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On this show called Public/Private, State of the Arts visits a great private library, some of the first New Deal public murals, an exhibit of contemporary film and video art from India, and the studio of artist Jonathan Shahn.
| art for everyone: Charles Ward, artist |
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 art for everyone story
In 1935 Trenton native Charles Ward (1900-1962) made history when he painted what is thought to be the very first New Deal post office mural. “Progress of Industry” was painted for the Trenton Post Office in the building that is now the United States Courthouse. It pictures factory workers in scenes drawn from Trenton’s then flourishing industries of steel wire and pottery. Ward, who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, started his working life as a factory worker at American Steel and Wire in Trenton. Later, he painted full time from his studio in nearby Carversville, Pennsylvania.
In 1937, Ward painted two more murals for the Trenton Post Office: “Rural Delivery,” and “The Second Battle of Trenton.” For the first time since the post office closed in 1981, the public is invited inside to see the murals. The Historical Society for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is also presenting a selection of Ward’s easel paintings for its first ever art exhibit, “Art For Everyone: Murals and Paintings by Charles W. Ward.” In addition to the murals, nearly forty Ward paintings, drawings, archival photos and documents will also be on display. State of the Arts producer Susan Wallner visits the exhibit and speaks with curator David Leopold and with Ward’s daughters, Kristina Ward Turechek and Mary Ellen Ward Minnier. She also speaks to Magistrate Judge John Hughes, who was instrumental in bringing the exhibit to the Courthouse where he has worked for most of his career.
- where to see
October 11 – December 14, 2007. Open Monday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm
Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse
402 East State Street,
Trenton, NJ
(973) 645-6485
- also visit
The Historical Society for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
www.history.njd.uscourts.gov
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Charles Ward, painter
Rural Delivery mural (detail) by Charles Ward, 1937, U.S. Courthouse, Trenton, NJ
Apple Tree in Spring, Carversville oil on canvas by Charles Ward, 1935
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| the scheide library: William Scheide, collector |
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the scheide library story
William Scheide is a renowned book collector and has chosen to house his library at Princeton University, his beloved alma mater, so it can be shared with the students and scholars from around the world.
Three Scheide generations, William, his grandfather, and his father have added to the collection. The Scheide library emphasizes three broad areas of interest: the history of printing, including the four earliest printed Bibles; early documents and books from America, with an emphasis on the history of civil rights: and musical manuscripts, including hand-written scores by Wagner, Mozart, and Schubert, as well as Bach. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visits William Scheide at home, sees some of his rare treasures, and finds out why this rare collection evokes such passionate interest.
 Hear the Alto Aria from J. S. Bach's Cantata #33, "The Bach Aria Group",
Alice Tully Hall, NYC,
November 7, 1979
 See Bach's original score of the Alto Aria from Bach's Cantata #33
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Judith and William Scheide
William Scheide & father John Scheide in Titusville, PA
William Scheide and
the Bach Aria Group
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| imaginary portraits: Jonathan Shahn, artist |
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imaginary portraits story
For decades, artist Jonathan Shahn has been sculpting and painting the human form in his Roosevelt, New Jersey studio – located in a corner of a functioning factory that manufactures machines that create product packaging. In contrast to his meditative studio work, Shahn has also produced public art commissions throughout the state in locations ranging from the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial in his hometown, to the Martin Luther King, Jr. light rail train station in Jersey City, to the Department of Labor in Trenton. State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa meets up with Shahn at his studio, visits the sites of his public art works, and speaks with critic Edmund Leites at the Jonathan O’Hara Gallery in New York City.
- where to see
Jonathan Shahn: Imaginary Portraits
November 16, 2007 - January 6, 2008
The Noyes Museum
733 Lily Lake Road,
Oceanville, NJ
609-652-8848
www.noyesmuseum.org
- also visit
Jonathan O’Hara Gallery
www.johg.com
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White Head on Polygon Base
by Jonathan Shahn
Sculpture by Jonathan Shahn
Sculpture by Jonathan Shahn
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| new art from India |
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new art from india story
New Jersey has the third largest Indian immigrant community in the country, but most Americans have little understanding of contemporary art from the world's largest democracy. State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards visits The Newark Museum for one of the largest exhibitions of its kind, a showcase of more than a hundred photographic and video works by contemporary Indian artists that highlights the dichotomy between India's public and private spheres.
The first known photo studio in India dates back to 1849, and feature filmmaking began in 1912, back in the silent movie era, and has since exploded into the gigantic, visually spectacular Bollywood film industry. The contemporary photographers and video artists featured in "India: Public Places/Private Spaces" play with these familiar media formats to explore modern Indian identity, documenting how old cultural traditions are being transformed by a society dominated by the media, information technology, and a rapidly growing middle class. By juxtaposing the political and commercial imagery that dominates India's public spaces with private, intimate photographs and videos in which the artists themselves perform for the camera, we can examine the complex psyche of contemporary India, through the lens of its most provocative living artists.
 Watch a complete experimental short film by Pushpamala N., titled “Rashtriy Kheer & Desiy Salad (National Pudding and Indigenous Salad)” (11 minutes, 2004) courtesy of Bose Pacia Gallery, NY and the artist.
- where to see
India: Public Places/Private Spaces
September 19, 2007 - January 6, 2008
The Newark Museum
49 Washington Street,
Newark, NJ
973-596-6550
www.newarkmuseum.org
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Navjot Altaf, Lacuna in Testimony, 2003, three-channel video installation with 72 mirrors,
80 inches x 27 feet, time variable
Jitish Kallat, Artist Making Local Call, 2005,
digital print on vinyl mesh
Tejal Shah, Southern Siren – Maheshwari, 2006,
digital photograph
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