In the spring and summer, The Frick Collection in Manhattan will present a one-room installation by Italian artist Giuseppe Penone at the museum’s temporary home, Frick Madison. Displayed in the broader context of the museum’s decorative arts and Old Master paintings and sculpture, this unprecedented exhibition by the recognized Arte Povera artists is the first to feature his work in the medium of porcelain. more
Artworks Trenton, a leading visual arts center in central New Jersey, has announced the appointment of M’kina Tapscott as executive director, beginning January 18. The selection of Tapscott followed an intensive search and selection process. Tapscott succeeds Lauren Otis, executive director since February 2016, who in 2021 announced his intention to step down. more
Delight, inspire, and surprise the art lover and creative talent in your life with a Gift Whitney Membership this holiday season. Members enjoy unlimited free admission, half-priced guest tickets, dedicated viewings, Whitney Gift Store discounts, early admission to new exhibits, and so much more. more
The Arts Council of Princeton’s Sauce for the Goose Outdoor Art Market returns to the Princeton Shopping Center on Saturday, November 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, November 14.
Purchase handmade gifts directly from local artisans and crafters working in ceramics, textiles, jewelry, fine art, and more. Find one-of-a-kind gifts all while supporting the creatives living and working in the greater Princeton community. more
Morven Museum’s Festival of Trees will be on view Wednesdays through Sundays from November 17 to January 10, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This holiday tradition will celebrate its 16th year with a juried collection of themed trees and mantels displayed throughout the museum’s galleries, all decorated by members of garden clubs and organizations.
This year’s decorators include American Spaniel Club, Contemporary Garden Club, Mount Laurel Garden Club, New Jersey Audubon Society, Nottingham Garden Club, Princeton Public Library, Stony Brook Garden Club, The Garden Club of Princeton, The Present Day Club, and West Trenton Garden Club. more
Ever wonder what your day-to-day life would be like if you lived 100 years ago? 200 years ago? How about 300 years ago? The Hightstown Woman’s Club thought just that same thing and created a “Slice of Life” Art Quilt to commemorate 300 years of living in Hightstown, New Jersey. On Sunday, November 14 at 2 p.m., they will be presenting this work of living history and art to the Borough officials at the historic Fire House event room, 140 North Main Street. more
Princeton Garden Theatre will hold a special screening of The Third Man on Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. Directed by Carol Reed and starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, and Alida Valli, The Third Man was voted the No. 1 British Film of the Century by the British Film Institute. The post-screening, virtual discussion of the film will take place on Sunday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. The dialogue will be led by Hannah Jack of Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Register for the virtual discussion and in-person film screening, here: https://princetongardentheatre.org/films/third-man. more
Join The Tileworks of Bucks County on Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30 for a Faux Bois Workshop led by Ricky of Luna Parc.
Faux Bois is the technique of creating the illusion of wood using cement. This technique was developed in France in the mid 1800s. With Ricky’s masterful teaching skills and creative insight, each attendee will leave with a cement Faux Bois planter. The height of the planters will be approximately 24 inches. Participants will be given a basic armature made of galvanized mesh. These armatures will be manipulated and covered with cement the first day. Day two is when the magic happens, and the technique of the wood simulation will be done. All materials will be provided. Students should bring their own pair of heavy leather gloves. The two-day workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Purchase tickets here: https://www.thetileworks.org/events. more
Join Morven Museum for a virtual evening with Wes Modes to reveal “A Secret History of American River People” on Thursday, October 28 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $10-15 and can be purchased online at https://bit.ly/3ETY44D.
The painter and ornithologist Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh lived and painted in a rustic houseboat along the shores of the Scow Ditch in Bay Head, New Jersey. For more than a century, shantyboat communities sprung up in industrial towns and out-of-the-way rural areas on rivers and lakes all over the continent. more
The Battle at Grovers Mill, by Princeton Art Impressions artist Robert Hummel, is on display at the Grovers Mill Coffee House. www.ArtistRobertHummel.com | www.BattleAtGroversMill.com
A Made-Up Martian Invasion That Continues to Fascinate
By Anne Levin
Decades before the term “fake news” became familiar, there was “The War of the Worlds.” The infamous 1938 radio broadcast, inspired by the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, announced to fans of the CBS Radio drama series Mercury Theatre on the Air that Martians had crash-landed in a farmer’s field in Grovers Mill, New Jersey, and were invading the earth.
It was the golden age of radio, and Sunday night was prime time. October 30, 1938 also happened to be mischief night. Led by 23-year-old Orson Welles, the theater company decided to take things a bit further than usual and give listeners a jolt. Just how much of a jolt they intended remains in question.
An announcer who claimed to be at the crash site just a few miles from Princeton breathlessly described a slimy Martian slithering its way out of a metallic cylinder.
“Good heavens, something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake,” he began. “Now here’s another and another one and another one! They look like tentacles to me. I can see the thing’s body now. It’s large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather…. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it’s so awful! The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate.”
It was all a spectacular hoax, of course. But to some listeners across the country, the sophisticated sound effects and supposedly terrified announcers reporting Martians firing “heat-ray“ weapons created chaos. Newspaper reports at the time said people claimed they saw things that didn’t exist, and crowded the roadways in an effort to escape the invasion. Local legend has it that in Grovers Mill, an inebriated farmer shot at the wooden water tower because he thought it was an alien (never proven, but people who grew up in the West Windsor town have recalled seeing bullet holes in the tower). more
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) invites the community to a Fall Open House on Saturday, September 18 from 1-3 p.m.
Free and open to the public, the Fall Open House will feature the inaugural ACP Pottery Throwdown where attendees can watch ceramic artists in friendly competition while competing in various challenges on the potter’s wheel. In addition, each studio will be filled with opportunities to watch artists at work and discover the variety of classes and workshops the Arts Council has to offer, including painting and drawing, dance, textile art, clay, and more. more
From September 29 through February 13, 2022, patrons and art lovers will have the opportunity to see, in-person, a 65-year survey of the artist Jasper Johns’ works of contemporary art at both the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. more
The 22nd annual Festival of Fine Craft at WheatonArts offers two days of an art and shopping experience for the entire family with more than 125 juried artists and craftspeople displaying and selling their works. Visitors will also partake in special artist demonstrations, hands-on family art activities, a Beer and Wine Garden, Glass Pumpkin Fundraiser, live music, and more.
This year’s event will be held on October 2 and 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. WheatonArts is located on 45 wooded acres at 1000 Village Drive in Millville, New Jersey (GPS address). This historic organization is home to the Museum of American Glass, the Creative Glass Fellowship Program, New Jersey’s largest Folklife Program, Artist Studios (hot glass, pottery, and flameworking), Museum Stores, and nature trails. Admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors (62+), and $7 for students. Members and children under age 5 are free. more
The annual Hopewell Tour des Arts returns this fall on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
For 14 years, this event has showcased the heart and soul of Hopewell’s artist community. With the opportunity to showcase their live work, the event allows patrons to step inside artists’ studios and study them and their craft. From painting to drawing, sculpture and photography, the tour delivers a wide range of artistic skill and techniques. A self-guided tour map can be accessed at https://www.hopewelltourdesarts.com/map-2021. The tour begins at Hopewell Train Station, 2 Railroad Place in Hopewell. more
The Michener Art Museum presents “It’s Personal: The Art of Robert Beck,” opening July 30. The exhibition focuses on Robert Beck’s place in the storied world of the New Hope-Lambertville arts community. Beck has played an important role in advancing and expanding the region’s traditions of Impressionism and Urban Realism, with distinctive oil paintings of the people, places, and occupations of our time. He is well known for documentary paintings, as he refers to his paintings done on site in one go. Whether single works or multi-image “visual essays,” these distinct paintings record his world much like the Pennsylvania Impressionists recorded theirs in their time. Unlike those images, Beck describes a world that contemporary audiences recognize as their own. Viewers respond to his keen perspective on the storefronts, street corners, bars, restaurants, carnivals, basketball games, funeral homes, and parades, of their here and now. While New York, Bucks County, and the villages along the upper coast of Maine, present subjects and contrast for his examinations, the exhibit includes work from series he created in the American West, Europe, and Africa. It is a remarkable story of a contemporary artist establishing a voice, becoming part of a community, and creating a body of work that will resonate in Bucks County and well beyond for many years. more
Did you or someone you know work for the Bell System in New Jersey?
In March 2022, Morven Museum & Garden will open an exhibition, “Ma Bell: The Mother of Invention in NJ,” that will explore the ways in which the company pioneered innovations that transformed all aspects of modern-day life. more
Image Source: https://www.roeblingmuseum.org
The Smithsonian Institution announced that it has chosen Roebling Museum to develop an exhibit about work in a steel-making company town founded in 1905. Roebling Museum, which documents the history of a company town built by suspension bridge engineers John A. Roebling’s Sons Co., is one of five museums nationwide to participate in Smithsonian’s Museums on Main Street program. more
A resident of Princeton for seven years, artist Carole Jury will showcase her art from May 4 through May 9 at 19 Hulfish Street in Palmer Square. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Share My Meals, a non-profit that fights food insecurity and food waste in the Princeton area. more
On Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m., Princeton University Art Museum, in partnership with the Arts Council of Princeton, presents “Drawing from the Collections: Rendering Clothing and Drapery.” more
The Frick Collection announced today that it will open the doors to Frick Madison, its temporary new home, on Thursday, March 18, 2021. Located at the Breuer-designed building at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street, former site of the Met Breuer and the Whitney Museum of American Art, Frick Madison will welcome visitors Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Timed entry tickets will need to be purchased in advance, with online sales beginning February 19. The Frick Collection will operate Frick Madison for approximately two years while its historic buildings on East 70th Street undergo renovation. This temporary relocation enables the Frick to provide public access to its celebrated collections during a time when the museum and library would otherwise be closed. Details about member previews and a virtual press preview will be shared in the coming weeks. more
