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In this episode of State of the Arts, artists “crossing over,” including a reporter who writes poetry, a jazz musician who paints, a WWII transvestite, and fine artists who go commercial.
| different news |
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 An extended version of different news story featuring more of Tucker's poetry
South Orange poet David Tucker loves the everyday language of Robert Frost, and the “daily-ness” of the ancient Chinese poets. That makes a lot of sense since Tucker is also a journalist. He’s Deputy Managing Editor at The Star-Ledger in Newark - part of the team that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, covering Governor James E. McGreevey's resignation and the scandal surrounding it. Tucker’s first book of poetry is called “Late For Work.”
State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa followed Tucker as he made the rounds in the Star-Ledger news room, and caught him reading his poetry before live audiences at the 11th Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival at historic Waterloo Village in Stanhope. Tucker is used to people doing a double-take when they learn that he “crosses over” to write poetry, but, as he likes to point out, Walt Whitman was a journalist too.
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Poet David Tucker
Poet David Tucker
Late For Work by David Tucker
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| i am my own wife |
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In early 2007, The George Street Playhouse presented the Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning play by Doug Wright about an extraordinary individual. Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (born Lothar Berfelde) survived both the Nazi and Communist regimes and became the only East German transvestite to be awarded the German Medal of Honor, for her work preserving and maintaining a museum full of turn-of-the-century furniture, clocks, and gramophones.
Performed entirely by one actor – Princeton graduate Mark Nelson – the play examines Charlotte's life from 34 different points of view. The audience learns, as does the playwright, that Charlotte may have invented more than her persona. When the Berlin wall came down and her secret police file became public, new questions about her life began to surface: Was she a spy? Did she really murder her father? How much of her story is true? And can the writer who is documenting her remarkable life come to terms with what he learns along the way?
State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards talks to Mark Nelson about this challenging role and the fascination it holds for the audience.
 Watch a 1996 State of the Arts interview with author Jean Hollander, who translated the autobiography "I Am My Own Wife" from German to English
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Mark Nelson in The Cleveland Playhouse production of 'I Am My Own Wife'
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
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| aljira design |
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Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, has been fostering the visuals arts in Newark, New Jersey through exhibits and educational programs for more than 20 years. In 1992, Aljira opened Aljira Design, a graphic design studio which now has a long list of both non-profit and for-profit clients, including Johnson & Johnson, The Newark Museum, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Aljira Design employs a core group of artists who comfortably cross over between the fine arts and commercial graphic design. Not only do these artists get a regular paycheck, but the group also provides 40% of Aljira’s operating budget; it’s seen as a model in the art world. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz talks with director Victor Davson and Aljira designers Cicely Cottingham and Sam Larson about their unique solution to the bottom line.
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Aljira banners by Aljira Design
Rutgers catalogue by Aljira Design
WBGO ad by Aljira Design
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| no separation |
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Alto saxophonist Oliver Lake is known for his expansive and creative musical vision: a co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet, he also heads a jazz trio, a quartet, a big band, and has recorded with musicians as diverse as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Lou Reed, a Trinidadian steel pan player, and a Navajo singer. But Lake doesn’t stop at music – he’s also a published poet, a painter, and a performance artist who stars in his own one-man shows. His philosophy can be summed up with a few lines from one of his poems:
NO SEPARATION…
Yeah, don't put me in no bag..... I'm open, may do anything
"PUT ALL MY FOOD ON THE SAME PLATE!"
Lake says it’s his sense of curiosity that drives his constant experimentation. He traces his history of “crossing over” artistic boundaries to his early involvement with the Black Artists Group, known as BAG, in St. Louis from 1968 through the early 1970s. State of the Arts producer Susan Wallner caught Lake in performance with Trio 3 (co-led by Lake, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Andrew Cyrille) at the Sweet Rhythm club in Greenwich Village, and at his home in Montclair, New Jersey. Also included is footage of Lake receiving the 2006 Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Watch Trio 3’s performance of “November 7” by Reggie Workman, recorded at Sweet Rhythm, NYC October 27, 2006
 Read Oliver Lake’s poem, “Separation”
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Saxophonist and Composer
Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake Big Band CD
World Saxophone Quartet CD
World Saxophone Quartet
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