re:view E-Newsletter Spring/Summer 2009

The Newsletter of Jersey City Museum • Volume 15 • Spring/Summer 2009

Dear Friends,

(background) Louis Lozowick, Open Air Barber, 1939Lithograph, Collection of The Newark Museum, Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration, Washington, D.C.

As a reader of re:view, you are familiar with the Jersey City Museum and its efforts to bring a new perspective to contemporary art to residents of Jersey City, Hudson County and guests from all over the country and the world. I mention this because sometimes the most interesting sights are in your own back yard.

As you walk along the Gold Coast or in the Heights of Jersey City, you can’t help but be in awe of the skyline of New York City. Our own fair city has a wide range of industrial, commercial, and residential buildings that are fascinating to look at. A view of this architecture gives us an opportunity to examine how we live, where we work, and how we spend our time.

In our main galleries we have two shows that revolve around architecture and its ancillary components. Industrial Strength: Precisionism and New Jersey takes us to the 1920s, where our country was building its factories and infrastructure. Leading artists of the Precisionist period are represented in this show. America was on the move, and local artists captured the energy of the time.

Jump ahead to this century and architecture plays a role again right here in Jersey City, as witnessed in our show

(Re)Centering: New Vision for Journal Square. Whether your interest is art, architecture, interior design, urban development, or community involvement, you’ll find something to engage you in this fascinating show.

If architecture is the outside frame protecting the inner workings of its content, that begs the question: “What, in fact, is behind the doors?” Luis Mallo, an accomplished photographer and artist, takes us on a secret journey to the inner workings of various museums. Quiet, mysterious, protective are some of the sensations I think you’ll experience when viewing his work in Open Secrets.

Please join us at the Museum and bring a friend or family member. Art is a singular sensation made more pleasurable when shared with someone else. The three shows mentioned above are just some of the exciting exhibits on display.

We hope to see you soon.

Nathan J. SambulChair, Board of Trustees

Precisionism movement and its followers. Focusing on Precisionism’s distinct connection to New Jersey, the imagery in Industrial Strength guarantees to evoke ideas regarding culture, modernity and American identity of the period.

Artists in the exhibition include Florence Cannon (1886-1947), Elsie Driggs (1898-1992), Peter Fiordalisi (1904-1988), Reva Helfond (1910-2002), Victoria Hutson Huntley (1900-1971), Louis Lozowick (1892-1973), Gus Mager (1878-1956), and Jan Matulka (1890-1972).

Industrial Strength features the work of several Precisionist artists, all associated with New Jersey, who were moved by the power of the local landscape. Artists in the Precisionism movement, an artistic movement that emerged in the United States during the 1920’s, depicted the industrialization of the American landscape in precise and sharply defined forms. These artists found inspiration in the rise of American industry, the growing popularity of photography, and the characterization of New York and its vicinity as a site of modernity.

By bringing together the works of several American modernists, Jersey City Museum presents a select examination of the

» main galleries

(re)centering:new visions for journal square

Sharing the museum’s main galleries with Industrial Strength, (Re)Centering explores the development and design of urban housing proposals for Jersey City’s own Journal Square. As the original political and financial center of Jersey City, Journal Square represents a significant element of Jersey City’s vibrant local history.

The designs featured in the exhibition, created by architecture students at

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, propose new and exciting forms of housing that are both global and local, focusing on the individual case of Journal Square with a deep awareness of issues such as commuting time, the importance of home, and environmental responsibility.

(top) Ruth Mandl and Eric Tse, LivingSPACE, 2008(bottom) Junho Cho and Seokhun Kim, Adaptive Proliferation, 2008

Industrial Strength: Precisionism and New Jersey is made possible, in part, by the Dedalus Foundation and The Judith Rothschild Foundation.

» main galleries

industrial strength:precisionism and new jersey

Louis Lozowick (United States, 1892-1973, born Ukraine)Relic, 1949, Casein on paper, Collection of The Newark Museum, Purchase 1957 Wallace M. Schudder Bequest Fund, 57.87

» collection galleries

new works in...

» project gallery

luis mallo: open secrets

For several years, artist Luis Mallo has been interested in creating photographs that are enigmatic and mysterious and that generate questions about location and purpose. In 2005, the artist went a step further when he began photographing spaces intended to be hidden from view and inaccessible to the average viewer. Asking for permission to photograph the hidden areas of museum storage in various museums, the artist became interested in the systematic storing models and the intimacy created in these quiet environments of storage. Open Serets presents these enigmatic photographs and portrays, but not reveals, some of their hidden secrets.

» garcía gallery

scientific

Drawn from the museum’s permanent collection of over 10,000 works on paper, Scientific explores science as the subject matter of art. Physics, math, forensics, botany, marine life and research are all explored through photography, watercolor, drawing, lithography and etching. This exhibition features the work of contemporary artists Mac Adams, Nancy Azara, Dean Dass, Mark Enid, Jon Rappleye, Holli Schorno, Joan Semmel, Merle Temkin, Carol Wax, Martha Wilson and Will Mentor and nineteenth century artists Nellie Wright Allen and August Will.

Open Secrets 2006-08 Untitled (JCM Print Storage), 2008, C-print, Courtesy of the artist

Open Secrets 2006-08 Untitled (MCNY Print Storage), 2008, C-print, Courtesy of the artist

(image credit) García Gallery shot of Scientific exhibition showing works by (from left to right) Merle Temkin, Roberto Estopiñán, Dean Dass, and Mac Adams

A Community Collects is made possible by

(top) A Community Collects gallery(bottom) Mona Hatoum, Projection, 2006Cotton with extreme watermark over overbeaten abaca35” x 55”, Collection of the Brodsky Center

After rotating works on paper, A Community Collects

features several new works including Projection by renowned London-based artist Mona Hatoum. This large print, on loan from the Brodsky Center, features an extreme watermark over over-beaten abaca paper. This unusual technique was used to create a striking image of a globe and is typical of the works created at the Brodsky Center, a place where artists are encouraged to experiment and test the limits of paper.

» unexpected spaces

1 x 1 projects & mediaworks

JCM welcomes an exciting new line-up of artists to the museum’s continuing 1x1 series. On view in the museum’s atrium is a film by Rob Carter and an exhibition of short films curated by Natalie McKeever. Rob Carter’s Metropolis is a quirky and very abridged narrative history of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. It uses stop motion video animation to physically manipulate aerial still images of the city, both real and fictional, creating a landscape in constant motion.

Curated by Natalie Mckeever and featuring 11 artists from the regional area and beyond, Investigations of Place is a video exhibition featuring films inspired by memory. “Investigations of Place explores how the landscapes of personal places such as homelands, childhood homes, ancestral spaces, and places of exile take

on new forms when combined with memories and individual experiences” says McKeever.

Upstairs, 1x1 artist Heather Johnson’s No Distractions features a collection of the artist’s drawings of the New Jersey Turnpike and depicts the Turnpike as an entire world of sights, sounds, distractions and happenings.

Finally at the sound station, Matthew Marble presents Ring Works: Ice Round, an experimental sound piece created with instruments, which the artist constructed from simple mason jars. He then collected rainwater, froze it, and sealed the ice in the jars. The artist then recorded the varying sounds, ranging from abrasive to melodic, produced by these instruments.

This spring and summer, Priscila De Carvhalo’s Passageways graces the museum’s 2nd floor Atrium Gallery. Priscila De Carvhalo’s installation at Jersey City Museum is the artist’s largest and most ambitious work to date. The installation consists of a three dimensional labyrinthine city constructed in paint, foam, paper, photographs, collage and rubber. Inspired by the ever expanding and sprawling urban growth in the cities of her native Brazil, Ms. De Carvhalo’s work portrays fantastic worlds in which colors, forms and elements of fantasy all meld together.

» atrium gallery

priscila de carvalho: passageways

(from top) Rob Carter, Metropolis (video still), 2008, Digital video; Jeff Thompson, Paris with No People (video still), 2007, Digital video; Heather L. Johnson, Billboard, 2009, Pencil, 8 x 10 in.; All works courtesy of the artist

» VAC @ JCM: Summer Session

» FAMILY FUN TOOL KITS featuring Industrial Strength: Precisionism in New Jersey

an update from the education department

a note from collections »Recently, a researcher in the Collections Department informed us that our diptych, Barbaro and Being Beauteous by Tim Rollins and K.O.S. is one of the oldest works by this artist’s collaborative. The work was photographed to appear in an exhibition catalogue co-published by the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College and MIT Press. The publication chronicles the history of Tim Rollins and K.O.S.’s vital and thought-provoking projects through images, essays and an in-depth interview. The accompanying exhibition opened on February 28 and runs through August 30, 2009. JCM is proud to have played a pivotal role in preserving the beginnings of this artist collaborative’s development.

Tim Rollins and K.O.S.(left) Bárbaro, n.d.; Being Beauteous, n.dAcrylic on book pages, Diptych, 5 7/8 x 3 3/4 in. ea. pg., Gift of Benjamin J. Dineen, III, 2003, 2003.21.a and .b

Families can now borrow special kits from the front desk to use as they view Jersey City Museum’s exhibition, Industrial Strength: Precisionism in New Jersey. These kits help family members interact with one another as they view the artwork on display.

In the kits, families will find Shape Hunt, a set of transparent cards with a variety of shapes printed on them. Using these cards as a guide, families can discover the multitudes of shapes used by the Precisionists to create their industrial landscapes. Families can also sit on the floor or benches in the galleries and build

their own landscape using the ‘Scapes Kit. Additionally, the kits contain ArtSpy Magnifying Glasses. These can be used to view details and textures in the artwork more closely.

Family Fun Tool Kits are the perfect tool to help parents and children explore the galleries together and enrich their visit to the museum!

This summer, Jersey City Museum is offering a Visual Arts Camp (VAC)! This two-week intensive summer camp is ideal for high school students who have a talent and passion for the arts. Camp participants will experience behind the scenes tours of the museum and its exhibitions, seminars in contemporary art, and meet with professional artists. Focusing on portfolio development in anticipation of college entry, students

will also have their portfolios reviewed by professors from leading universities in the New York City area and participate in a a one day art exhibition at the museum.

The two week camp is $500 per student and will run Tuesdays through Saturdays, August 4th to August 15, 2009. Camp hours are 9 am to 3 pm with extended studio hours available until 5 pm for an additional cost.

To apply: Click here to complete the application

available from our website. A completed application, with one letter of recommendation from an Employer or Teacher familiar with the participant’s artistic talents can be sent to Noaa Stoler, Manager of School Programs at [email protected]. Hope to see you there!

jcm gift shop: buttons!New! Jersey City Museum presents a series of one-inch collectible buttons designed to showcase the museum and it’s collection. Show your support of your city and your museum by sporting one or more of these versatile and hip buttons on your jacket, shirt lapel, or bag. The possibilities are endless!

Various designs are available now at the museum’s gift shop or online at www.jerseycitymuseum.org/theshop.

WHY BECOME A JCM MEMBER? Becoming a member of Jersey City Museum is not only the best way to help support the museum’s mission and contribute to the cultural life of our community, but also to take advantage of the many benefits and programs the museum offers, many designed especially with families, artists and above all, YOU in mind! From exhibition openings, family project days, professional development workshops and performances, to unlimited free admission to the museum all year, members enjoy getting-and staying-connected to JCM. Basic membership benefits include free museum admission, a subscription to re:view, JCM’s e-newsletter, invitation to member events, 10% discount in the Museum Store & members-only shopping days, and a complimentary subscription to MutualArt.com.

For more information or to join or renew online today, please visit us at www.jerseycitymuseum.org/membership.

friend $50

friends & family $80

patron $125

contemporary $250

benefactor $500

august will circle $1,000

To become a member or for more information, contact Nancy Shannon at 201.413.0303, ext 103, or [email protected] purchase your membership today online at www.jerseycitymuseum.org/theshop!

membership levels

NARM is the North American Reciprocal Museum Program, with privileges that entitle JCM members, who join us at the Patron Level or higher, to receive equal benefits from the over 200 museums in the NARM network. Simply present your JCM membership card, with a NARM sticker affixed, to receive free admission and other valuable benefits at participating museums.

go green gift shop specialFree Reusable JCM Canvas Bag with Every Purchase Over $40

Or buy one for just $8

» NEW SUppORT

Welcome to our newest corporate member, AXA Equitable, Target, for funding family programs and free admission, and the Dedalus Foundation for support of Industrial Strength. Many thanks for your support! » CONTINUEd THANKS

Jersey City Museum remains grateful to the City of Jersey City, Mayor Jerramiah Healy, the Municipal Council, and Council President Mariano Vega, Jr. for their continuing support. JCM also receives major funding for its exhibitions and programs from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, which recognizes the museum with designation as a Major Arts Institution, and the County of Hudson, Thomas A. De Gise, County Executive, the Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the

Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development.

Thanks to our major foundation and corporate

supporters: the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for their ongoing support, which helps us provide

programs and services in the coming year, and Bank of America for funding arts education programs for

K through 12 students, and free admission through

the Museums on Us program.

Additional thanks to Hartz Mountain, Fidelity Investments, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Liz Claiborne, Merrill Lynch, Panepinto Properties, Pershing, Sims Metal, Target, UBS

and Wachovia for their continuing support.

Our education programs are generously funded by

Jersey City’s Division of Community Development through a Community Development Block Grant, New Jersey State Council for the Arts/Department of

State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through an Arts Education Special Initiative award, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and Jersey City Board of Education. Additional funding is provided by the Bank of America, County of Hudson, County Executive, Thomas A. De Gise, the Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders, Turrell Fund, JPMorgan Chase, the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Prudential Foundation and the Wachovia Foundation. We are also grateful for the support of our many other generous corporate, foundation and individual donors, and our museum members.

Jersey City Museum’s Sixth Annual

ArtRageous Ball was held on April

30th, 2009 at The Westin Jersey City.

With 200 guests from the worlds

of real estate, financial services, the

arts, and government, the event

raises funds for the museum’s

exhibitions and programs.

spotlight on: Bank of America’s Museum on Us Program

This year, Bank of America’s revamped Museums on Us (MOU) program offers Bank of America cardholders free admission to over 100 of the nation’s finest cultural institutions (including Jersey City Museum!) during the first full weekend of every month. During Museums on Us weekends, Bank of America cardholders are invited to enjoy free admission to Jersey City Museum on

Saturdays during open hours of 12pm to 5pm. The MOU website offers complete details, a list of participating institutions, and even email and text alerts providing reminders for upcoming MOU weekends. Bank of America is a major supporter of the Jersey City Museum and cultural organizations throughout the United States. We are proud to have them as a sponsor and to be part of Museums on Us.

Image credit: Families create mini cities inspired by the current exhibition, (Re)Centering: New Visions for Journal Square at Party City! Family Project Day on May 2, 2009.

Additional thanks to JPMorgan Chase and Pershing LLC., and Trenk,

DiPasquale, Webster, Della Fera & Sodono P.C. for underwriting.

Lead Sponsor Fidelity Investments

SupportersPanepinto Properties, Inc.Hughes, Hubbard & Reed SK PropertiesCongressman Frank J. Guarini

ContributorsBank of America

Sovereign Bank

PSE&G

Paul Silverman & Eric Silverman,

Exeter Property Company

The Provident Bank

BenefactorsJPMorgan Chase

Ofelia García

Nathan and Nancy Sambul

United Water

Many thanks to our generous table sponsors:

» THE ARTRAgEOUS BALL

Board of Trustees

Nathan J. Sambul, Chair

James B. Kobak, Jr., Vice Chair

Amy Kauffman Sweeney, Secretary

Mark S. Rodrick, Treasurer

John J. BellDudley BenoitJudith K. BrodskyBenjamin J. Dineen IIIOfelia GarcíaThomas J. McDonnellMariano D. MolinaFerris OlinStephanie PanepintoEugene T. PaolinoMichael RoyceRonald E. SchwarzJack Tiemann

Jersey City Museum350 Montgomery StreetJersey City, NJ 07302201.413.0303

JCM’s gallery hours:Wednesday 11am–5pm Thursday 11am–5pmFriday 11am–5pm Saturday 12pm–5pm

gO TO WWW.JERSEYCITYMUSEUM.ORg »

open callfor submissions!!!

A Summer 2009 Exhibition at Jersey City MuseumOn Display: July 30 – December 19, 2009

Opening Reception: Annual Meeting, July 30, 2009. 6 – 8pm

We’re getting the word out: Everybody Counts! Jersey City Museum is doing its part to help ensure that everyone participates in the 2010 Census. This information is collected to determine the number of Congressional seats for states, make decisions about what community services to provide, and distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.

We won’t do the counting, we’d rather invite you to send 4 x 6 inch images of people who live, work, or play in Jersey City for the exhibition, I Love Jersey City: Everybody Counts. These photographs will be compiled and installed in the museum, creating a collage featuring diverse images of the people of Jersey City. So stand up and be counted!

Send to: I Love Jersey City: Everybody CountsJersey City Museum P.O. Box 428

Jersey City, NJ 07303-0428

Submissions may also be dropped off during regular museum hours at the reception desk. Submissions must be received by July 10, 2009.

Plus! Visit or join I Love Jersey City: Everybody Counts on Flickr atwww.flickr.com/groups/everybodycounts.