Rutgers’ Paul Robeson Galleries Presents Three-Part Celebration of Its First Three Decades

Events begin Nov. 18; “The Exquisite Corpse” Exhibition Features 30 Collaborative Works by 90 Artists from New Jersey and New York

(NEWARK, NJ)In celebration of its first three decades, the Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University, Newark, is presenting a three-part celebration beginning Nov. 18, 2009, including the opening of its 30th anniversary exhibition, “The Exquisite Corpse,” featuring 30 collaborative works by 92 artists from New Jersey, New York and other states.

“Climbing Jacob’s Ladder:  Here We Stand” Special Event/Wed., Nov. 18, 6-9 pm

The 30th anniversary exhibition, “Exquisite Corpse,” will be unveiled during a special evening event honoring founders and supporters of the Galleries, Nov. 18, 6 – 9 pm. Paul Robeson Jr., son of the Galleries’ namesake, will be the featured speaker, and will offer remarks about his father’s legacy both as an artist and as an advocate for the power of the arts to unite people across lines of race, ethnicity and culture.

Dr. Clement Alexander Price, Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University in Newark, will host the evening’s celebration and its honorees, which include

  • Dr. Judith K. Brodsky of Princeton, NJ; the Paul Robeson Galleries’ first curator
  • David Grant of Hoboken, NJ; president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
  • Dr. David Hosford of Southfield, MA; (ret.) dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark
  • Sharon Burton Turner of Montclair, NJ; chair of The New Jersey State Council on the Arts
  • Philip Jones; (ret.) dean of student affairs at Rutgers University, Newark
  • Dr. Charles Russell of Kearny, NJ; professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark
  • Alison Weld of Kearny, NJ; artist and former director of the Paul Robeson Galleries

The Nov. 18 event, including cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment, is $50 per person, which includes a tax-deductible donation to the Galleries’ education programs. Tickets can be purchased by calling 973.353.1180.

 

A special lunchtime concert, “The Art in Music,” will be presented at the Galleries on Nov. 19.  The concert includes works that were written by composers who were also visual artists (Hindemith, Varèse and Gershwin), and features the world premiere of “A Gershwin Mosaic” by composer Henry Martin, professor of music at Rutgers University, Newark.

Performers Jill Sokol, flute; Asmira Woodward-Page, violin; Yuki Numata, violin; Miranda Sielaff, viola; and Soo Bae, cello, will be performing music by composer/artists George Gershwin, Paul Hindemith,and Edgard Varèse, along with the new work by Henry Martin, which is scored for flute and string quartet.

Admission to the concert, including a meet-the-artists reception is free and open to the public.

“The Exquisite Corpse” 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Opening Nov. 19, 5-7 pm

Ninety artists from New York, New Jersey and other states have collaborated on 30 mixed-media works for the 30th anniversary exhibition, “The Exquisite Corpse.” The public opening of the exhibition will be held on Nov. 19, 5 – 7 pm ; admission to the opening and the exhibition is free.

The exhibition will be on view at Rutgers from Nov. 19 through April 8, 2010, gallery hours are Mon. – Wed., 10 am – 5 pm; Thurs. noon – 7 pm; and Fri. by appointment (call 973.353.1610).

“The Exquisite Corpse” is an art game made popular by the surrealists of the early 20th century, and according to Paul Robeson Galleries director and curator Anonda Bell, was “adapted from an earlier children’s game of unspecified origins known as ‘Chances or Consequences.

In the game, the participants create their section of the drawing and then cover it so the next person is ‘drawing blind.’”  The game yields fantastical and often humorous results.  And, according to Bell, “the exhibition literally manifests the Paul Robeson Galleries’ mission of inclusivity, participation, and community outreach.”

Artists participating in the exhibition are listed on page 4.

About the Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University, Newark, “An Art Gallery for the People”

On April 9, 1979, a small gallery opened in the Paul Robeson Campus Center, thanks to the collaborative efforts of a team determined to establish Rutgers University, Newark, as an arts center. The chair of what was then called the Art Department, Judith Brodsky, worked with Campus Center Administrator Phillip Jones and Curator John Watts to bring “work of the highest quality” to the campus at the new gallery.  The exhibitions they mounted reflected Brodsky’s philosophical belief that “art develops a city.”  “In working to establish Rutgers University in Newark as an art center – one, by the way, that complements and works with such other centers as The Newark Museum – we also establish Newark as a more interesting city in which to live and work.”

Over the decades gallery leaders such as Alison Weld, Stuart White, Jorge Daniel Veneciano and the current curator/director, Anonda Bell, have embraced and expanded that vision.  They have developed the Paul Robeson Galleries into “an exceptional place of artistry that seeks to promote the visual arts and to establish a meaningful relationship with the community in the tradition of Paul Robeson, for whom the Campus Center is named,” notes Chancellor Steven J. Diner.  Rutgers’ most famous alumnus, Robeson, Class of 1919, distinguished himself as an activist, artist, scholar, and humanitarian.

Fittingly, the 30th anniversary celebration keys on Robeson’s  legacy of public service, which is embodied through the galleries’ decades of exhibitions, openings and lectures that bring together community and college — establishing a common social/aesthetic experience — as well as its visual literacy programs for the greater Newark community.

“In the truest sense, the galleries serve as a place of learning and scholarship that elevates the minds and aspirations of our students and members of the community,” Diner explains.

Artists Participating in the Paul Robeson Galleries’ 30th Anniversary Exhibition

 

New Jersey: Zlotkin, Marty (Bernardsville), Osti, Roberto (Bloomfield), Drinkard, Nisha (Bogota), Copie Montero, Naciso (Garfield), Keshka, Jen (East Hanover), Yeung, King-Yan “Fina” (Highland Park), Patterson, John A. (Hoboken), Weld, Allison (Kearney), Cohen, Nancy (Jersey City), Ferara, Eileen (Jersey City), Gilalen, Beth (Jersey City), Graf, Jaz (Jersey City), McAuliffe, Caroline Anne (Jersey City), Roca (Jersey City), Tamayo, Amy (Jersey City), McManus, Darren (Lambertville), Stockwell, Laurinda (Lebanon), Dahlman, Patricia (Lyndhurst), Tobin, Nancy (Maplewood), Cuevas, Laura (Montclair), Lafond, Nadine (Montville), Bachhuber, Nina Lola (Newark), Baron, Suzanne Kammin (Newark), Gosser, Matt Louis (Newark), Gant, Jerry (Newark), McKinney, Terina Nicole (Newark), Russo, Tara Raye (Newark), Weinberger, Shoshanna (Newark), Tomaino, Leah K. (Randolph), McKeown, Anne Queeny (Secaucus), Becker, Alaine (South Orange), Leshe, Greg (South Orange), Nakey B (South River), Villarreal, Raul (Verona), Dizefalo, Paul (Wayne), Lym, So Yoon (Wayne), and Cacciatore, Emanuete James (Weehawken)

New York: Angelora, Perry (Brooklyn), Berke, Lauren Simkin (Brooklyn), Cedro, Megan (Brooklyn), Dilworth, Molly (Brooklyn), Dodina, Asya (Brooklyn), Gallagher, Sean Patrick (Brooklyn), Glujibizz Jr., Dan (Brooklyn), Kiley, Ana Garces (Brooklyn), Kjok, Sol (Brooklyn), Maher, MaryKate (Brooklyn), Masley, Caitlin (Brooklyn), McNeal, Meridith (Brooklyn), Mishin, Hannah Joanne (Brooklyn), Mones, Jason (Brooklyn), Oakes, Brian (Brooklyn), Papy, Courtnay (Brooklyn), Polishchuk, Salva (Brooklyn), Poroshina, Alina (Brooklyn), Rauschenbush, Stephanie (Brooklyn), Ros, John (Brooklyn), Weitzman, Eileen (Brooklyn), Peerna, Jaanika (Cold Spring), Zlotsky, Deborah (Delmar), Brummund, Karen (Ithaca), Lin, Hing Eleen (Long Island City), Marks, China (Long Island City), Brody, Michele (New York), Cohen, Yvette (New York), Eagles, Jordan (New York), Ferreira, David Ross (New York), Gelabert, Florencio (New York), Gennaro, Irene (New York), Gloris, Bonnie (New York), Gordon, Michelle Orsi (New York), Horner, James (New York), Kline, Nick (New York), Meister, Lucial Warck (New York), Mikelson, Emmy (New York), Shaw, Sasha Su (New York), Singh, Katherine D. (New York), Treadwell, Robin (New York), Wachob, Amanda (New York), Wooh, Suhee (New York), Woo, Usoon (New York), Sbrissa, Claudia (Brooklyn)), and Lee, Yen-Hua (Scarsdale)

Other States: Brentano, Pat (East Haddam, Connecticut), Debethune, Agnes (Newport, Rhode Island), Dipaola, Marisa (Vernon, Vermont), Kanzler, Jenny (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Pennock, Chris (Windham, Maine), and Reingold, Babs (St. Petersburg, Florida),

Media Contact: Helen Paxton
973-353-5262
E-mail: paxton@andromeda.rutgers.edu

Contact: Carla Capizzi
973-353-5262
E-mail: capizzi@andromeda.rutgers.edu