Blogfinger

The Tibet Exhibit at the Newark Museum. Photograph by Paul Goldfinger

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger. 2013.

The Newark Museum is a rich respite among the urban confusion of downtown Newark.  You can drive past Penn Station, past the vibrant Ironbound District and past the city of large office buildings including the Prudential tower, Seton Hall Law School, glass office buildings  and the magnificent New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

As you go down McCarter Highway, along the Passaic River towards Center Street, you pass old buildings, body shops,  and one of my favorite restaurants— Don Pepe.  You do a little zig zag near NJPAC and you arrive at the museum on Washington Street.

Wheel of Buddhist rules. Paul Goldfinger photo

The beautiful  modern museum is the largest in New Jersey. It has been built around the John Ballentine mansion and has a variety of areas to explore.  The Tibet collection is one of the best in the world, having been purchased from Christian missionaries in the early 20th century.

We went primarily for the George Tice exhibit. I may refer to him as  George because I took a black and white printing workshop with him in 1995 in Maine.  He is one of America’s best known photographers.  He also is famous as a “master printer” having taught the darkroom craft for years at the Maine Photo Workshops, at the New School,  and elsewhere. He is a wonderful teacher.

His photographs are sold and exhibited world wide, and this year, on his 75th birthday, there are special exhibits in multiple locations in the US and Europe.  George is also known in Jersey because his family settled here in the 17th century.  Perhaps you know of Ticetown  or Tices Lane in East Brunswick. He is known for photographing historic buildings in the Paterson area. He said that he sees beyond the image–he thinks about subject matter which will someday disappear. His book Paterson is one of his most famous.

George Tice  photographs using film and large format cameras–the kind where you stick your head under a cloth. His approach to photography is meticulous and thoughtful. He helped re-introduce the technique of platinum printing; a method that produces rich, high quality images. Some of his platinum work is shown at the show.

“Two Amish Boys” From George Tice’s book “Fields of Peace.”

The exhibit in Newark is small and somewhat unusual given its variety of themes, but I found it to be fascinating.   It only has  26 works but there is a wide variation of subjects and artists.   In addition to George’s own work, they are showing prints by a number of famous photographers including Edward Weston and Edward Steichen whose images  were printed by Tice. In addition the museum is exhibiting some wonderful prints from the 150 photograph collection which George has donated to the museum over the years including images by Cole Weston, Paul Caponigro, Edward Curtis and even a rare albumin print  of a kitchen table  by the  English inventor  Edward Fox Talbot who was a pioneer in the development of photography in the mid 1800’s.  (Editor’s note:  When photography was first invented, they photographed apples and tables, etc.  Next were naked ladies—aka nude models; the practice continues to this day.—PG)

“Buckstones, Scammonden Moor” From Tice’s book “Stone Walls–Grey Skies: A Vision of Yorkshire.”

George Tice is still working and teaching.  The gift shop at the museum carries some of his books, but also a new video in which he revisits places where he captured his most famous shots and he discusses his work and philosophy. The Newark Museum is definitely worth a visit.

The garden at the Newark Museum. Paul Goldfinger photo  2013. Left click

THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC  ORCHESTRA:  “Canon in D Major” By Johann Pachelbel