Tools of the Trade
On NJN’s State of the Arts
Friday, November 3 at 8:30 pm; and Wednesday, November 8 at 11:30 pm

Program earned 2006 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award

STATEWIDE – From pencils to pianos, “tools of the trade” are an essential part of the creative process. On this edition of State of the Arts, hear a piano from Mozart’s time, see marionettes in action, learn how art can be made from words, and visit a factory that makes pencils. Tools of the Trade garnered Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards in the category of Magazine Program for its producer Eric Shultz and associate producer Christopher Benincasa. This encore presentation of the program airs on Friday, November 3 at 8:30 pm, with a rebroadcast on Wednesday, November 8 at 11:30 pm.

• Mozart’s Piano
At the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart Festival in January 2006, which celebrated the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, legendary concert pianist Vladimir Feltsman gave a rare double performance of a Mozart Rondo: first on a pianoforte from Mozart’s own time, and then again on a modern piano. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz talks with Feltsman about the differences between the two instruments and then visits the Musical Instrument Collection at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to explore the history of the piano. Hear the oldest existing piano in the world, on display at the Met; learn why the piano is called a piano; and why the invention of the piano has made such a difference to the history of music in the Western world.

• The Cashore Marionettes
Marionettes might bring to mind medieval tales for children, a small stage and wooden characters. Not so with the Cashore Marionettes. Joseph Cashore has created an utterly unique theatrical experience using single marionettes to tell short stories that appeal to adults and older children alike. Cashore has spent his entire life developing life-like puppets, which he controls with as many as 45 strings. The artist’s amazing vignettes include an old homeless man searching for food, an elephant romping through the jungle, and a violinist playing a virtuosic tune. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visits Cashore’s studio in Colmar, Pennsylvania, for a behind-the-scenes look at several new characters almost ready for the stage, and the marionettes are seen in action in a performance at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.

• Idea Man
Teaneck resident Robert Barry is an artist who has devoted his career to questioning the traditional tools of the trade. Since his pioneering days as one of America's most provocative conceptual artists, Barry has created a body of work rooted more in ideas and language than painting or sculpture. He's even produced invisible works using electromagnetic waves, inert gas, and the "telepathic" broadcasting of his own thoughts. State of the Arts visits two of Barry’s installations in New Jersey: "Diptych, Window-Wallpiece" for the Montclair Art Museum, which was on view from late 2005 through February 5, 2006; and "Princeton Cornerstone," a permanent work on the exterior of the Princeton Public Library. Both pieces are composed of words, used, as Barry explains, the same way Cezanne might have used apples for a still life. State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa visits the artist at his home studio and tracks the design and development of these two projects.

• Pencil Factory
The thriving contemporary art scene in Jersey City is experiencing a re-birth, but the pencil, the most basic tool of the artist’s trade, has been in steady production in that city for well over a hundred years. The General Pencil Company has been turning out high quality art pencils from its location on Fleet Street since 1889. While most manufacturing plants in the city have been bought out and shut down over the past century, General Pencil has adapted and continues to prosper. State of the Arts producer Peter Shea takes a tour of the Jersey City landmark and speaks with Helmut Bode of Jersey City, the factory’s general manager. Viewers also meet Heidi Curko, a young artist and Jersey City resident, who works predominantly in the medium of pencil and charcoal. Coincidently, one of Ms. Curko’s first “tools of the trade” was a set of General Pencil-brand art pencils given to her by her high school art teacher.

State of the Arts, the award-winning, half-hour arts magazine, airs every Friday at 8:30 pm, followed by an encore presentation each Wednesday at 11:30 pm.

The current episode of State of the Arts can be viewed online at www.njn.net. Individual stories will be available to view following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts.

Funding for State of the Arts 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.