BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Arts Guild New Jersey presents ROAD TRIP: MY AMERICA\, an exh ibition exploring America through the creative viewpoints of eleven arti sts. \; The show will be held at 1670 Irving Street\, Rahway\, New J ersey. The exhibition opens with a free\, public reception on Sunday\, F ebruary 12\, 1:00-4:00 PM\, and runs through March 15\, 2012. Gallery ho urs are Saturdays and Sundays\, 1:00-4:00 PM\, and during regular office hours on Mondays\, Tuesdays\, and Thursdays\, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. \; The exhibit is wheelchair accessible.\nParticipating artists include: S usan Marie Brundage (PA)\, Walter Chandoha (Annandale\, NJ)\, Don Edler (Brooklyn\, NY)\, William Graef (NY\, NY)\, Neal Korn (Union\, NJ)\, Mar ianne McCarthy (Brooklyn\, NY)\, Nancy Ori (Berkeley Heights\, NJ)\, Han nah Rappleye (Brooklyn\, NY)\, Rocco Scary (NJ)\, Robin Stein (Seattle\, WA)\, and Sue Zwick (Summit\, NJ).\nIn the last century\, traveling by back road and interstate has been one of the most popular ways of seeing destinations throughout the United States. &ldquo\;In much the same way a true American road trip links together national landmarks\, roadside attractions\, and cultural hotspots over the course of many miles\, ROAD TRIP: MY AMERICA weaves together a number of uniquely American themes&r dquo\;\, says curator Rachael Faillace.\nTouching on everything from roa dside architecture to the concept of the American Dream\, ROAD TRIP: MY AMERICA examines America from a variety of sometimes contradictory persp ectives. \;\nWalter Chandoha&rsquo\;s photographs of New York City s how a historic and now perhaps sentimental view of America in the 1950&r squo\;s. After the close of WWII\, Chandoha roamed the streets of New Yo rk as a college student\, capturing the sights and sounds of city life i n photographs that still resonate with us today.\nRocco Scary shows &ldq uo\;Bye\, Bye My Coney Island Baby&rdquo\;\, a sculptural work made of h andmade paper and wood\, and &ldquo\;Coney Island Souvenir Book&rdquo\;\ , a small book of handmade paper. \; Both pieces reference the billb oards\, posters\, and hand-painted signage from Coney Island&rsquo\;s bo ardwalk and speak of a bygone era. \;\nBy contrast\, Don Edler turns a critical eye on consumerism in modern American society in his piece & ldquo\;Fast\, Cheap and&hellip\;What do I stand for?&rdquo\; \; A vi deo monitor replaces the stars of an American flag constructed out of dr ywall. \; The screen scrolls through TV commercials hawking automobi les and fast food. \; Edler describes the piece as &ldquo\;an attemp t at understanding what drives middle class America&rdquo\;.\nSusan Mari e Brundage paints landscapes of rural America\, but skips over the pasto ral scenes of rolling fields and farmland\, opting instead to paint mobi le homes\, highway signage\, and r.v. parks. \; Brundage is interest ed in sensitizing viewers to &ldquo\;the social realities that exist aro und them\, even though they represent something most Americans would rat her ignore.&rdquo\;\nRobin Stein shows photographs from his series &ldqu o\;Trace&rdquo\; recording a move from West to East Coast. This explorat ion retraces in reverse the routes of passages used through the early fr ontier of the Northwest Territory. Stein calls it &ldquo\;an exercise ex ploring the discontinuity between expectations and the in situ experienc e of a place.&rdquo\; \; In this context\, his photographs depict od d landmarks and forgotten places chronicling his cross-country expeditio n.\nSue Zwick shows photographs taken during return trips &lsquo\;home&r squo\; to Herrin\, IL\, the hometown of her husband and his family.  \; Paying homage to this small Mid-western town\, Zwick&rsquo\;s images memorialize familiar landmarks and a way of life that changed slowly ove r 40 years.\nMarianne McCarthy&rsquo\;s Modern Stone Age series makes us e of unusual perspectives of a theme park attraction based on The Flints tones\, a popular television cartoon from the 1960&rsquo\;s. \; A fl ying raptor\, crumbling concrete and steel palm tree\, and &lsquo\;bedro ck&rsquo\; mound stand out against a vivid blue sky in these panoramic p hotographs.\nNancy Ori&rsquo\;s photographs depict scenes from the Ameri can Southwest. Ori &lsquo\;s keen eye composes thoughtful juxtapositions of imagery and content. In one picture\, a door decorated with painted hand prints frames the American flag that hangs in its windows. \; A sticker pasted to the glass is of a Native American man and says\, &ldq uo\;Man Belongs to the Earth\, The Earth Does Not Belong to Man&rdquo\;. \nNeal Korn&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Liberty Bell&rdquo\; illustrates an America n icon of freedom drawn from various unique perspectives\, giving the im pression that the bell is ringing. He shows two other collaged drawings of landmarks from unusual points-of-view: The Orioles baseball stadium i n Baltimore\, Maryland\, and a Civil War-era cannon war memorial in Unio n\, New Jersey.\nLooking closely at William Graef&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Tread &rdquo\; sculpture series\, the familiar salutations &ldquo\;Welcome to& hellip\;&rdquo\;or &ldquo\;Greetings from&hellip\;&rdquo\; America&rsquo \;s tourist destinations can be seen. Using fragments of torn truck tire s\, Graef stamps and imprints the bold\, illustrated lettering from vint age postcards into the rubber treads. He addresses the concept of &lsquo \;the road&rsquo\; both literally and figuratively in his use of materia ls and imagery.\nHannah Rappleye looks squarely at the concept of the Am erican Dream in her photography series by the same name. Ten photos take n in Washington D.C. on the same day capture two demonstrations with ver y different agendas.\nFor more information on the exhibition or gallery\ , call 732-381-7511 or visit www.agnj.org. \;A catalog for the exhib ition will be available at the Arts Guild during and following the openi ng reception. URL:http://clark.patch.com/events/road-trip-my-america-art-exhibit-opens- february-12-2012-b9860e5f SUMMARY:"\;ROAD TRIP: MY AMERICA"\; ART EXHIBIT OPENS FEBRUARY 12 \, 2012 LOCATION:1670 Irving St\, Rahway\, NJ 07065: 1670 Irving St\, Rahway\, NJ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR