Urban Archaeology Dig in Trenton

The image shows the remains of early Trenton industry in an area that has been historically known as Petty's Run (referring to the stream that raced from slightly hire elevations to the Delaware River). These industries included one of the first steel manufacturers in the colonies (built in the early 1700s); the remains of which can be seen at the sight. While the dig is interesting in its own right, it is more dramatically when its location is considered: on one side is the Old Barracks (which housed the Hessian soldiers that George Washington defeated during the Battle of Trenton ), on the other is the New Jersey State House. The plan is to include the park as an attraction in the new state park being developed around the State House.

Dignity of Labor

Garden State based sculptor Jonathan Shahn is the creator of a monument to New Jersey and American workers in front of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry. "Dignity of Labor" – a seven feet tall, six feet wide, and one foot deep granite marker bearing a series of bronze reliefs -- is a fruit of the New Jersey Percent for Art Program that has contracted artists to create public art for public buildings for over 25 years.
Shahn’s monument is significant on a variety of levels.
Obviously, the art work is reflective of the building in which it stands and is a tidy fit. It also celebrates the daily worker in an era that tends to glamorize the images of wealthy tycoons, celebrities, and individuals born into wealth. But there are more subtle reason for the works significance.
In addition to being a state artist, sculptor Shahn is recognized as one of the country’s most proficient figurative sculptors. His work mixes the traditions of the past with contemporary choices, as noted by art critic Edmund Leites in "Art in American":
“Like the art of the Romans, Shahn's faces and figures achieve an enduring mystery by being at once plain, honest, contemporary and dignified. A bust of a man with his hand on his jaw rightly reminds the viewer of the unflinching honesty of classical Roman heads. The piece portrays a man thinking, but he may be thinking about nothing in particular, or something practical. Nothing deep perhaps. Yet in Shahn's hands, the act of thinking, independent of its content, becomes a facet of human activity fraught with significance; Shahn makes us, even on a plain day, like ourselves better.”
It is no wonder that Shahn’s art work is included in such collections as the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC; Princeton University Art Museum; Musei Vaticani, Vatican City, Italy; and numerous other institutions.
Additionally he is the recipient of several prominent awards and has received several public art commissions, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in his hometown of Roosevelt, NJ, which touches on another significant element regarding this sculpture.
The town of Roosevelt in rural New Jersey is connected to an artistic and democratic tradition that honored the spirit of President Roosevelt and his recognition of the fruits and dignity of labor. But there is another point to consider, Mr. Shahn, whose art stands firmly on its own and needs no further support, is a member of a family of recognized artists.
Shahn’s parents are the accomplished and historically important artists Ben Shahn and Bernarda Bryson, artists who frequently used the common man and the American worker as a subject.
With this new art work, sculptor Shahn has been provided an honest and unique opportunity to explore a visual theme and line that engaged both his parents. Just as he has been able to merge the ancient with the contemporary, here Shahn synthesizes a familiar, if not familial, theme, the American Laborer, and an American style, WPA Realism, to provide a public with a monument that connects us to the past yet asks us to realize the reality of the present.
That reality is that the everyday laborer tends and turns the world. -- (copyright, Artist's Guide by DA)

Artist's Guide: Hamilton Trenton Marsh, Trenton area, NJ

Less than a mile from one of the densest populated areas of central New Jersey -- and passed over daily by thousands of state works and travelers speeding over elevated highways -- is an unpopulated area that is home to thousands of wild animals and plants. While few people actually venture into it, this quiet wilderness is a magical place of beauty and history.
The Hamilton Trenton Marsh covers approximately 1250 acres of marshes, woods and waters ways. It offers easy walks along or around lakes, hiking trails that lead through shaded woods, secluded river views, and opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. It also provides ongoing occasions to reflect on natural wonders and the changing of the seasons. Here in winter, the frozen lake gleams like a diamond. The first traces of spring are marked by an explosion of buds and the songs of peepers. Summer offers an abundance of wild rice, the purple glow of pickerel weed, glittering sunfish, and painted turtles basking on logs. And autumn uses the colors of fire to paint the landscape and turn Spring Lake into a mirror.
Spring Lake is also known as White City Lake, taking its name from the amusement park that served as a trolley line attraction around the turn of the last century. White City Amusement Park is just one fact in the strata of history connected with the region. Other interesting elements include the presence of the Abbott Farm, where the ongoing unearthing of Native American artifacts demonstrates the consistent human presence in the area (over 6000 years!); the Watson House, the oldest house in the county was built in 1708 by Isaac Watson; Bow Hill Mansion, where Joseph Bonaparte – the king of Spain and brother of Napolean – lived with his mistress; remains of the Delaware and Raritan Canal; and the grand stairway that led visitors from the previously mentioned trolley stop and down the hill to White City’s roller coaster, plume rides, and row boat outings.
The most accessible way to enter the area is through the 200 acre John A. Roebling Park in Hamilton. Maintained by the Mercer County Parks System and named after the famed Trenton-based designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, the park is free and open daily.
Think of this entrance to the park as a passage to the road less traveled, a road that makes a world of difference.
For more information, check the Internet under Hamilton Trenton Marsh or The Friends of the Hamilton Trenton Marsh. – from the Artist’s Guide by Daniel Aubrey (copyright by DA).

Side Show Show Stopper

Witness Insectavora in front of the Coney Island Sideshow!

Her fire eating artistry is truly amazing!

Really!

State of Mind