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Winner of the 2006 Mid-Atlantic
Emmy for Outstanding Magazine Program |
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.
mozart’s piano
At the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart Festival in January 2006, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, legendary concert pianist Vladimir Feltsman did something never before attempted! He performed a Mozart Rondo on a pianoforte from Mozart’s own time, and then he played the same piece on a modern piano. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz talks with Feltsman about the differences between the two instruments and then visits New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Musical Instrument Collection to explore the history of the piano. Hear the oldest existing piano in the world which is on display at the Met. Learn from expert Laurence Libin 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.
 Hear Martin Souter play Mozart’s “Sonata in C Major, K545 - Allegro” on the 1790 Hofmann piano
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Vladimir Feltsman, pianist
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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 churning out high quality art pencils from their location on Fleet Street since 1889. As Jersey City and its economy have changed over the past century, most manufacturing plants in the city have shut down. However, General Pencil has adapted and continues to thrive. State of the Arts producer Peter Shea takes a tour of the Jersey City landmark and speaks with Helmut Boda, the factory’s general manager. We also meet Heidi Curko, a young artist and Jersey City resident, who works predominantly in the medium of pencil and charcoal. Coincidently, Ms. Curko’s first “tool of the trade” was a set of General Pencil-brand art pencils given to her by her high school art teacher.
 Watch more of State of the Arts’ tour of the General Pencil factory
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Detail from the cover art from a General Pencil brand art pencil set
Early 20th century sketch of the General Pencil factory
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strings attached
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. An old homeless man searches for food, an elephant romps through the jungle, a violinist plays a virtuosic tune: these are just a few of Cashore’s amazing vignettes. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visits Cashore’s studio 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.
Watch a complete performance of Cashore’s elephant marionette
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A Cashore Marionette: Elephant
A Cashore Marionette: Violinist
Joseph Cashore with marionette
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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 more rooted 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. He has a permanent installation in New Jersey, "Princeton Cornerstone," on the exterior of the Princeton Public Library. During the winter of 2005-2006, Barry also had an installation on view at the Montclair Art Museum: "Diptych, Window-Wallpiece." Both pieces are compositions made of words, used, as Barry explains, the same way Cezanne might have used apples for a still life. If that sounds intriguing, tune in as State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa visits Robert Barry at his home studio and tracks the design and development of these two projects.
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"Diptych, Window-Wallpiece"
(interior) by Robert Barry,
Montclair Art Museum
"Diptych, Window-Wallpiece"
(exterior) by Robert Barry,
Montclair Art Museum
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