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State of the Arts finds art and artists who are Making History. An historian who has re-visioned the past in her books is now studying to be a visual artist, an award-winning poet gives a personal view of the Vietnam War, the historical influence of chair made for Napoleon, and a new violin concerto that connects the 18th and the 21st centuries.
| nell irvin painter, historian/artist |
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 nell irvin painter story
Nell Irvin Painter is an eminent historian and author, recently retired from Princeton University as the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita. Her books include Creating Black Americans, Southern History Across the Color Line, Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol, and Standing at Armageddon. She is known for her books questioning traditional notions of history and how it is told. Painter is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and currently serves as president of the Organization of American Historians. She lectures frequently and maintains a busy schedule of television and radio appearances. And she is now at work on two additional books: The History of White People and Personal Beauty: Biology or Culture?
That would be plenty for most people, retired or not. But Nell Painter has embarked on yet another adventure: she is going back to school, as an undergraduate, to study art; and is taking a full course load at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. Her goal is to become a professional artist. State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards spent a few days with Nell Painter--in her capacity as historian and as art student--to find out what drives this accomplished woman to keep topping herself.
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Nell Irvin Painter, historian
Credit: Robin Holland/Bill Moyers’ Journal |
| lost words: yusef komunyaaka, poet |
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lost words story
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa has written vividly about subject matter ranging from his experience in the Vietnam War to growing up before and during the Civil Rights movement in Bogalusa, Louisiana. A Trenton resident who currently teaches at New York University, Komunyakaa is the author of over ten books of poetry and many critical essays on his craft and the arts. Komunyakaa has also collaborated on projects such as a new dramatic adaptation of The Epic of Gilgamesh, recently produced for the stage in New York City, and a number of musical performances and recordings that incorporate his poetry, including For Lost Words, which State of the Arts recorded during a recent performance at Trenton’s Passage Theatre.
For Lost Words is a spoken word jazz opera by North Brunswick composer Vince di Mura. It was inspired by the transcendent beauty of Komunyakaa's Vietnam opus Dien Cai Dau. For Lost Words features di Mura on a multiplicity of keyboards, the vocal stylings of Annielee Moffett, and Jasper McGruder as "The Poet."
State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa speaks with di Mura about the history, poetry, music, and politics that went into creating this unique performance, and with Komunyakaa about his life and work as one of America’s most celebrated poets.
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Yusef Komunyaaka, poet
Yusef Komunyaaka, poet
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| 3-2-1: a concerto for violin, electric violin, & large orchestra |
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3-2-1 story
Both an electric violin and a Golden Age violin are featured in a new concerto for violin, electric violin, and large orchestra called “3-2-1,” premiered by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on March 28, 2008. The composer is Darryl Kubian, an accomplished violinist and member of the first violin section of the NJSO. He is also a renowned composer who has written concert music and music for film and television.
State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz talks with Kubian about “3-2-1,” and drops in on rehearsals as well as the first full performance. Neeme Järvi conducts the NJSO and the orchestra’s concert master Eric Wyrick, an old friend of Kubian’s, performs the solo parts on a Golden Age 1737 Guarneri del Gesú and a Zeta JV24 electric violin. Schultz talks with Kubian, Wyrick and Maetstro Järvi about the differences and similarities of playing the two types of violins, separated by almost 400 years of technology. |
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Darryl Kubian with Theremin
Eric Wyrick at Kubian's House
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| seat of empire: bonaparte’s chair |
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seat of empire story
What can a chair tell you about history? The New York Historical Society owns a chair that can tell you quite a lot. It’s a chair made for Napoleon’s Council Room at Malmaison, his chateau outside Paris. It’s the chair he used as Emperor of France. The Empire-style chair was made by Jacob Frères around 1800. After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, it was purchased at auction by an agent of Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Joseph had fled Europe under an assumed name and built a fabulous mansion on the Delaware River near Bordentown, New Jersey. Here the chair remained with Joseph for approximately 15 years. Napoleon’s council room chair, along with Joseph’s other furnishing and vast art collection, are thought to have contributed to newly sophisticated tastes in early 19th Century America. When Joseph finally left America in 1834, he gave the armchair to his friend Felix Lacoste, who was editor of the French newspaper Le Courrier des États-Unis, which was founded and supported by Joseph Bonaparte in New York City. The chair was donated to the New York Historical Society in the 19th Century and remained in a storage warehouse until it was rediscovered in the late 1980s.
State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visits the New York Historical Society and speaks with decorative arts curators Margaret Hofer, who lives in Princeton, and Roberta Olson. They explain that Napoleon’s armchair was created as a symbol of power, and that when the chair arrived in America it had an influence on evolving American tastes. The story of this chair, which made history in its own way, will be part of the upcoming State of the Arts documentary, Bonaparte’s Retreat, premiering later this year.
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Napoleon Bonaparte
Bonaparte’s chair
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Preview
