2008 Spring Exhibitions
| Emil Lukas: Moderate Climate and the Bitter Bison 5/10/08 - 6/15/08 Jim Toia, Curator |
| ken ross: where men hide 4/6/08 - 5/4/08 Ellen Siegel, Curator Learn more about this exhibition |
2008 Spring Exhibitions
| UNcommon clay 4/6/08 - 6/15/08 Hildreth York, Curator Ingrid Renard, Assistant Curator Learn more about this exhibition |
| close encounters: The Art of Bonnie Berkowitz 4/6/08 - 6/15/08 Mary Birmingham, Curator Learn more about this exhibition |
Ken Ross
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| Waldy's Workbench, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 16 x 20 in. |
| These striking black and white photographs take the viewer on a tour of various places and spaces--the basements, garages and attics--where men retreat to get away from it all. Ken Ross creates telling portraits in the absence of his subjects by recording men's most private sanctums. His photographs are at once muscular and tender, a tribute to the essential nature of men. This revealing exhibition by the New Jersey based photographer will undoubtedly strike a familiar cord with men as well as women. Ross's photographs also provided the inspiration for Where Men Hide (Columbia University Press, 2006), a collaborative work with James Twitchell. |
 | Rick's Basement Office, 2008 Pigmented inket print 20 x 24 in. |
| Duck Blind, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 8 x 10 in. |
 | Pop-Pop's Pegboard, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 24 x 30 in. |
 | Chick's, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 24 x 30 in. |
| Al's Car Barn, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 24 x 30 in. |
| Shannon's Fly & Tackle, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 16 x 20 in. |
 | Dad's Recliner, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 20 x 24 in. |
 | Lap Dance Room, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 20 x 24 in. |
 | Dick's Train Room, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 20 x 24 in. |
 | Matt's Room, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 16 x 20 in. |
 | Deer and Beer, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 16 x 20 in. |
 | Dick's Tools, 2008 Pigmented inkjet print 20 x 24 in. |
Ken Ross: Artist's Statement
The idea for Where Men Hide was initiated a number of years ago when my then ten-year-old son suggested we set up a basement shop for our Scout projects. This seemed like a pretty good idea, and as we began planning, I thought it might be wise to visit the home shops of some friends to check out their set ups.
My family and I live in Mountainville, a tiny village of 19th century houses in northern Hunterdon County. Most of the residents have converted their barns or carriage houses to alternative uses. So to visit our first home shop we walked down the road to a neighbor's place. The owner was a middle-aged elementary school teacher who was highly regarded as a scoutmaster and woodsman. His shop was devoted to his real passion--restoring antique canoes. The place was amazing, a living testament to function and form, with a vintage pin-up overseeing the whole works.
Matt and I took home lots of great ideas for our shop that day and I got the notion that "guy places" might make an interesting series of pictures. I returned a couple of days later, and after a few false starts eventually came away with what I wanted. I have been working on and off on this project ever since.
The series had grown to forty or so images, ranging from a home slaughterhouse to my Dad's recliner, when I got a call from Jim Twitchell, and Where Men Hide was born.
My original title for this series was "Men's Rooms." This phrase still accurately describes the subjects of my pictures. The places are all exclusively male in function, sometimes private yet often communal, and they are surely visited as it becomes necessary.
Ken Ross, 2008
Ken Ross: Curator's Statement
In the past a man's home was his castle; not anymore. In the contemporary home even the man's study has been turned into the family room. Women now take the responsibility for the decoration and upkeep of the home, and we do it to our standards. So where do men go to get away from us?
About ten years ago I was talking with Ken Ross about a series of photographs that he was making. He called them "Men's Rooms." They chronicled those exclusive places where men went to be alone--dark, secretive, rooms, purpose specific, no "girls" allowed. The gate crashing voyeur in me was hooked. I wanted a glimpse into their world.
James Twitchell, professor of English and advertising at the University of Florida was having his hair cut when he picked up a March 1999 issue of Esquire magazine. The headline read, "Where We Go: Portraits of the Places Men without Women Inhabit." It caught his imagination. He and Ken Ross forged a collaboration that culminated in the book Where Men Hide, published in 2006 by Columbia Press. The subject matter was extended to include places where men congregate, but when I made my selections for this exhibition I found myself mostly drawn to those solitary rooms.
Ken Ross is not only a talented visual artist, but also a gifted story teller. He takes his photographs on film, scans the negatives, and does digital darkroom manipulation. The results are rich tones and complex values, teasing and tempting the border without ever dipping into the muddy. The rooms are brooding and dingy. The whiff of citrus cleaner or the roar of a vacuum cleaner has never invaded these spaces. The photographs narrate the stories of his subjects and serve as portraits of the men even in their absence from the image.
We women thought we knew these men. Through Ken Ross' work we learn we only knew them in our world, not theirs.
Ellen Siegel, Curator
Uncommon Clay
 Ruth Borgenicht Forrestal Village: Brown Tree (detail), 2007 salt-fired stoneware Photo: Joseph Painter | Clay is ubiquitous. If you gathered it all up and spread it evenly over the surface of the earth like peanut butter, you would create a mud layer a mile in thickness. |
| The artists in this exhibition have each found a way to make clay, one of the most ancient and common materials known to artists, "uncommon." The malleability of unfired clay offers infinite shaping possibilities. Its transformation through fire creates one of the world's most durable materials. Each of these artists is a master of the medium and the many physical, technical and chemical processes that turn earth into art. Yet what they share, aside from the fact that all are New Jerseyans, is their "uncommoness," the distinct personality of each artist's body of work. That all are residents of this State is deliberate on our part, and reflects the Hunterdon Museum's intention to highlight and bring to attention examples of outstanding creativity in our midst. Each of the artists has an impressive resume of prestigious exhibitions; all have made their knowledge and talents available through teaching and workshops. |
| Bennett Bean |  | Jim Jansma |
| Ruth Borgenicht |  | Taesik Song |
| Ka Kwong Hui |  | Mikhail Zakin |
Close Encounters: The Art of Bonnie Berkowitz
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| Bard, 2005 Hand/rod table top puppet Japanese and Czech beads, fabric, paper clay, paper, pigments |
| Bonnie Berkowitz discusses this work: "As the Bard took shape, I was influenced by the news of the war in Iraq. The idea of false reporting and censorship of the soldiers' deaths led me to give the Bard a golden pen. As in the past, Bards went to war and reported the historical events of war. So, the Bard's persona and story were created." |
 | Beaded Prince, 2005 Marionette Fabric, metallic embroidery floss, glass beads, paper clay, pigments, paper |
| All puppets tell stories; Berkowitz's puppets literally embody their stories, often in their very guts. The poem embedded in the Beaded Prince is aptly called "We Carry Our Stories With Us." In it she poses the question "How many words can a heart hold before the book flies open?" |
 | Four Answers, 1999 Book bracelet Czech glass beads, fabric, cotton cathedral beads, metallic thread Collection of Arlan and Bruce Kardon |
 | Levite's Daughter, 2000 Book shoe Japanese and Czech glass beads, leather, fabric |
 | Miriam's Glove, 2003 Paper, pigments, glass beads, thread |
| This work was inspired by the story of Miriam, a Biblical prophet who kept the Israelites alive in the desert with water from a miraculous well. The beads that flow like water through Miriam's glove represent the creativity flowing through the artist's hands. |
| Mother's Milk: Book Bra II, 2006 Fabric, wire, Japanese and Czech glass beads, embroidery floss |
Bonnie Berkowitz: Curator's Statement
Fiber artist Bonnie Berkowitz uses beading and stitching to transform ordinary objects into exquisite works of art. Her handmade books, garments, pillows, jewelry and puppets also tell stories, their richly embellished surfaces concealing poetic narratives. By stitching words directly into her art Berkowitz mirrors the way stories are embedded or even hidden within the individual psyche.
Her meticulously crafted works and seductive surfaces invite the viewer to take a second, closer look. Berkowitz explains: "When a pillow, a puppet, a book, a shoe or a garment becomes other than ordinary, when its surface becomes unfamiliar and invites closer examination, it is then that craft elevates the simple, familiar life experiences and adds wonder, joy and a longing to connect and touch, to know something more than only surface offers." This desire to go beneath the surface may explain the artist's fascination with concealing words within her objects.
Since her early childhood Berkowitz has been a storyteller, and as an artist she has found diverse and original ways to incorporate her stories into her art. Books, miniature theaters and puppets are natural vehicles for narrative, but Berkowitz also works in unexpected places. Sometimes she stitches poems directly onto surfaces, integrating the words into the decoration. Other times she conceals small books or scrolls within objects, often in the form of accordion "pages" that literally unfold before the viewer.
These transformed objects are loaded with meaning, both personal and universal. The observer who takes time to look beyond the surface is rewarded with an intimate connection to the work and its meaning. Such a close encounter with the art of Bonnie Berkowitz is internalized and carried by the viewer, where it continues to resonate.
Mary Birmingham
Curator
2008 Winter Exhibitions
 | 1/13/08 - 3/30/08 Cuba: Artists Experience Their Country Kristen Accola, Curator Opening Reception, Sunday January 13, 2-4 Panel Discussion 4pm |
 | 1/13/08 - 3/30/08 Nancy Moore Bess: Extraordinary Baskets Hildreth York, Curator Opening Reception, Sunday January 13, 2-4 See Education Department listings for workshop by artist |
Nancy Moore Bess: Extraordinary Baskets is funded by a generous grant from The Coby Foundation.
