American Originals On NJN's State of the Arts
Friday, May 6, at 8:30 pm ; rebroadcast at 11:30 pm 

STATEWIDE – Throughout American history, iconoclasts have thrived, eccentrics have flourished, and genius abounds. This week, NJN's State of the Arts celebrates four creative giants who left their marks on American culture in American Originals . The program airs on May 6 at 8:30 pm with a rebroadcast at 11:30 pm .

• Walt Whitman
This year marks the 150 th anniversary of the publication of Whitman's Leaves of Grass . Self-published in 1855, Leaves of Grass charted a new path for poetry, with its organic, free verse, and its enigmatic proclamations of the United States as “the greatest poem.” The surprising success of the 1882 edition enabled Whitman to buy a house in Camden for $1,750 on Mickle Street (now Mickle Boulevard ), where he lived for 19 years. State of the Arts producer Susan Wallner visits the house as she explores the importance of place, specifically Camden , in Whitman's poetry through interviews with scholars and excerpts from Whitman's writings.

• Edward Weston
One of the masters of twentieth-century photography, Weston is featured in Edward Weston: A Legacy, at the Montclair Museum through May 15, 2005 with 80 photographs. His name evokes images of anthropomorphic still lifes, striking nudes, dramatic coastal landscapes, and stark dunes that embody his brilliant compositions, sharp focus, and exquisite tonalities of the Straight Photography movement.

State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards focuses on the work created during Weston's “Guggenheim Project.” The first photographer to receive a Guggenheim, Weston used the award for an ambitious road tour, during which he began to experiment with landscape as never before. Whether in the canyons of Death Valley , the snowfields of Yosemite , or the forests of the Pacific Northwest , these travels had a liberating, energizing effect on Weston and his work.

• Harry Partch
One of America 's most innovative and individualistic composers, Partch drew young admirers who lined up around the block to hear his New York concerts in the 1960s and 70s. He invented his own unique tuning system based on dividing the octave into 43 small intervals. Western music had always used a 12-tone scale. He also invented dozens of unusual instruments made from everyday materials that can play these pitches. Partch's entire collection of instruments is now housed at Montclair State University , where Partch's protégé Dean Drummond looks after them and uses them for teaching and performances.  State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visited Drummond recently for a demonstration of the remarkable instrument collection and a performance of Partch's 1952 musical drama Oedipus .

• In Search of Alexander
Renowned organist and teacher, Alexander McCurdy was the head of the organ departments at both the famed Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Westminster Choir College in Princeton for more than forty years. Although he retired more than 35 years ago and died more than 20 years ago, his students still imitate his mannerisms, extol his deep impact and recount favorite stories about their influential teacher. On May 13, 2005 , Westminster celebrates McCurdy's 100 th birthday with a day of concerts at the Princeton University Chapel and Westminster 's Bristol Chapel. McCurdy students from around the world will converge for the celebration. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz, who is also Alexander McCurdy's grandson, looks back at his grandfather's legacy.

State of the Arts is streamed on the web site at www.njn.net . The program is closed captioned.