Clyde Singer: An American Artist to premiere on PBS 45 & 49

Clyde Singer: An American Artist to premiere on Western Reserve Public Media

Program celebrates local Singer art exhibitions and release of new biography

KENT, Ohio — Aug. 21, 2008 — In celebration of the centennial birth year of Ohio painter Clyde Singer, Western Reserve Public Media presents Clyde Singer: An American Artist. The program will air on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 10:30 p.m. and will repeat on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m.

Clyde Singer: An American Artist is part of a collaborative celebration of the artist’s life and works that includes exhibits at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown and the Canton Museum of Art. Both museums will hold free screenings of the Western Reserve Public Media documentary. In addition, The Kent State University Press will soon release Clyde Singer’s America, by M. J. Albacete, executive director of the Canton Museum of Art.

The half-hour documentary features interviews by host Jody Miller with museum directors Dr. Louis A. Zona at The Butler and M. J. Albacete and with the curator of the exhibits, Lynnda Arrasmith of the CMA. These three experts provide insight into the paintings and the man behind them. Clyde Singer: An American Artist also includes interviews with community members who knew Singer as the long-time Youngstown Vindicator art columnist and assistant director of The Butler.

Funding for the program has been provided by the Mahoning County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, the Canton/Stark County Visitors’ and Convention Bureau, The Kent State University Press and The William L. Luntz Family Philanthropic Fund.

In addition to viewing the program on Western Reserve Public Media, the public can attend museum events that include free screenings of it. At The Butler, the “Clyde Singer: A Retrospective Exhibition Opening” event includes a brunch on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The general-admission cost for the brunch is $15. A free screening of Clyde Singer: An American Artist follows at 2 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, call The Butler at 330-743-1107, ext. 210.

At the Canton Museum of Art, a free opening celebration of the “Clyde Singer’s America” exhibition will be held on Thursday, Sept. 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and wine will be served. A screening of the Western Reserve Public Media documentary will begin at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 330-453-7666, ext. 102.

The 180-page biography Clyde Singer’s America, by M. J. Albacete with an essay by Nannette V. Maciejunes and Christopher S. Duckworth, is being published by The Kent State University Press. With 120 full-color reproductions of Singer’s paintings, as well as photographs of the artist at work and with his friends and family, the book places the artist in the context of his time and makes his work available to a new and appreciative audience.

Born in 1908 in Malvern, Ohio, Clyde Singer studied painting in New York and settled in the Youngstown area in 1940. His painting style is associated with the American Scene, or American Regionalism, movement of the 1920s through the 1950s. The artist, who studied under the tutelage of Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry, captured the essence of the American pageant throughout his career. Since his death in 1999, the value of his work has been steadily increasing.

About Western Reserve Public Media
Western Reserve Public Media (formerly PBS 45 & 49) is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation and consortium of Kent State University, The University of Akron and Youngstown State University. A trusted community resource, Western Reserve Public Media uses the power of commercial-free television and related services to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational services that teach, illuminate and inspire. The only broadcast television service that reaches all of northeast Ohio, Western Reserve Public Media is available to 1.8 million households and 4.4 million people in the Cleveland and Youngstown designated market areas. In an average week, over 500,000 households tune in. Through funding from eTech Ohio, the organization provides K-12 educational technology training and instructional television programming to 21,500 educators and 256,700 students in eight Ohio counties. For more information about Western Reserve Public Media, visit www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org or call 1-800-554-4549.