=24 |
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Pilobolus
Pilobolus had its origins in a small dance class at Dartmouth College in 1971, where dancers first experimented with a unique weight-sharing approach to choreography. Since then, the group has evolved, but its members still choreograph, dance, manage, and publicize their own programs. Pilobolus is a phenomenon, continuing to gain in popularity – as evidenced by appearances on the 2006 Oscars, Oprah, and 60 Minutes. In 1996, State of the Arts visited Pilobolus at their home base in Connecticut.
also visit
www.pilobolus.com |
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W. Carl Burger, artist
Carl Burger of Califon, New Jersey is a man of both principle and experimentation. A master of mixed media, his works range from simple graphite to incorporating elements, like bronze, as his “manuscript series”. Differing from the shocking style of some contemporary artists, Carl sticks to the basics, saying that “you should never tire of some of the ordinary things, such as nature” — a subject he commonly incorporates with his watercolors. His current exhibit at the Noyes Museum of Art features large scale paintings of Southern New Jersey.
where to see
Carl Burger
The Noyes Museum of Art • January 18 - May 9, 2008 •
609-652-8848 •
www.noyesmuseum.org |
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Tom Malloy, artist
Tom Malloy is a Trenton-based artist who began his career as a painter at an age when most people are thinking of retiring. Born the year the Titanic sunk, he worked in the Roebling Mills and as a lay preacher before turning to art. Malloy paints scenes of Trenton and the surrounding farmland, familiar to him since his childhood. Named Artist Laureate of Trenton, a biography of his artwork, “Blending Colors from Life: Trenton’s Own Watercolorist” was published in 2007 (and is available for sale at the Trenton City Museum store). State of the Arts visited Malloy in his studio in 1997.
also visit
The Trenton City Museum – Ellarslie Mansion in Cadwalader Park: www.ellarslie.org
www.inventionfactory.com/history/RHAoral/malloy.html |
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Noborigama Kiln
In Elmer, New Jersey you can find a remarkable 3-chambered, wood-fired, Japanese-style "Noborigama" kiln, jointly designed and built by the Perkins Center for the Arts and Appel Farm Arts and Music Center. Built in 2001, the kiln is fired 12 to 14 times a year - and each time, it's a community project as the stacking and firing take days. Every year, the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown holds a Pottery Show and Sale featuring creations straight from the Noborigama kiln. In 2003, State of the Arts followed the process of preparing, loading and firing the kiln over three weekends.
also visit
Appel Farm Arts and Music Center: www.appelfarm.org |
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Susan Werner, singer/songwriter
Susan Werner didn’t expect to become a singer/songwriter when she went to Philadelphia to study classical voice at Temple University. However, she was inspired to craft her own songs and has since found her niche in the musical world, winning accolades from the Village Voice, the Washington Post, NPR, and the New Yorker among others. Her newest album "The Gospel Truth" is creating a huge buzz in both the music and the religious world – Werner calls it the first “agnostic” gospel album. It’s a candid and honest collection of songs that reveal one woman's voyage through life and her view on God, religion, and contemporary American religious culture. In 1997, Susan Werner performed two songs from her breakthrough album "Last Of The Good Straight Girls" on the set of State of the Arts.
also visit
Susan Werner's websites:
www.susanwerner.com •
www.myspace.com/susanwerner |
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Paul Stankard, glass artist
Paul Stankard has redefined the art of the glass paperweight. From a background in technical glass blowing, he went on to create his own world of nature in glass, which has to be seen to be believed. Based in South Jersey, Stankard and his studio team create works that are exhibited and sold throughout the world. His new autobiography is No Green Berries Or Leaves - The Creative Journey Of An Artist In Glass. In 1988, State of the Arts visited Stankard at his studio and took a walk with him in the woods where he continues to find inspiration.
also visit
Paul Stankard’s website: www.paulstankard.com |
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Richie Havens, singer/songwriter
Richie Havens began his career in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the late 1960s. His unique voice has inspired and entertained audiences ever since, from the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair in 1969, to the Clinton Presidential Inauguration in 1993, to international tours today. In 1999 – the 30th anniversary of Woodstock – he gave a performance on the set of State of the Arts, and talked about his life and music.
also visit
Richie Havens’ website: www.richiehavens.com |
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Rossen Milanov, conductor
Rossen Milanov has been hailed as “one who bears watching by anyone who cares about the future of music” (Chicago Tribune). In addition to his position as Music Director of New Jersey’s Symphony in C (formerly Haddonfield Symphony), Milanov is Associate Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Artistic Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Music Director for the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria, and Chief Conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In April 2001, Milanov was in his first year with The Haddonfield Symphony, and State of the Arts caught up with him to find out more about the life of a rising young conductor.
also visit
www.rossenmilanov.net • www.symphonyinc.org |
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Harold Olejarz, artist
Harold Olejarz was trained as a sculptor. He made the transition to performance art when he realized that if he ‘was’ the art, then he could install his work anywhere. From 1985-1995, Olejarz traveled the world in his wearable sculpture suits, creating installations wherever he went. Now his work has transformed again, into the digital realm. Recent pieces by Olejarz can be seen at the Noyes Museum of Art in the New Jersey Arts Annual, featuring work by 40 artists from around the state.
also visit
www.olejarz.com |
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Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano
The renowned mezzo-soprano, Frederica von Stade, or “Flicka,” as she’s called, was not yet born when her father was killed in WWII. His funny, moving letters home from the front were the basis for poems set to music by Richard Danielpour and sung by Flicka. As shown in this 1999 State of the Arts story, the songs are heartbreakingly personal: Flicka admits she has been searching for her father her whole life. Somerset County native Frederica von Stade appeared with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in June, 2007, in a benefit for the Somerset Medical Center – the same hospital where she was born on June 1, 1945.
also visit
www.fredericavonstade.com •
www.njsymphony.org |
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Bill Charlap, jazz pianist
Grammy-nominated pianist/bandleader (and Summit, NJ resident) Bill Charlap has been called his generation's jazz piano standard bearer. Still in his 30s, he has a string of well received CDs to back it up. Watch a 2006 State of the Arts profile of Charlap, taped at his home in Summit, New Jersey, in a solo performance at the Unitarian Church in Summit, and with the Bill Charlap Trio at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York.
also visit
www.bluenote.com |
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Richard Ford, author
In 1996, Richard Ford published his novel “Independece Day,” which became the first book to win both the Pulitzer and the PEN/Faulkner Award. It was Ford’s second book about a New Jersey realtor, Frank Bascombe. “Independence Day” was called by The Times of London, "an extraordinary epic [that] is nothing less than the story of the twentieth century itself." In October 2006, Ford published the long-awaited third installment of Bascombe’s story, “The Lay of the Land”. Watch this State of the Arts story from 1996 to hear from the author himself about his novels and to visit many of the New Jersey locales from “Independence Day”. |
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The Jazz Room at William Paterson University
William Paterson University’s Jazz Room Concert Series is in its 29th season, featuring performances by world-class musicians with “meet-the-artist” sessions immediately beforehand. In October 2002, State of the Arts featured a story about photographer JoAnn Krivin’s book celebrating the Jazz Room’s 25th anniversary. Her black and white photographs capture some of the greatest jazz artists of the 20th century, including Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Milt Hinton, Sonny Rollins, and Joe Williams.
also visit
www.wpunj.edu |
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Maynard Ferguson, jazz trumpeter (1928-2006)
Maynard Ferguson, the popular bebop jazz trumpeter and bandleader, died August 24th in Ventura, California. His career of over 60 years was given a boost by an appearance in 1950 on the Ed Sullivan show. In the 1960s, Ferguson toured India, and played versions of hits by Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. In 1977, his version of “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the movie “Rocky,” was nominated for a Grammy. Recent tours, including a six-night booking in July at the Blue Note in New York, were sold out. In November 2000, Maynard Ferguson and his 9 piece Big Bop Nouveau Band appeared on the set of State of the Arts, playing “You Got It” and “Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”. |
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"Digital King" (2004) by LiQin Tan
digital rawhide print, 48”x60”
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Artists Antonio Puri and LiQin Tan
This story about animator LiQin Tan and painter Antonio Puri aired on Wired, a recent episode of State of the Arts. Antonio Puri creates large-scale paintings. LiQin Tan specializes in 3-D animation. As State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa discovered, when these two unlikely artists collaborate – using laptops, video projectors and lots of canvas – the result is a work that appears to be teeming with life – or at least artificial intelligence.
also visit
www.jerseyarts.com/gallery |
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Isaac Witkin, Abstract metal sculptor
State of the Arts remembers Isaac Witkin, an artist known for his monumental organic metal sculpture: he died on April 23, 2006 at age 69. Witkin was a South African native who studied art in London, worked as an assistant to Henry Moore, and made a name for himself with young Brits in the mid-1960s art world. He later taught in America, settling on a 22-acre blueberry farm in Pemberton, New Jersey in 1987. State of the Arts featured Witkin in a 1994 story, where he discusses his love of sculpture and the challenges of translating his bronzes into the medium of stone (for a special commission, “Eolith”).
also visit
www.isaacwitkin.com |
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