Rock, Paper, Scissors
On NJN's State of the Arts
Friday, May 20, at 8:30 pm ; rebroadcast at 11:30 pm

STATEWIDE – While the origins of the children's game “Rock, Paper, Scissors” are lost in time, the fascination with the game continues — from kids deciding who goes first to computer programmers working on chance theory. This episode of State of the Arts takes a look at artists working with one or more of the game's three elements. Along the way, we'll also visit the RPS Championships in Toronto and learn about the cultural life and dubious history of this time-honored game. Rock, Paper, Scissors airs on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 pm with a rebroadcast at 11:30 pm .

• The Digital Stone Project (DSP)
Currently housed at the former Stone Division of the Johnson Atelier in Mercerville , New Jersey , the Digital Stone Project was founded by a group of sculptors to explore the full potential of advanced stoneworking technology and to make available the most revolutionary computer-aided stone-carving facilities.  State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa takes viewers on a high-tech tour with DSP director Christoph Spath and artist Barry Ball into this experimental intersection of science and sculpture.

• African-American Printmakers
Aljira, the Center for Contemporary Art in Newark , surveys 80 years of printmaking by black artists with "African-American Printmakers: The Legacy Continues.” The exhibition, which runs through June 11, 2005, features works by pioneers such as Aaron Douglas, the "artist of record" for the Harlem Renaissance; Hale Woodruff and Wilmer Jennings, who created public murals for the WPA during the Great Depression; and influential artist-educators like Robert Blackburn and Vivian E. Brown.

• Paper Makers
From pulp to paper: master paper-maker Ann McKeown shows us how it's done at the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper in New Brunswick, New Jersey. But there's more to the story than you think. Some artists, like German Pitre, are taking the art of making paper in some very unexpected directions.

• Paper Cutter
When he arrived in the United States from Taiwan in 1972, Houtien Cheng worked as a bus boy in one of South Jersey 's Chinese restaurants.  Today, Master Cheng is a professional artist of traditional Chinese paper cutting. This art form has been used to adorn walls, windows, and clothing in China for more than 2,000 years, and skills of the predominantly female paper cutters were often used to indicate a woman's value as future bride. State of the Arts producer Peter Shea follows Master Cheng as he visits a Chinese restaurant in Hamilton , New Jersey and introduces customers to the art of paper cutting. 

• Movable Books (Pop-ups)
In 1992, Rutgers librarian Ann Montanaro founded The Movable Book Society – 450 members strong worldwide – to provide a forum for artists, collectors and other pop-up book enthusiasts. The segment includes a discussion by Ann on the history of the pop-up book as well as the fresh ideas coming out of the innovative studios of paper engineers like Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda. The undisputed champions of the world of pop-up books, Matthew and Robert recently captured the imaginations of both children and adults with their phenomenal three-dimensional editions of Alice in Wonderland, The Movable Mother Goose and The Wizard of Oz . Matthew gives us a behind-the-scenes look at their Manhattan studio and a sneak preview of his upcoming book series of prehistoric creatures.

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

State of the Arts is the recipient of 23 regional Emmy Awards including a 2005 New York Emmy and a 2004 Mid-Atlantic Emmy. Funding is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The series producer is Susan Wallner and the executive producer is Nila Aronow.