Newark Art and Artists (Part II) – Newark Public Library

Newark Art and Artists:
Prints, Photographs, and Other Works on Paper from the
Special Collections of the
Newark Public Library (Part II)

Willie Cole. Home and Hearth, 2011. Serigraph on paper. Publisher: Printmaking Center of New Jersey. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 2012.

Curated by Jared Ash
Main Library, Third Floor Gallery
5 Washington St., Newark, NJ

January 23 – May 25, 2013

exhibition

opening reception

programs

press release

Exhibition

Robert Birmelin. The Hand, 1985. From the series, "Half Truths." Etching and aquatint on 3 copper plates. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase, 2001.

Newark Art and Artists is a two–part exhibition of prints, photographs, books, and other works on paper, that either have Newark as their subject, or are created by artists who have lived, studied, worked, or were born in Newark. The exhibition includes works created between 1800 and 2012, and is drawn entirely from the holdings of the Special Collections Division of the Newark Public Library.

James Edward Jones Remembering, 2007. Linocut with watercolor. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Gift of the artist.

Part I of the exhibition,which ran from October 3, 2012 through January 12, 2013, presented works primarily from the 19th and early/middle–20th centuries. Part 2 of the exhibition, opening Jan. 23, features approximately one hundred works created between 1937 and 2012 by a wide range of contemporary, living artists. In addition to artists most frequently associated with Newark such as Willie Cole, Chakaia Booker, and Jerry Gant, the exhibition presents works by a number of other world–renowned artists with Newark roots, including Robert Birmelin, Barbara Kruger, and George Tice.

Jerry Gant. The Art and Love of Jerry Gant: Stencils from 20027–Present, 2012. Unique artist's book; aerosol stencil and marker on fabric. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase, with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 2012.

Artists in the exhibition include: Ibrahim Ahmed, Manuel Acevedo, Sunmarie Allen, Will Barnet, Herbert Beerman, Robert Birmelin, Tom Bish, Mary Lou Bongiorno, Jerome Bongiorno, Chakaia Booker, Dan Brophy, Eleta Caldwell, Willie Cole, Lisa Conrad, Cicely Cottingham, Roy Crosse, Kevin Darmanie, Evonne Davis, Victor Davson, Donald Farkas, Helen Frank, Jerry Gant, Matt Gosser, Gladys Barker Grauer, Grigory Gurevich, Akintola Hanif, Florian Jenkins, James Edward Jones, Robert Knight, Barbara Kruger, Hal Laessig, Donald Lokuta, Maria Mijares, Nell Painter, German Pitrie, Rocco Scary, Kenneth Schnall, Helen Stummer, George Tarr, George Tice, Bisa Washington, Emma Wilcox, Fran Wilner, James Wilson, and Dmitrii Wright, among others.

Will Barnet. Mary, 1937. Lithograph. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase, 1938.

The exhibition also includes several works by the late Will Barnet, as a posthumous tribute. Early in his career, Barnet, who passed away in November at the age of 101, taught at the Newark Normal School, which later became Kean University and moved to Union Township.

Sunmarie Allen. Newark City Scene Two, 2010. Intaglio print etching. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 2013

Opening Reception

Wednesday, January 23, 6:00–8:00pm
7:00pm – Curator's talk by Jared Ash on "Art, Artists, and the Newark Public Library: 110 Years and Counting"
Main Library, Centennial Hall
5 Washington St.

Featuring an informational overview of art–related events, initiatives, and resources for Newark artists at the Newark Public Library, and remarks by the curator about the exhibition.

Lisa Conrad. St. Michael's, 2011. Screenprint and wax on embedded handmade paper. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 2012

In recognition of the number of artists in the exhibition who are former faculty or alumni of Arts High School and/or the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, the Library is especially encouraging other alumni and faculty from those schools to attend the January 23rd opening reception.

Programs

The History of 3D Film Starring Newark and New York
Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 6:00–8:00pm
Auditorium, Main Library

Emmy–nominated, award–winning Newark filmmakers Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno will screen and discuss their short 3D films on Newark and the Brooklyn waterfront. Inspired by Manhatta, the 1921 avant garde film by artists Charles Sheeler and Paul Strand with text by Walt Whitman, which will also be shown, the Bongiornos have updated the technology to 3D, focused on Newark and Brooklyn and created soundscapes. Their "city symphony" films extend a tradition that includes Walter Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927); Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929) and Jean Vigo's A propos de Nice (1930).

The Bongiornos will also discuss the history of 3D filmmaking, explaining the technical intricacies of capturing a full cityscape in 3D. Take–away 3D glasses will be provided.

Art Portfolio Review and Resource Fair
Saturday, March 9, 2013, 1:00–4:00pm
Centennial Hall, Main Library

James Wilson. Rising Down, 2012. Acrylic on canvas. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase, with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 2013

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Library will be hosting its second free Portfolio Review and Art Resource Fair. Presented in partnership with the Paul Robeson Galleries of Rutgers–Newark, the portfolio review offers artists the opportunity to have their work reviewed by one of four distinguished curators: Mary Birmingham, Curator, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey; Kevin Darmanie, Founder/Director, Kedar Studio of Art; Evonne Davis, Artistic Director, Gallery Aferro; and Adrienne Wheeler, Owner, Adrienne Wheeler Gallery.

In addition to these curators, review participants and other visitors will have an opportunity to meet representatives from a broad range of art organizations, and discover new places to show art, see art, sell art, and create art in Newark. While there is no fee to participate, artists interested in having their portfolios reviewed are encouraged to reserve a review slot in advance. For reservations and additional information, contact Anonda Bell, Director & Curator, Paul Robeson Galleries, at galleryr@andromeda.rutgers.edu, or 973–353–1610.

Donald Lokuta, Untitled [Group portrait of neighborhood children and teenagers; Napoleon Street and New York Avenue], 1976. From the series, "Ironbound: Newark, New Jersey." Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Library purchase, 1980.

Art and Artist Resources

The Reference Center at the Library maintains a guide to online resources and internet links related to art broken down into several categories including art history, image collections, opportunities for artists, photography, prints, and sculpture. The guide is available at: nplwebguides.pbworks.com/w/page/5673336/Art.

Funding for the exhibitions, portfolio reviews, and resource fairs has been provided in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Additional funding from the Dodge Foundation has enabled the Library to purchase works by contemporary Newark artists for the Library's Fine Prints and Photographs Collection, and to expand the total number of Newark artists represented in the Collection.

Gladys Barker Grauer. I Wish the Rent Was Heaven Sent, 1992. Color lithograph. Special Collections Division, Newark Public Library. Gift of the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, 1993.

Newark Art and Artists will be on view in the Main Library's Third Floor Gallery from January 23 through May 25, 2013. The exhibition and related programs are free and open to the general public during regular library hours, Monday through Saturday. For additional information, please visit www.npl.org,or contact the Reference Division through email at: reference@npl.org, or by calling 973–733–7779.

http://www.npl.org/Pages/ProgramsExhibits/Exhibits/NewarkArtII.html