Last weeks for Atrium exhibit

Little more than a week remains to see the Fall/Winter 2010 Exhibit at the Atrium Gallery, which ends January 12th. 



Yuri Yurov's digital print, Nostradamus, with model

There are turtles with civilizations on their backs, faces emerging from cosmic swirls, riotously lavish colors of flowers, raku pottery and soaring banners of silk. See all this and more at the Fall/Winter 2010 Exhibit which showcases 260 works of art by 25 artists. including the 19 year retrospective of mysterious and intense works by Yuri Yurov (5th floor), the vibrant colors of Greg Egan's Garden Series watercolors (4th floor), the rich variety of works by 19 artists of the Myhelan Artist Network (3rd floor), the subtle pastels of Pam Gosner and the geometric works in gouache, ink and marker on paper by emerging artist Christine Wagner (2nd floor). And, in those soaring atrium stairwells, don't miss the kinetc "Open O" mobiles of John Tetz and the dramatic multi-story silk banner piece by Phyllis Boudreaux.

Phyllis Boudreaux's dramatic silk banner work, The Falling Up

The exhibit is free and open to the public....available to view Mondays-Fridays from 8am to 5pm. Free catalogues are located in the elevator lobby on each floor of the exhibit and most of the works are available for sale (think unique post-holiday gifts!).

And be sure to return in late January for Art in the Atrium's 19th Annual African American art exhibit which opens on January 28, 2011!

By Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communications

A 3D crossword puzzle: Programming First Night

Every year at this time I sigh with relief as the final proofreading is done and the program for First Night Morris County goes to print. With over 80 events in 21 venues in Morristown, it is always a challenge to program the right mix of performances that will entertain, educate, delight, stimulate and make this New Year's Eve celebration of the arts a truly memorable experience for as wide an audience as possible.

Taikoza - Japanese drum/flute/dance troupe

Balancing yearly favorites with the need to keep the event "fresh," 2/3 of this year's program showcases brand new performers and acts. Each is matched as carefully as possible with an appropriate venue...factoring in acoustics; need for a piano, stage or sprung floor; seating capacity; accessibility; and sound equipment. The more variety in the offerings, the broader the appeal. Additional challenges come with selecting performers, negotiating rates, handling contracts and related documentation with the overriding goal of providing top quality programming for every taste: the serious, the fun-loving, the young, the mature, those eager for new experiences and those comfortable with tradition. Oh yes, did I mention that, in these lean times, all of the programming must be accomplished within very tight budget constraints?

Red Hawk Native American dancer

So, I've dubbed it my annual 3D crossword puzzle. But how exciting and gratifying when the pieces finally fall into place. As Kevin Coughlin (of www.MorristownGreen.com) put it: "Where else can you enjoy a 'master of the erhu'? or pet a live skink? or hear folk songs in Klingon?(Wang Guowei of Music from China; Rizzo's Reptiles and Carla Ulbrich, respectively). Music lovers can sample blues, bluegrass and brass, baroque and the British Invasion - and that's just the letter B. There will be choral and classical, and more drums than you can shake a stick at (Richard Reiter's Drumming Circle, Taikoza, Hip Pickles Drum Band). Circus acts, magicians, Native American dancers - the list is dizzying."U:\My Documents\FIRST NIGHT\First Night Dec. 10\Start planning now for First Night Morris–the talent roster is deep!  Morristown Green.mht

Hip Pickles championship drum band

As a devotee of world cultures, I also try to share that experience with First Night audiences.  True to that goal, this year's First Night includes performances  of music or dance from Africa, the Andes, the Balkans, the Caribbean, China, Japan and Ireland.

A storyteller, The Harlem Wizards, jazz guitar great Frank Vignola, Rio Clemente's jazz piano mastery, Mark Twain readings, jazz fiddling phenom Aaron Weinstein, a meeting with  "George Gershwin" (a.k.a. Dennis Kobray), giant puppet theatre, a poetry slam, symphonic music and many more unique and special acts (along with two sets of fireworks!) round out the First Night offerings.

The work is substantial but the rewards come when I hear First Night audiences excited and happy with their experience or when I get a call from a top flight First Night artist who loved performing here that evening and wants to return. Now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that people come out in the thousands to enjoy the evening. Then, maybe I can relax a little...that is, until I start thinking about next year's program!

Be sure to visit www.firstnightmorris.com where you can purchase tickets, check the program, volunteer, etc. Tickets are also on sale at the Community Theatre/Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, 100 South Street, Morristown.

By Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communications

Monmouth Visits Morris

Last week we invited the Monmouth County Arts Council to spend a day with us at our offices in Morristown. It was a day well spent with time to compare notes, share programming advice and talk about our similarities and differences. We have so much to learn by sharing our stories, building on each other's best practices...and learning from each other's challenges. Hats off to everyone at the Monmouth Arts Council, thanks for taking the time to visit - we admire your work and loved spending the day getting to know you better.

By Barbara Reuther, Director of Arts in Education

The Morristown CraftMarket

We were proud to partner with the Morristown CraftMarket and the Interfaith Food Pantry for an exhibition of fine crafts and folk art at the Morristown Armory over the weekend. 0ver 140 artists and craftspeople from 25 states displayed extraordinary, one-of-a-kind works in jewelry, ceramics, glass, leather, wood, metal, wearable fiber, and more.

We were pleased to see so many New Jersey artists participating in this year's event and enjoyed getting to meet them and view their work. Monmouth County artist Jill Hurrant's exquisite jewlery featured fine handcrafted work in 22 carat gold accented with fresh water pearls and diamonds.

Monika Stebbins an award winning millener from Madison, New Jersey delighted everyone with her capricious and imaginative hats - one of a kind creations made from a wide variety of materials.

Morristown artist Ann Light exhibited an extraordinary array of colorful masks carved from gourds. "Carefully coaxing faces from the hard, dry surface requires careful and gentle strokes of the woodburner and engraving tool. The masks are leather-dyed, waxed and polished, sewn with artificial sinew and embellished with natural materials such as dried pods, raffia, bamboo, palm inflorescence, seagrass, pine needles, and philodendron sheaths."

This annual event is run by the Kiwanis Club of Randolph Township and literally thousands of volunteer hours are put into the planning and management of the CraftMarket. All net proceeds of the show benefit local charities.

By Barbara Reuther - Director of Arts in Education



Poetry Heaven

For a few days in early October, the 7th -10th, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and surrounding venues in Newark, New Jersey will be transformed into the country’s largest poetry festival. With 4 poet laureates joining more than 30 other distinguished poets from around the world, the Geraldine R.Dodge Poetry Festival provides a unique opportunity for poetry lovers and poetry ”likers” to deepen their experience of poetry. In addition to readings by poets such as Galway Kinnell, Billy Collins, Kay Ryan, Rita Dove, Mark Strand, Amiri Baraka, Martin Espada and Bob Hicok, there will also be poet-led “conversations” exploring the different aspects of poetry and the life of a poet. Rounding out the experience will be events that feature internationally known musicians and storytellers.

A few years ago, I attended this festival with my teenage son. He was reluctant to go – I bargained, he relented, off we went. Arriving mid-morning, we split up and attended different readings and conversations throughout the day and then circled back at the end for the Poetry Sampler on the main stage. I was amazed that at the end of this long day, he was eager to hear more poetry and that we were both so thoroughly enjoying some of the same works. We returned home that evening with few new books of poetry, some great shared memories and a sense of having participated in something rare and beautiful.


I copied down and saved the Festival introduction from that program as a reminder of that day. Here is part of it:

"And pleasure is what I hope you find, wherever you turn, as you begin to relax into the sea of words and images that will wash over you here. Leave all ordinary ideas of control back on the shore. Enjoy the constantly changing array of emotions and thoughts you encounter. Trust this ocean to support you as you float and paddle among friends. Trust it to support you as you drift among the enchanting and oddly familiar scenes below the surface. We have tried to do everything we could so that you might find swimming to be as natural as breathing. It feels good to be home."
Jim Haba

Making meaningful connections lies at the heart of creativity and The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival excels at this! Don’t miss it!
By Barbara Reuther - Director of Arts in Education

From Banners to Geometry/ the Fall-Winter 2010 Atrium Gallery Exhibit



Phyllis Boudreaux's - The Falling Up

So what to do on a Thursday evening in September? Why not start your evening on September 30th (from 6-8pm) with the Arts Council of the Morris Area at the free opening reception of the Fall/Winter Exhibit at the Atrium Gallery, Morris County Administration & Records Building, Floors 2-5, 12 Court Street, Morristown. 





Christine Wagner's #21

Long banners of golden silk float in the multi-story stairwell and draw the eye to the four levels of the Fall/Winter Exhibit at the Atrium. The exhibit offers a dramatic range of styles - from the enigmatic, intense paintings/photos and pottery of Russian artist Yuri Yurov (5th floor) to the subtle shades and organic lines of Greg Egan’s botanical watercolors (4th floor).The Myhelan Artist Network showcases the visions of multiple artists (3rd floor) while the unusual patterns of Pam Gosner’s pastels share the 2nd floor with the bold geometrics of emerging artist Christine Wagner.

We hope you’ll come, meet and talk with the artists and savor the art. With light refreshments (at the Cafeteria, 4th floor) and free parking (in the garage below the building – entrance on Schuyler Place), how can you miss?! We hope to see you there!!

By Lynn L. Siebert, Ph.D. - Director of Arts Participation and Communications



National Arts In Education Week

Something to Celebrate! On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the second week of September as “Arts in Education Week.” The resolution (H.Con.Res. 275) was proposed and introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier from California.

The resolution states: Arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.

The resolution further states that arts education enables students to develop;

•  critical thinking and problem solving skills, 
•  imagination and creativity,
•  discipline,
•  alternative ways to communicate and express ideas,
•  and cross-cultural understanding, which supports academic success  across the curriculum as well as personal growth outside the classroom

We wholeheartedly agree and that's why Arts in Education has been a core area of the Arts Council's work for over 30 years. While assisting area schools with cultural arts programming and artist residencies, we're privleged to witness first hand the powerful difference the arts make, in the lives of individual students, teachers and school communities. We are celebrating the new resolution (and school year) with an Artist Residency Roundtable on September 20th and invite you to join us if you'd like to meet our teaching artists or learn more about the programs we offer.

 

By Barbara Reuther, Director of Arts In Education

Moving Forward

All too often in the non-for-profit world, the ability to access the latest technology tools, much less use them effectively for operational and marketing purposes, is sorely lacking. Too little time…too little knowledge…too few resources. For the Arts Council of the Morris Area, that has certainly been the case. Until now!


Since the beginning of the year, the Arts Council staff has been working with Sue Nyoni of Conscious Technology to both migrate our dysfunctional database to a new platform, as well as to create a new website. While we knew that it would be a lot to take on at once, we also knew that we could no longer afford to delay what has been sorely needed for a while. What we also did not know is that doing both at the same time was the perfect opportunity to integrate both so that they could “talk” to one another!

For someone like me who is not technology-oriented, the fact that a database and website could speak to one another is nothing short of magical. With new visions in my head of all that is possible, I began to chomp at the bit, as they say, to have both up and running PDQ.

Enter Sue Nyoni, with her experience, expertise and calm assurance that everything was possible. Under her guidance and with a well-thought out process, we are now almost ready to migrate our database to a much more user-friendly platform. We are now going live with a new website. Yes, it is only an interim site while we continue to work on our permanent site. But in the meantime, it will allow us to see what we like, what works, and to get feedback. Needless to say, we’re very excited!

So check out our new website. Let us know what you think. And keep checking back as we continue to refine the site with your feedback.

Whimsy Exhibit Opens

Summer’s over. Time to reinvigorate our Blog focused on  

art and culture in Morris County!

It is truly grace in motion to watch the installation of an art exhibit. Then, again, it’s part magic too to see the way that works of art seem to find their perfect place in a gallery.Two weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I watched guest curator Mary Kate O’Hare and Arts Council Board member Dick Eger work to find that perfect place for each of the works in the upcoming Whimsy exhibit that opens this Friday in the Gallery at 14 Maple. Writing about the exhibit in her curator’s essay, Ms. O’Hare talks about the “whimsy” theme:

Brainstorm by Riccardo Berlingeri

“The twenty-nine artists in this exhibition bring to life different elements of whimsy. Works range from abstractions to figurative subjects produced in a wide variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Almost as if by magic several of the artists reconstruct everyday objects into something unexpected, such as Katie Truk’s transformation of pantyhose into a layered web suggesting mouths open in song or Riccardo Berlingeri’s reworking of newspapers into an explosively sinuous sculpture. Some of the works can be worn (wearable whimsy), like Kathryn Keller’s Itsy Bitsy Spiders bracelet cuff embossed with images of spindly spiders or Won Ju Seo’s lyrical jeogori entitled Memories. Jennifer DeAngelis makes us look afresh at the life contained within letters and numbers with her Strands Font. The whimsy of nature is captured by Jim DelGiudice in Bird Logic, a photograph that presents bird foot prints imprinted in snow; we are struck by their sudden disappearance at the edge of the ground suggesting the moment when the unseen bird took flight. Don Myles’ photograph Flying Rocks expresses a sense of joyfulness in the stones seeming defiance of gravity, just as the sheets in Ken Ross’ Sheet (Minor Alterations) seem to mysteriously levitate above the earth. Many of the works in this exhibition express a waggish sense of humor, such as the abstract form of Jim Fuess’ Snake Contemplating its Navel, an effect recognized when we realize that a snake of course does not actually have a navel. The humor of Betty McGeehan’s Politics comes out of the unexpected combination of a toilet tank and a megaphone wittily made out of copper.

Politics by Betty McGeehan

The works in this exhibition embody expressions of joy, humor and fancy. Together they help us see and connect to the inherent whimsy within our world.”

Come and join us for the opening this Friday, the 10th, from 5:30-7:30pm at the Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown.

Join the Buzz for Great Conversations

Everyone is talking about

the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s

On March 25th, 2010, the Arts Council of the Morris Area will host its unique benefit, GREAT CONVERSATIONS, starting with a 6pm reception and 7:30pm dinner at the Madison Hotel, 1 Convent Rd., Morristown.

Be sure to join us for an unforgettable evening, dining with with any one of 29 exceptional individuals, a veritable Who’s Who in the world of the arts, education, medicine, sports, food, business and the environment. Our hosts include:

- Stephan Briganti (President & CEO, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.)
- Susan Cole, PhD (President, Montclair State University)
- Kevin Cummings (President & CEO, Investors Savings Bank)
- Kathleen DiChiara (President & CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey)
- Suzzanne Douglas (Actor, Singer)
- Gregory J. Egan (Owner, Gallery MacEgan & Artist)
- David C. Felton (Executive Chef, Ninety Acres at Natirar)
- The Right Reverend Giles P. Hayes, OSB (Abbot, St. Mary's Abbey & President, Delbarton School)
- Lawrence P. Goldman (President & CEO, New Jersey Performing Arts Center)
- Joseph P. Goryeb (Founder, Champion Mortgage)
- Peter Keller (Owner, The Madison Hotel)
- Alison Larena (Executive Director, The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts)
- Honorable Kenneth MacKenzie (New Jersey Superior Court Judge, retired)
- Bonnie Monte (Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey)
- Robert E. Mulcahy III (Former Director, Rutgers University Athletic Department)
- Susan Palma-Nidel (Flutist, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra)
- Grant V.S. Parr, MD (Board Certified Thoracic Surgeon and Physician-in-Chief of the Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute; Chair Emeritus, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Morristown Memorial Hospital)
- James Quirk (National Football League Umpire, retired)
- Philip Scheffler (Journalist, Executive Editor of 60 Minutes, retired)
- James R. Shine (Former FBI agent, involved in post 9/11 air surveillance)
- Valerie Sinclair (New Jersey Food Critic)
- Don Jay Smith (Executive Director, New Jersey Hall of Fame)
- Eric Stiles (Chief Operating Officer & Vice President, Conservation & Stewardship, New Jersey Audubon)
- Joseph A. Trunfio, PhD (President & CEO, Atlantic Health)
- Marc Van Cauwenbergh (Abstract Artist)
- Richard Vezza (Publisher, The Star-Ledger)
- John C. Weber (Chief Creative Officer/Principal, J. Weber Design, LLC)
- Nina Mitchell Wells, Esq. (Former Secretary of State of New Jersey)
- Edward J. Yaw, EdD (President, County College of Morris)

Leave behind the electronic media and savor the art of live conversation, meet some extraordinary individuals and help a truly worthy organization to give back to its community. Our event is generously sponsored by Atlantic Health, with additional support from The Madison Hotel.

For more information and for tickets, please contact Karin Becker at the Arts Council at (973) 285-5115, ext.14, kbecker@morrisarts.org or visit our website.

Emerging Patterns Exhibit Opens February 15th

©James Anderson, Driftwood, Limantour Beach, Pt. Reyes, 2009, Digital Photography, 16"x20"

Have you ever stopped to think about all of the patterns in our everyday lives? The Arts Council of the Morris Area's upcoming exhibit, Emerging Patterns, is a visual collection of how 37 artists express their interpretation of those patterns. The exhibit opens on February 15th, with the opening reception on Friday, February 19th, from 5-7:30pm, at the 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor) in Morristown.

Midori Yoshimoto, Gallery Director and Associate Professor of Art History at New Jersey City University who curated the Emerging Patterns exhibit, expressed her thoughts about the theme in her exhibit essay:

Patterns are ubiquitous in our daily life, ranging from woven threads on a luncheon mat to seemingly regular pattern created by raindrops on a windshield. Almost every part of the city and architectural structure consists of grids. Be it a manmade or natural pattern, it exists when we become perceptive. Although we encounter countless patterns every day, we don’t even notice most of them. Only when we pause and take time to appreciate them, do these patterns emerge as comforting rhythms that provide our lives with some kind of structure. At other times, recognizing patterns can be an overwhelming experience; you may feel obsessed or even threatened that your life is controlled by some unknowable force. One way or the other, patterns function as a tool for us to make sense of the complex and unruly world in which we live.

With their keen sensibility, artists have often been on the forefront of the human endeavor to discover patterns in the universe and incorporate them in their visual expressions. The exhibition Emerging Patterns highlights such creative efforts of thirty-seven artists who have been selected by a jury panel from almost four hundred submissions. The artists present a variety of repeated patterns found in daily life or derived from the artists’ imaginations. Their creative works propel viewers to see past surface ornament to consider underlying structures and principles. Perhaps, these artists can guide us to better understand human’s relationship to nature and the universe.

You can meet Midori Yoshimoto, as well as the exhibit artists, at the opening reception on February 19th. Do join us!

Weekend Picks: Art in the Atrium opening, Bickford Theatre, Garden State Folk Festival

by Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communication

L-R: Posing Beauty, recent book by photographer and featured artist Dr. Deborah Willis; Natural Woman, fabric art by Bisa Butler.

This weekend, you can enjoy the free opening reception for WONDERFULLY MADE, the 18th annual exhibit and sale of African American art curated by Art in the Atrium on Friday, January 29th from 5:30-9:30pm at the Atrium Gallery, floors 2-5 of the County Administration & Records Building, 12 Court Street in Morristown. Free food, music and parking…what more could you ask? (free parking is provided in the garage below the building, accessed on Schuyler Place). Can’t make it? Don’t worry. There will also be a Closing Reception on March 18th, from 6-8pm, at the same location.

You might also want to catch a performance of Crossing Delancey, a tale of contemporary romance, complete with a lovingly meddlesome grandmother, a matchmaker, a modern woman and a pickle man at the Bickford Theatre (6 Normandy Heights Rd., Morristown). For more information or tickets, call (973) 971-3706 or visit bickfordtheatre.org.

Then, round out the weekend with the sounds of fiddles, mandolins, guitars and voices as Jersey artists Brian McArdle & Wry Toast, Andy Goessling, Sara Milonovitch and Lindsey Horner take the stage for the Garden State Folk Music Festival on Sunday afternoon at 3pm at the Community Theatre (100 South St., Morristown). Tickets are $15. Call (973) 539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org.

Don’t forget to check the Arts Council of the Morris Area's arts and culture calendar regularly for these and many other listings… just go to morrisarts.org/marquee.htm.

You CAN Get There from Here!

While we are in the process of installing the next exhibit in our 14 Maple Gallery, we are taking a break from our Artist of the Week series which featured artists in the From Here . . . To There exhibit. It was a wonderful exhibit illustrating the interesting ways that artists interpreted the theme, all involving a journey of some sort, whether physical, emotional, educational or even evolutionary.

In keeping with the journey theme, we are today showcasing the Kristin Ace, a talented Morristown woman who will be performing a one woman play that she wrote entitled You CAN Get There from Here. It is built upon many hilarious stories about her mishaps in getting places, and of being lost in the process. Initially about the physical journey, it soon becomes clear that it is the emotional journey that we are witnessing and, in many ways, suggesting the underlying premise that we are never really lost.

Kristin Ace has a BFA in theater from the University of Rhode Island and has spent many years both studying and acting in regional theatre, off-off Broadway, and in independent films. You can see You CAN Get There from Here on Saturday, February 6th, at 8:00 p.m. at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship (21 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown). Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and include coffee & dessert after the performance. Call (973) 270-7713 for reservations/information.

Save the Date for Great Conversations!

In these days of text messages, tweets and remote communication, do you ever long for a good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation? If so, here’s an event that you won’t want to miss!

On March 25th, the Arts Council of the Morris Area will again offer “Great Conversations”, a fundraising event that features 25 notable people from our community, each of whom will host a table for an evening of dinner and wonderful conversations.

Among this year’s conversationalists are Lawrence Goldman (CEO, NJPAC); Kathleen DiChiara (President & CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey); David Felton (Chef, Ninety Acres at Natirar); Bonnie Monte (Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); Kevin Cummings (CEO & President, Investor Savings Bank); Susan Cole (President, Montclair State University); Philip Scheffler (Executive Editor, "60 Minutes"); Joseph Trunfio (President & CEO, Atlantic Health, President, Morristown Memorial Hospital); and Susan Palma-Nidel (Flutist, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra) – just to name a few! Stay tuned for the complete list of conversationalists!

Great Conversations will be held at the Madison Hotel in Morristown. To make sure that you receive an invitation which will be mailed in February, contact Karin Becker at (973) 285-5115, ext. 14, or kbecker@morrsiarts.org.

We hope to see you there!

Artist of the Week: Ellen Denuto

Today's post features the work of Ellen Denuto, a Denville artist. It is the final "Artist of the Week" post highlighting artists in the Arts Council of the Morris Area's From Here . . . to There exhibit which closes tomorrow, January 10th. Mark your calendar for the opening reception of our new exhibit, Emerging Patterns, on Friday, February 19th, from 5 - 7:30 p.m. at the 14 Maple Gallery. It promises to be a very intriguing exhibit.

©Ellen Denuto, Family Bakery, 2008, photo encaustic, 16"x20"

Artist's statement:

"The series of which this photograph is a part is of places and things I come upon that have been discarded, abandoned or lost. Who has lost them….why have they been left behind? They wait silently for someone to find them to reveal their history. In our quest to move forward in life and technology we blind ourselves to the present and all that is timeless and true.

The overwhelm I feel at the enormous amount of information I am forced to process daily is represented in the encaustic layering I apply these photographic surfaces. The alienation and isolation I feel and see as we ignore or destroy that which makes us human and one with the Universe is expressed in the original photograph.

Removing and altering the surface, including the encaustic layers, represents my attempt to stay connected with my history and authentic self, and what is true. In the removal and alternation process, what clouded my vision is re-discovered as if waiting to lead me home."

Family Bakery is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Weekend Picks: Jazz guitarist Frank Vignola, Simon Gallery opening, and a Slow Food Event

One of the delightful performances that we enjoyed at First Night Morris on New Year’s Eve was jazz guitarist Frank Vignola whose Trio played to a full house of enthusiastic listeners. Identified by Les Paul as one of the “five most admired guitarists” in the world, Vignola has toured and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Queen Latifah, Ringo Starr, Madonna, Mark O’Connor, Bucky Pizzarelli and Les Paul. The New York Times calls Vignola “One of the brightest of the young guitar stars.”

You can hear Frank Vignola perform tonight at the Minstrel Coffeehouse located at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown. Jean Rohe, singing a mix of folk standards, blues, and Brazilian samba, will open for Vignola at 8 p.m. Admission is $7 at the door. Call 973-335-9489, or visit folkproject.org for more information.

You might also want to stop in at the Simon Gallery before heading over to hear Frank Vignola. Tonight’s opening reception features a new exhibit of works by abstract artist Marc Van Cauwenbergh. The reception is from 6–8 p.m. at the Gallery located at 48 Bank Street in Morristown.

To round out your weekend, be sure to check out the Slow Food event on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Cultural Center in Morristown (300 Mendham Road). Bringing together many local farmers and food artisans, you’ll be able to sample and purchase local food in season. You’ll also be able to learn about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and even purchase a CSA share for the spring 2010 growing season. For more information and list of participating farms, foods artisans, & friends, visit www.slowfoodnnj.org.

Enjoy!

Music at Noon on Thursdays in Morristown

Last Thursday, I took a break during a busy work day to stop in at the Morristown United Methodist Church’s Music at Noon series, offered each Thursday in January. I was delighted to be entertained by none other than Rio Clemente, affectionately know as “The Bishop of Jazz”. Although I have heard Rio play many times before, each time is a new delight for as Rio admits, he can’t play a piece the same way twice. But isn’t that what lies at the heart of jazz? Rio’s ability to improvise is incredible. Combined with his classical training as a pianist, the result is dynamite.

With three Thursdays left in January, you have three more opportunities to make what might otherwise be an ordinary day into an extraordinary one by stopping in at this midday musical nirvana. This Thursday, Sean Lee, an up and coming violinist, will be playing Brahms. On January 21st, you can hear “Mainstreet Brass (minus two)” in a program of music for horn, trumpet and trombone. The last concert of this year’s series features the Heritage Piano Trio, performing for the 10th consecutive year.

There is a suggested donation of $6 for adults ($5 for seniors and students), with the option of purchasing a light lunch either before or after the concert for only $7 ($6 seniors and students).

Programmed by June Van Thoen, Director of Music Ministries, the Morristown United Methodist Church also has a Saturday evening series of concerts throughout the year. More information is available on their website. The Church is located on the Green in Morristown at 50 Park Place.

Artist of the Week: Amy Becker

Over the past couple of months, our "Artist of the Week" series has been able to showcase a number of the wonderful artists in our From Here . . . to There exhibit. If you haven't had a chance to see the exhibit in person, you only have one more week, as the exhibit closes on January 20th. Please stop by to see not only the exhibit, but also the amazing LEED-certified "green" building that houses the 14 Maple Gallery.

Today, we are pleased to feature Amy Becker, a resident of Madison, and her intriguing photographs.

©Amy Becker, Four Sides, 2007, Photography, 16"x20" framed

Artist's statement:

"Change is a central drama of our lives. Although no one can contemplate every detail of its constant impact, we are immersed in change. Occasionally, we pick and choose episodes or pathways to better grasp its nature. My way is through my photography.

By selecting random human subjects, everyday objects, and ungroomed sites as points of departure, I explore the intersection of change and the individual consciousness. I hope my photographs encourage viewers to see and think in directions they might not have otherwise considered. In that way, the images act to provoke understanding and to connect with dynamics influencing every waking and sleeping moment of our lives."

Four Sides is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Arts Scholarships Available for Graduating High School Seniors

Calling all Morris County high school seniors with artistic talent!

The Arts Council of the Morris Area is offering two scholarship opportunities for graduating Morris County (NJ) seniors who have exhibited artistic excellence in dance, drama, music, or the visual arts and plan to pursue further education in an area related to the arts. The Elaine Ehlers Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $4,500, and the Eugenie Coladarci Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $1,250, were created to recognize artistic excellence and encourage artists of the future.

Past scholarship winners have included pianist Yuqing Meng (Ehlers winner, 2009, left in the picture), now a freshman in a joint program at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory; dancer Edward "Teddy" Tedholm (Coladarci winner, 2009, rigth in the picture), now attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on full scholarship; visual artist Kaitlyn DeBiasse (Coladarci winner, 2008), a student at Kutztown University, PA; and visual artist Marissa Rich (Ehlers winner, 2008), a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.

Application information and forms can be downloaded from the Arts Council website. Please note that applications must be postmarked or

delivered to the Arts Council office no later than 5PM on February 26, 2010.

Artist of the Week: Barbara Landes

Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who advocated for the release by the State of New Jersey of 2010 funding to the arts community. As a result of our collective voices, led by ArtPride, we understand that the previously frozen funding is or will be on its way to the many organizations who so richly support our cultural life throughout the State.

Continuing our Tuesday "Artist of the Week" series highlighting New Jersey artists, we are pleased today to feature Barbara Landes.

©Barbara Landes, Flying Colors in an Unknown Space, 2009, multiple printmaking & papermaking techniques, 23"x15"

Artist's statement:

"My works begin as sodden paper pulp in a papermaking studio. I use pulp painting, inserts, blowouts and any other technique I can think of to make the paper a compelling collaborator with the printmaking techniques to come rather than a passive ground for them.

There are no neat borders to keep the viewer at arms' length. The paper competes for open space with distinct and separate printmaking elements. Physically, the works are vulnerable and immediate while their formal, visual impact reaches for universal themes of life in flux where the way may be simple, uncertain or blocked, but can come into perfect clarity for a moment.

In "Flying Colors in an Unknown Space," crisp tarnished criss-crossing hovers like a grate above a broad black mark. Below the image gives way to an ethereally lit and deep space behind wavy yellow lines of pulp paint. The entwined orange and blue graphic device links these two places."


Flying Colors in an Unknown Space is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.