Inside Aljira

Long post, over 2,000 words and 22 fotos. Feel free to skip the text and just view the fotos.

I finally got to Aljira, "A Center for Contemporary Art" in Downtown Newark opposite Trinity & St. Philip's Episcopal Cathedral, last Saturday, the first day of the Bank of America's "Museums on Us" program this month.

I saved only $3 ("Senior" is not defined, but I assume it means 65 or over, which I will qualify for only at the end of this year), but when you are dipping into an IRA every couple of months because Social Security does not meet all expenses; there wasn't a lot in your IRA's to begin with; and the stock-market crash chopped the value of your IRA's by 21% and more, every $3 you can save helps.

I called ahead, as I advised others to do June 6th, and was told the Center was open until 4pm. Alas, my call got cut off because my house, bizarrely, is in a cellfone "dead zone". You know those commercials Verizon runs about your not having to worry about dead zones because they have the largest network? Yeah? So how come I can't make a call from within my house unless I am on my third floor? I'm planning to get rid of Verizon if I qualify for SafeLink, a governmentally supported cellfone program for people of limited means, like us "old folks" on Social Security. (My late mother used to deliver meals to shut-ins whom she fondly called "old folks", even tho she was older (90 at her death only a few weeks after her last meal delivery) than most of the people she delivered meals to. She used to spend a few minutes with each of them because a lot of old people don't get much company. We should fix that.)

The first artwork I noted was this one,* No One's Land (2009) by Priscila De Carvalho, which shows as art the cómplex of wires from telefone poles that I have to deal with all the time in taking pix in Newark. In Manhattan, where I lived for 35 years, the fone lines, power lines, TV cables, etc., are underground, so pix of scenery are cleaner. Here in Newark, I have to duck my camera under such wires, or brazenly include an interesting spread of them. (The black curved lines in the foto above are extensions of the wires below.)

This is like those paintings one sees of Manhattan rooftops with their untidy water towers. The untidiness of it all is part of the 'charm'. Yeah, charm, right, charm. That's the ticket (picture Jon Lovitz as "The Pathological Liar" on SNL).

The white objects in this brown circle (Miranda Small's Abbey's Formula(?) initially look like rocks, but they are hollow, and some have a strand of ribbon coming out.

I asked the young, soft-spoken (black) man at the front desk (the door was locked when I arrived, and he had to unlock it; curious, no?), who was probably the guy I spoke with on the fone (twice, including callback after I found a good spot outdoors), if fotografy was permitted. He initially thought I asked if fotografy were part of the current show, but when I clarified that I have a fotoblog and I'd like to take pictures, he made a call to find out, since apparently no general policy on the matter had been conveyed to him. Meanwhile, as requested, I signed the Guestbook. The person on the other end of the fone said it was alrite, so I took some pix.

This drawing and the next are by Jennifer Salomon.

After a while, a young Oriental man came out and introduced himself. He had looked at the guestbook and thought he recognized the name. Edwin Ramoran, he was. Director of Exhibitions and Programs. I asked him what kind of name "Ramoran" is, and when he said Filipino, I told him that I have a sister-in-law and former sister-in-law both from the Philippines. I did not mention that I am the only one in my family who has not (yet) made it to the Philippines. Nor did I mention that I once had a half-Filipino/half-Jewish boyfriend for 6 or 8 weeks.

I asked if he had seen my blog, and he said he thought he had when he was researching something, so wanted to introduce himself. I then asked him about some of the things on view. He said, among other things, that NJ artists were represented in the show, but the bulk of artists are not from here. Part of me resents that. Part accepts, very grudgingly, that for Newark to become an arts powerhouse, it has to show the best works by the best artists willing to exhibit here.

Edwin said this was by a NJ artist. It is in fact by a Newark artist, Noelle Lorraine Williams: Even You Mama? Frankly it was Realized that they were Nasty not just "Lesbians" (2009).

Edwin said he could get me a press kit if I'd like, and of course I would like. Press. That's me. The electronic, blogospheric press, but press of sorts. That reminds me that the instructor at a one-evening seminar run by the Citizens Campaign (for broad individual involvement in, for instance, community boards and city commissions) said that sometimes cities will create a commission if a subject-matter area is not currently covered by the range of commissions already in existence. He asked us what kind of commission we might be interested in serving on, that is, what our interests are.

Germán Tagle's Castle.

When I mentioned my fotoblog, he said that maybe Newark could establish a city commission on blogging, arranging press-like credentials for bloggers, etc. I have yet to do anything about this, but it would save a lot of hassle for fotografers and friction with police if there were a place that fotografers and fotobloggers could go to for credentials they could show to police when they are challenged for taking pix of public buildings, railroad stations, etc.

This diagramatic work by NJ artist Joseph Waks is a bit misleading. On a flag, "hoist" does refer to the height of a flag as flown from a vertical pole, but it has a second meaning, the vertical edge closer to the pole. The edge where the word "HOIST" appears on this diagram is more properly called the "fly". The reasons should be self-explanatory. (I am unclear what part of NJ Joe Waks is from. He does not say, at least not in the obvious places on his website one would look for such info. Why, exactly, is that?)

Edwin disappeared for a few minutes to get a press kit, and I continued to explore the exhibition and take pix. When he returned with the press kit, I put it down so I'd have my hands free for pictures, and talked to him about what I was seeing. He explained that the current show is the tenth in a series of such shows. I found more info in the printed materials in the press kit.

Now in its 10th year, the Aljira Emerge program has provided more than 250 artists opportunities to develop career management skills and to show their work with a group exhibition and fully illustrated catalog. The program exemplies Aljira's longstanding commitment to advancing the careers of underrepresented and emerging artists.

Aljira's website explains the Emerge program, whose tenth exhibition is the one now on view.

Aljira Emerge is a strategic career management and exhibition program designed to provide artists with the resources to overcome obstacles, focus on goals, and move forward in their creative careers. Participants learn to challenge the assumptions about working artists that keep them from succeeding. Emerge addresses practical areas of concern to artists including curatorial practice, legal and financial issues, gallery representation, exhibitions, public art opportunities, and marketing. Emerge culminates with a group exhibition and fully illustrated catalog.

Since 1999, Aljira Emerge has supported emerging and mid-career artists living and working in and around the New Jersey/New York metropolitan region [oh, I like that: NJ first] to organize, plan, and sustain their careers. Professional Development Workshops are led by seasoned artists and professional coaches ... who guide artists in developing a personal strategic plan and managing a career as arts professionals. * * *

Maybe it's just me, but I see Tweety Bird in this, tho Tweety's eyes are blue. So maybe this is some cartoon kid, with blue hair. (And I thought only old ladies had blue hair.) Whatever the cartoon characters may be (in the paired painting above, perhaps even one of the odd ladies of Les Triplettes de Belleville), the associations seem cheerful, happy, rather than grim.

The program meets bi-weekly on Saturdays from April to June and alternates Professional Development Workshops at Aljira and Talks at off-site locations.

The application process is competitive and the class is limited to 22 artists. Please, see guidelines for eligibility and application process. If accepted to the program you will be asked to pay only 5% of the estimated cost of this program, or $350, as an investment in your career and a commitment to the program. We welcome all eligible artists to apply. Limited, additional need-based financial assistance is available.

Roxana Perez-Mendez's Mi y Mi Gente. Look carefully to see the ghostlike video-projection figures (presumably) of illegal aliens jumping down from the back of the truck, as reflected in the mirror.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a CD in the press kit that included 9 images with ID's. Curiously, the text checklist of those images on that same CD did not have a filename extension, such as .DOC, .RTF, or .PDF. Double-clicking on it produced a request to choose a program to open it, and Adobe Reader, my first guess, didn't work. WordPerfect, however, did. Also, the De Carvalho work on disk did not include the wires — to me, the most striking feature — of the finished work as shown in the second foto of today's blogpost.

This poster (which I think is Nyeema Morgan's Elemental Configurations), shows another type of alien, among Earth-origin people.

Edwin explained to me that despite a name that suggests an Arabic origin (Al-Jazeera comes to my mind), "Aljira" is pronounced with a long-I, not long-E (aal.jíe.ra; note that if everyone used my Fanetik system, everyone would know that "Aljira" has a long-I, not long-E — as well as the pronunciation of every single word in the English language, including newly coined words). It comes from an Australian aboriginal word meaning "dreamtime". (By the way, I'm a little surprised that black Americans seem to feel no connection whatsoever to Australian aborigines nor Melanesians in places like Papua New Guinea.)

Twenty years ago, artist Victor L. Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood envisioned Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art as a place, which would embody the essence of its etymological roots. By selecting the name Aljira, the Australian Aboriginal word for dreamtime, the founders defined the heart of Aljira’s mission, a mission that embraces the concepts of timelessness and open possibilities—ideas inherent in the creative process.

This closer view of the poster above suggests that all or almost all of the little fotos are of black characters/actors in the various shows of the "Star Trek" franchise.

Aljira continues to be open to possibilities and plays an integral role in the professional life of many artists. Our work began on the fourth floor of a building with no elevator, no air conditioning, and no direct access to the street. We have made progress, and our move to 591 Broad Street has positioned us to open our doors and take our campaign for contemporary art to the street.

Here's the view of the street from inside Aljira. Note the symbolic but not real canopy of blue steel beams jutting out from the building façade.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was 4:15, past the normal closing time for Aljira on a Saturday, but Edwin didn't seem to mind. In the course of our conversation I discovered that he is another of those people in Newark arts who live in NYC, he in Harlem. I suggested it would be a lot easier to live in Newark if he's going to work in Newark, and he said he has a very nice apartment with a lot of space in a nice area of West Harlem near City College (which I graduated from), so is loath to move. I told him that it took me 12 minutes to get from my house to Aljira (on a Saturday). But it only takes him around an hour, or a bit more, to get here from Harlem by public transportation. That is the good and bad of Newark's closeness to NY. I tried to lure him with thoughts of a house with no neighbors over you or under you; windows on every side; a yard with trees and room for flowers and veggies. Well, I have planted the idea of moving. We'll see if it grows.

A short video (Niagara (2008) by Jaye Rhee) shows people in slickers by a pool looking out over a picture of Niagara Falls. I have actually been in a slicker near the real Niagara Falls, and can recommend a tour.

I have a little suggestion for Aljira: you can save money and paper in the future by printing your press kit presentation pieces back-to-back. It may be a trivial saving, but the environmentalists among us hate to see wasted paper, even one sheet (multiplied by however many copies you made of that kit). You never know who is an environmentalist, tho in Liberal places like Newark, and urban NJ more generally, you might expect most people to be environmentally concerned.

"Emerge 10" remains on view only thru September 26th. Check the Aljira website for hours. And you might want to call ahead to make sure it's open as scheduled.

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* To the extent I was able to establish with certitude the identification of the particular work and artist, I state them in the captions. But I arrived late and was not methodical about taking a foto of the identifying number on the wall by each work as I fotograffed the work, so leave some ID's blank. I have alerted Edwin Ramoran of Aljira about this blogpost, and if he supplies more ID's than I was able to come up with, I will add the ID's and delete this footnote. I asked Edwin if there were links at the Aljira website to the various artists' own websites and he said no. Management had thought to include such links, but decided not to do so unless every artist participated. I told Edwin that I don't understand that, and the absence of such links would require me to do my own research to find websites, if any. I suggested that Aljira's stance should be that this linking is a resource we offer you, but if you don't want to avail yourself of it, that's your choice. (But other artists' websites would be linked to, in any case.)