A photo of Paterson in 1977, by Joseph Verilla.
It was a time, Joseph Verilla says, when, in Paterson, “smoke spewed from factory smoke stacks, water flowed through the raceways and the Fat Man served ‘Heavy Duty Soup’.” It was, more specifically, 1977, when Verilla took 30 black and white photographs of the city, which will be on display at the Paterson Museum from Sunday through Jan. 19.
Verilla — who taught ESL, creative writing and poetry in the Paterson School District for 35 years, and now teaches creative writing at the School of Visual Arts in New York — took the photos while attending Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., and they are a part of the college’s permanent collection. He showed them to his wife while they were attending the college’s 150th anniversary celebration, last year, and he decided at that point to try to get them displayed.
An invitation to the opening of “Silk City Love Affair.”
The Paterson exhibition, titled “Silk City Love Affair,” also contains Verilla’s poetry and prose about Paterson, and some Paterson artifacts.
The opening reception, Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m., will include a reading by Verilla.
For information, visit PatersonMuseum.com.
Art of the Day is a series of posts, each focusing on one work of art on display at a museum, gallery or other exhibition space in New Jersey. These will appear daily, though not on weekends and holidays. To suggest works of art to feature, please email njartsdaily@gmail.com.
We need your help!
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
2 comments
Hi, Joe..loved your Larry Doby exhibit. I will definitely come to town to see your photos. Great luck with the showing. Hope all is well.
Hey Joe…Long time and many suns and moons since the last time we shared a concert at the Capital. It looks like your happy and doing something you really love. Lots of luck and hope your family is well!
Catch any trout lately? I would love some of that meat bread!
Be well. I’ll be in NJ for a couple of days around Thanksgiving and if I have a chance I would like to stop by.