NJN TV show to feature Jonathan Shahn

ROOSEVELT - New Jersey Network's State of the Arts program "Public/Private" will feature Jonathan Shahn this week.

The program, which will air Nov. 16 and Nov. 21, explores public and private art that is either created or exhibited in New Jersey. The last story on the program features an exhibit of Shahn's work at The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville and an interview with the Roosevelt resident at his Roosevelt studio, according to Arlene Carollo, spokesperson for the New Jersey Network (NJN).

State of the Arts has been on NJN for 25 years. The series has earned 28 Regional Emmy Awards, including New York Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2005, and Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2006. "Public/Private" is a special episode of State of the Arts that visits Shahn in addition to a private library, some of the first New Deal public murals and a new exhibition titled "India: Public Places, Private Spaces."

The program is scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 16, with a rebroadcast at 11:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

For decades Shahn has been sculpting and painting the human form in his studio, located in a corner of a Roosevelt factory that manufactures machines that create product packaging. He has also produced public art commissions throughout the state, such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Roosevelt, the bronze bust of Martin Luther King Jr. at a train station in Jersey City and an installation for the Department of Labor in Trenton.

State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa meets up with Shahn at his studio, visits the public art sites and speaks with critic Edmund Leites about the artist at the Jonathan O'Hara Gallery in New York City.

Shahn's exhibit "Imaginary Portraits" runs from Nov. 16 to Jan. 6. For detailed listings visit www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html.