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Winner of the 2008 Mid-Atlantic
Emmy for Outstanding Arts Program |
State of the Arts gets on the 20th Century Limited for a look back at some of the music, photographs, and politics that made the 20th century so compelling. Music from Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks, vintage snapshots, and artists under the influence of Fidel Castro.
| Hot Jazz: Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks |
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 hot jazz story
Bandleader, musician, movie actor, scholar, and owner of one of the largest private collections of hot jazz music, instruments, recordings, and memorabilia in the world, Vince Giordano is unique -- as was demonstrated at a recent concert at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, sponsored by Seton Hall, where his 11 piece "Nighthawks" band thrilled the crowd with their authentic performances of 1920s and '30s classics. But these performances are only part of a multi-tasking life. State of the Arts Producer Amber Edwards visits Giordano at home in Brooklyn to see what it takes to organize and run a band, do film work, and maintain a collection of rare musical instruments and close to 30,000 band arrangements, which Giordano plans to eventually leave to the Jazz Institute at Rutgers.
 Watch a performance by this hot jazz big band of "Shanghai Shuffle"
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Vince Giordano
Vince Giordano with
his jazz score collection
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| Snapshots from the Maresca Collection |
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snapshots story
Some say that the golden age of snapshot photography was from the 1920s to the 1960s. More than 600 snapshots from this period were given to The Newark Museum by Frank Maresca, a leading expert on vernacular art. Now, an exhibit of images from this collection was featured in an exhibition, “Now is Then: Snapshots from the Maresca Collection” (February 13 through May 11, 2008).
State of the Arts producer Susan Wallner talks to Maresca at his art-filled home in Chelsea where he talks about his early career as a fashion photographer and why he started collecting anonymous snapshots at flea markets. She also talks to the curator Marvin Heiferman. They describe what is so compelling and beautiful about these photographs, many of them found at flea markets. They also tell us what these amateur images can tell us about the first half of the 20th century and how it was changing. “Snapshots are powerful little pictures,” writes Heiferman in the exhbition catalog (published by Princeton Architectural Press). “With the press of a button, a picture is taken, and in an instant, now becomes then”.
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Man on Pole ca. 1930s
Couple in Park ca. 1940s
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| Cuba! Artists Experience Their Country |
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cuba! story
Cuba came to Clinton in the Hunterdon Museum of Art’s exhibition, “Cuba! Artists Experience Their Country” (January 13 - March 30, 2008). The show celebrated the moral bravery and creative strength of Cuban artists who continue to find ways to express their deepest concerns under difficult circumstances. Work by more than two dozen artists working under the Castro regime were on display. With a focus on the past 30 years, Cuban and Cuban-expatriate artists confront the social, cultural and political forces which reflect their experiences of their homeland.
State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa speaks with featured artist Alejandro Lopez and to curator Kristen Accola. “This exhibition,” said Accola, “was inspired by my trip to Cuba in March 2006 where I saw the Havana Biennial, one of the world’s most important events for contemporary art, visited museums, galleries and artists’ studios. I instantly felt the warmth, kindness and generosity of spirit from the Cuban artists and could not resist bringing this unique and powerful work to the museum.” “Cuba!” marks the first time a collection of contemporary Cuban art from Cuba has been presented in New Jersey and one of the few times in the United States at all.
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Sandra Ceballos. From the series Adorada Wölfli, 2000
Colored pencil, graphite, and ballpoint pen on paper.
31 x 43 inches.
Private collection
El Soca and Fabian.
In the Beginning II, 2006 (detail)
Crushed flies on canvas.
6 x 6 feet.
Courtesy of Magnan Emrich Contemporary
Alejandro López. Cuban Rocket Lands in New York City, 2007
Performance and mixed media installation.
Part of the "Havana in Hi & Low FIDELity" project, an ongoing work that will include stages of development with varying outcomes, from one channel video to stage performance. Courtesy of the artist
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