STATEWIDE – Second Acts are the stuff of American legend. Despite F. Scott Fitzgerald's assertion that there are no second acts in America, we all love the hope of redemption and a chance to improve on the past. This week, State of the Arts explores the idea of Second Acts with an encore performance featuring a collection of stories about people, places and objects that are enjoying new lives.
The program airs on Friday, September 8 at 8:30 pm, with a rebroadcast on Wednesday, September 13 at 11:30 pm.
• Howard Tate – Second Coming
Howard Tate seemed to have it made — in the 1960s he was a bright young star on the R&B scene. But his life fell apart, Tate dropped out of sight, and many thought he was dead. One old fan (and radio DJ) never gave up looking for him, and now — after alcoholism, time spent living on the streets in Camden, and finding God — Howard Tate is back. His critically acclaimed CD, "Rediscovered" was released in July 2003, and nominated for a 2004 Grammy. Since then, he has been touring the U.S. and Europe. Only this second time around, Tate’s sole motivation is not material wealth. He’s directing his profits toward serving those forces that brought him back by building a drug rehabilitation center in South Jersey. State of the Arts producer Christoper Benincasa visits Tate at home, goes fishing with him, and learns first hand about his life.
• Ceramic Artist Mikhail Zakin: Crossing Points
Mikhail Zakin was happy as a wife and mother. But when her husband became permanently brain damaged, she found herself at fifty years of age driving a school bus and wondering how she was going to support her family. By returning to her early love of the arts, she became a successful potter, co-founded the Old Church Cultural Center in Demarest, New Jersey in 1974, and began a series of cultural tours that took her around the world. Produced by Susan Wallner.
• Quilts: Stitches and Time
While quilts are often assumed to be works of necessity — reusing scraps of fabric and discarded clothing — they actually are extremely time-consuming and labor intensive. As a “second act,” a quilt is often far more complex than the materials from which it is constructed. An exhibit at the Newark Museum, “Quilt Masterpieces from Folk Art to Fine Art,” explored the major role this art form has played in the creative and communal lives of women throughout American history. Produced by Amber Edwards.
• Victor Reborn
On the waterfront of Camden, New Jersey, in the midst of history and one mile from Philadelphia's historic district, developer Carl Dranoff opened a luxury apartment complex named “The Victor,” in honor of its past. The $60 million renovation of the old RCA building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, features 341 loft apartments. Constructed between 1909 and 1916, the structure was home to the RCA Victor Company and was known as the “Nipper” building after its 75-foot-tall tower's stained-glass images of the terrier in the Radio Corporation of America's logo. Dranoff Properties is a company that specializes in the adaptive reuse of historic structures, breathing new life into old buildings. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz tours the new luxury property, and speaks to Dranoff, who says his firm acquired the 525,000-square-foot complex because “of its vast impact on a whole city.”
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 online following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts.
