♪♪ >>> COMING UP ON "NYC-ARTS," A PROFILE OF ARTIST JEFFREY GIBSON, WHOSE BEADWORK, CERAMICS, SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS ARE INFLUENCED BY CHEROKEE AND CHOCKTAW TRADITIONS.

>> YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE A FOREIGNER, YOU DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT OR WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ALL THE TIME.

SO YOU HAVE THIS KIND OF SUBJECTIVE COMPREHENSION OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU THAT IS AN ESTIMATED GUESS.

>> A VISIT TO THE NOBLE MARITIME COLLECTION AT THE HISTORIC SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER ON STATEN ISLAND.

>> OUR MISSION IS TO CELEBRATE THE PEOPLE AND TRADITIONS OF NEW YORK HARBOR, AND WE ALSO CELEBRATE THE MODERN WATERFRONT.

>>> AND A LOOK AT ONE OF THE TREASURES IN THE COLLECTION OF THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM.

>> IT HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTWORKS IN THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION, IN PART BECAUSE OF ITS EERIE BEAUTY AND THE SENSE OF QUIETNESS IN THE FIGURE'S FACE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT AT ODDS WITH THE STRANGE MARKINGS ON THE SCALP.

IT'S EXQUISITE AS A WORK OF ART, AND IT HAS A POIGNANCY THAT'S LENT TO IT BY THE ARTIST'S OWN STORY.

>>> FUNDING FOR "NYC-ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THEA PETSCHEK IERVOLINO FOUNDATION.

THE LEWIS "SONNY" TURNER FUND FOR DANCE.

THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.

JODY AND JOHN ARNHOLD.

ELISE JAFFE AND JEFFREY BROWN.

CHARLES AND VALERIE DIKER.

THE NANCY SIDEWATER FOUNDATION.

THE MILTON AND SALLY AVERY ARTS FOUNDATION.

ELROY AND TERRY KRUMHOLZ FOUNDATION.

AND ELLEN AND JAMES S. MARCUS.

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY MEMBERS OF THIRTEEN.

"NYC-ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY -- >> FIRST REPUBLIC BANK PRESENTS "FIRST THINGS FIRST."

AT FIRST REPUBLIC BANK, FIRST REFERS TO OUR FIRST PRIORITY.

THE CLIENTS WHO WALK THROUGH OUR DOORS.

THE FIRST STEP?

RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY CLIENT IS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH UNIQUE NEEDS.

FIRST DECREE.

BE A BANK WHOSE CURRENCY IS SERVICE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL BANKING.

THIS WAS FIRST REPUBLIC'S MISSION FROM OUR VERY FIRST DAY.

IT'S STILL THE FIRST THING ON OUR MINDS.

>> AND BY -- >> SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES.

WE HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT AUCTIONS.

OFFERING VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ARTS SINCE 1941.

WORKING TO COMBINE KNOWLEDGE WITH ACCESSIBILITY.

WHETHER YOU'RE A LIFELONG COLLECTOR, FIRST-TIME BUYER, OR LOOKING TO SELL.

INFORMATION AT SWANNGALLERIES.COM.

♪♪ >>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO "NYC-ARTS."

I'M PAULA ZAHN ON LOCATION AT THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON CENTRAL PARK WEST, THE FIRST MUSEUM FOUNDED IN NEW YORK CITY IN 1804.

CURRENTLY ON VIEW IS AN ONGOING SPECIAL INSTALLATION, OUR COMPOSITE NATION.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS' AMERICA, INSPIRED BY THE POWER OF DOUGLASS' POST-CIVIL WAR SPEECH.

HE WAS A FORMER SLAVE, AND HIS WRITINGS RECOUNT A COMPELLING PERSONAL STORY.

AGAINST ALL ODDS IN 1869 DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION, HE WAS IN HIGH DEMAND AS A GIFTED SPEAKER AND TRAVELED THE COUNTRY ON A SPEAKING TOUR.

ON DISPLAY ARE OBJECTS AND DOCUMENTS THAT CONVEY DOUGLASS' INCLUSIVE VISION FOR A REBORN AMERICA AND ADVOCACY OF THE RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS.

VISITORS ARE INVITED TO EXPLORE THE IDEAS OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY, WHICH WERE CENTRAL TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS' PASSION.

ALSO ON VIEW IS "SCENES OF NEW YORK CITY," THE ELLIE AND SARAH HIRSCHFELD COLLECTION.

HERE ARE NORMAN ROCKWELL'S GRAMERCY PARK 1918, JOHN HENRY FLAKMAN, "DREDGING IN THE EAST RIVER," 1880, AND "SNOW IN CENTRAL PARK" BY ROBERT HENRY, 1902.

THE WORKS IN THIS EXHIBITION PORTRAY A NEVER-ENDING LOVE AFFAIR WITH NEW YORK CITY LIFE, ICONIC STRUCTURES, AND LANDSCAPES.

THE PAINTINGS PORTION OF THE "SCENES OF NEW YORK CITY" WILL BE ON VIEW UNTIL AUGUST.

>>> TONIGHT ON OUR PROGRAM, WE'LL MEET ARTIST JEFFREY GIBSON.

BORN IN COLORADO SPRINGS, GIBSON GREW UP AROUND THE WORLD THANKS TO HIS FATHER'S CAREER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

HE SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD IN KOREA AND GERMANY BEFORE EVENTUALLY MOVING BACK TO THE STATES.

AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, HE WENT TO LONDON TO STUDY AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART.

HIS BEADWORK, CERAMICS, SCULPTURES, AND PAINTINGS ARE INFLUENCED BY CHEROKEE AND CHOCKTAW TRADITION.

INSPIRED BY SAMPLES AND REMIXED POP MUSIC, HE COMBINES HIS CULTURAL HERITAGE WITH MINIMALISM AND ABSTRACTION.

HIS STUDIO IS LOCATED IN HUDSON, NEW YORK, IN AN OLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHICH GIBSON AND HIS HUSBAND SCULPTOR CONVERTED INTO STUDIO SPACE, NOW HOME TO A GROWING ARTISTIC COMMUNITY.

>> GROWING UP AS A FOREIGNER IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK ABOUT A LOT NOW.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE A FOREIGNER, YOU DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT OR WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ALL THE TIME.

SO YOU HAVE THIS KIND OF SUBJECTIVE COMPREHENSION OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU THAT IS AN ESTIMATED GUESS.

I THINK ABOUT THAT A LOT IN TERMS OF HOW I USE MATERIALS BECAUSE I USE A LOT OF MATERIALS THAT I THINK MANY PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW THE CONTEXT THAT I'M DRAWING THEM FROM OR WHAT THE CULTURE IS OR THE HISTORY IS.

SO MY MOTHER'S FAMILY LIVES IN OKLAHOMA.

MY FATHER'S FAMILY LIVES IN MISSISSIPPI.

AND THOSE CHOCKTAW AND CHEROKEE CULTURES ARE EXTREMELY DIFFERENT.

SO WHEN I WOULD GO THERE, IT WOULD BE TO VISIT MY FAMILY.

I NEVER WANTED TO OBSERVE MY FAMILY.

YOU WANT TO BE A PARTICIPANT IN YOUR FAMILY.

SO WE DON'T LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND THINK, OH, THAT'S NATIVE AMERICAN.

THEN I BEGAN THINKING, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE QUILTS THAT GRANDMA MADE, OR WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE JEWELRY THAT SHE WORE OR THE DRESSES THAT SHE MADE?

WHAT DID THE SONG MEAN THAT SHE WOULD SING?

AND THEN IT BECOMES SOMETHING CULTURALLY SPECIFIC, I SUPPOSE.

BUT OTHERWISE, IT'S JUST KIND OF INHERENTLY FAMILIAL.

IT REALLY STARTED FROM A PLACE OF, LIKE, I WANT TO TAKE PART IN ALL OF THESE THINGS.

I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO BEAD.

THEN THAT STARTS OFF PATTERN.

IT STARTS OFF DESIGN.

IT STARTS OFF COLOR CHOICES.

IT STARTS OFF THE CHALLENGE OF WHAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO WITH BEADS.

I WANTED TO MAKE FOUND OBJECT WORK.

AND OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, SOMETIMES THEY ARE MESHED TOGETHER.

I'M INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THE TRANSFORMATIVE NATURE OF MATERIALS AND HOW THE LANGUAGE CAN SHIFT FROM A BEADED TRIANGLE TO A PAINTED TRIANGLE TO A WOVEN TRIANGLE AND WHAT THOSE THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF A TRIANGLE MEAN.

THERE'S THIS PERIOD OF CLUB MUSIC THAT WITH THE TRANSITION OF ANALOG MUSIC INTO DIGITAL, AND IT WAS THE SAMPLING AND THE TURNTABLES WHERE PEOPLE COULD SAMPLE MUSIC THAT REALLY HAD AN IMPRESSION ON ME.

SO THIS KIND OF REPETITIVE NATURE OF REPEATING AND PICKING SOMETHING FROM ONE CONTEXT AND STICKING IT INTO ANOTHER ONE AND MAKING SOMETHING NEW.

I CAN SPEND THE TIME IN MY STUDIO MASHING UP, REMIXING, REMAKING, TAKING APART, RECONSTRUCTING.

AND I CAN INVITE OTHER PEOPLE TO TAKE PART IN THAT WITH ME.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO -- JUST TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE PROCESS.

WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE ASSISTANTS ALL THE TIME, AS MUCH AS WE CAN.

IF IT WAS JUST ME MAKING, FOR INSTANCE, A PUNCHING BAG, WE WOULD BE SEEING ONE A YEAR.

THE LINES BETWEEN CRAFT AND WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY BEEN THOUGHT OF AS FINE ART, THE DECORATIVE EMBELLISHMENT, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, IN THIS ENVIRONMENT ARE EQUALIZED.

IF YOU LOOK AT POWWOW GARMENTS, THEY'RE SO LOUD AND COLORFUL.

WITH THAT AS MY INSPIRATION IN MANY WAYS, THERE WAS NO LIMIT TO THE COMBINATIONS OF COLORS.

IT'S MORE THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE COLOR DOES IN COMBINATION WITH EACH OTHER.

SO IT'S EITHER REALLY KIND OF POP OR ELECTRIC OR REFLECTIVE OR OPTIC.

I DO HAVE AN ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE IDEA OF MINIMALISM AND HOW MINIMALISM LEADS TOWARDS, LIKE, MAXIMAL DENSITY.

I USED TO THINK THAT MINIMALISM WAS ABOUT MAINTAINING THIS QUIET, SILENT PLACE, LIKE THIS VOID UNFILLED WITH THINGS.

AND NOW I REALIZE THAT THE REMOVAL OF INFORMATION IS IN AN EFFORT TO SEE HOW MUCH IS PRESENT IN A VERY SMALL SPACE OR IN A VERY LIMITED PALETTE.

THE IDEA IS TO, LIKE, SAY SLOW DOWN THE COLOR RED AND UNDERSTAND HOW MANY SHADES OF RED THERE ARE, SLOW DOWN THE COLOR OF BLUE AND UNDERSTAND HOW MANY SHADES OF BLUE, TONES OF BLUE.

AND THEN OF COURSE IT OPENS RIGHT BACK UP INTO INCLUDING EVERY SINGLE COLOR.

MY TRAINING IS AS AN ENTIRELY ABSTRACT ARTIST, BUT THE TEXT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO NAME THIS ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE LANGUAGE OF ABSTRACTION.

AND AT SOME POINT WHEN THE AUDIENCE WASN'T ABLE TO GET THE CONTENT THAT I FELT I WAS PUTTING INTO THE ABSTRACTION, I DECIDED TO JUST START PUTTING THE TEXT DIRECTLY ON IT.

MOST OF THE TITLES, FOR INSTANCE, COME FROM APPROPRIATED LYRICS.

AND THEN IT JUST KIND OF HIT.

THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE WORDS DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT BECAME A REALLY BIG PART OF THE WORK FOR ME.

PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKING AT MY WORK AT THE TIME WOULD ALWAYS QUESTION, HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO WHO YOU ARE?

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO YOU AS A NATIVE AMERICAN PERSON, AS A GAY PERSON?

IS THIS SUBJECTIVITY SOMEHOW REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT EXPERIENCE?

AND IT SEEMED NO MATTER HOW HARD I WOULD SAY, NO, IT'S NOT, IT ALMOST COMPOUNDED MORE FOR PEOPLE TO LOOK FOR CONNECTIONS IN THE WORK.

AND AT SOME POINT I DECIDED TO OWN THE WORDS NATIVE AMERICAN, TO OWN THE WORDS GAY, AND NOT GIVE THEM ANY KIND OF POWER OVER DETERMINING WHO I AM.

BUT I WAS FINE WITH THE WORK BEING DESCRIBED IN THAT WAY BECAUSE IT IS TRUE.

THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE, AND IN THE 20th CENTURY AT THAT TIME AND EVEN TODAY, THAT'S VERY MUCH HOW WE DESCRIBE EACH OTHER.

♪♪ I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE ALL VERY, VERY LAYERED, COMPLICATED PEOPLE.

IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD, WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THAT OR TO SHARE THAT WITH EACH OTHER, BUT IT'S WHAT YOU CAN DO IN ART.

♪♪ >>> NEXT, WE'LL VISIT THE NOBLE MARITIME COLLECTION AT THE HISTORIC SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER ON STATEN ISLAND.

THE MUSEUM IS LOCATED IN THE FORMER DORMITORY OF A RETIREMENT HOME FOR MARINERS FOUNDED IN THE 19th CENTURY.

TODAY THE MUSEUM IS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF SAILORS' SNUG HARBOR.

IT ALSO HONORS THE LEGACY OF ITS NAMESAKE, THE MARINE ARTIST JOHN A. NOBLE, WHO FOUGHT TO SAVE THE HISTORIC SITE IN THE 20th CENTURY.

♪♪ >> SAILORS SNUB HARBOR IS THE FIRST DEMOCRATIC CHARITABLE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY.

IT WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE WILL OF ROBERT RICHARD RANDALL, WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER HAMILTON IN 1801.

WHEN ROBERT RICHARD RANDALL WAS A YOUNG MAN, A KID COULD GO TO SEA AT THE AGE OF 12 OR 14 AND MAYBE NEVER COME HOME AGAIN, END UP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY.

AND RANDALL HAD SEEN THAT OVER THE YEARS AS HE WENT TO SEA.

SO WHEN HE WAS ON HIS DEATHBED, HE SAID THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE A HOME FOR AGED, DECREPIT, AND WORN OUT SEAMEN.

THE TRUSTEES BOUGHT A FARM HERE ON STATEN ISLAND AND GRADUALLY THAT BECAME AN ENORMOUS, SELF-SUSTAINING INSTITUTION.

SAILORS SNUG HARBOR WAS AN 80-ACRE FACILITY.

IT HAD EIGHT DORMITORIES, A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH, A CHAPEL, A SANITARIUM WITH NINE WARDS, A 400-BED HOSPITAL, A FARM, BARNYARD, PIGSTY.

ALSO THEY EMPLOYED A LARGE STAFF OF PEOPLE.

IT WAS A SELF-SUSTAINING PLACE.

THIS BUILDING WAS A DORMITORY.

THERE ARE ABOUT 36 SMALL ROOMS, TWO MEN APIECE.

IT WAS THE SECOND BUILDING CONSTRUCTED HERE ON-SITE.

I WOULD SAY OVER THE YEARS, IT SERVED MAYBE 10,000 PEOPLE.

THEY PROVIDED HEALTH CARE, FOOD, RECREATION.

IT WAS A DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION.

THEY RESPECTED EACH OTHER.

EVERYONE WAS CALLED "CAPTAIN," AND THE MEN WORKED.

THEY MADE ARTIFACTS.

THEY DID BASKET WEAVING AND SKRINSHAW.

THEY BUILT SHIP MODELS AND TALKED ABOUT THEIR PAST, TALKED ABOUT THEIR LIVES AT SEA.

BY THE 1930s, YOU SEE THINGS LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY COMING INTO BEING.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, PEOPLE DID NOT GO TO SEA NEVER TO RETURN.

SO THE POPULATION HERE BEGAN TO DWINDLE, BEGAN TO CLOSE BUILDINGS.

THEN THEY BEGAN TO TEAR DOWN BUILDINGS IN THE 1950s.

THE TRUSTEES DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD GIVE THE PROPERTY TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK FOR $1.

AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK SAID, NO, THANKS.

WE DON'T WANT IT.

SO THE TRUSTEES SOLD IT TO A DEVELOPER, AND THE COMMUNITY THEN REALLY REALIZED THIS IS GOING TO BE LOST.

AND SO LED BY PEOPLE LIKE JOHN A. NOBLE, THEY MANAGED TO PERSUADE JOHN LINDSEY TO BUY THE PROPERTY BACK AS A PARK AND CULTURAL CENTER.

JOHN NOBLE GREW UP IN AN ART COLONY THOUGH HE PREFERRED PLAYING WITH THE FISHERMEN'S CHILDREN, AS HE SAID, IN PROVINCETOWN.

THE FAMILY MOVED TO NEW YORK IN THE EARLY 1920s.

HE WENT TO SEA FIRST WHEN HE WAS 13 ON A LARGE SCHOONER, EVEN SUMMERS WHILE HE WAS IN SCHOOL, HE WENT ON SAILING VESSELS.

THEN HE JOINED THE CREW OF THE ANNIE C. ROSS.

HE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE.

HE DISCOVERED A SHIP'S GRAVEYARD AND BEGAN TO HAUNT IT.

PORT JOHNSTON WAS THE LARGEST GRAVEYARD OF WOODEN SAILING VESSELS IN THE WORLD.

HE WENT THROUGH THE HARBOR IN HIS ROW BOAT, DRAWING, SKETCHING, SLEEPING UNDER WRECKS AND MEETING ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED ON THE WATERFRONT.

PORT JOHNSTON TO HIM SYMBOLIZED THE AGE OF SAIL, AND HE FOUND THIS TRAGIC.

AND THAT BECAME THE PASSION OF HIS LIFE.

THIS CABIN WAS ON THE PIER OF THE BONE YARD.

HE SAID ONE DAY IN A FIT OF CREATIVITY, HE CUT A HOLE IN THE CEILING TO MAKE A SKYLIGHT, AND OVER THE YEARS, LITTLE BY LITTLE, HE ADDED THINGS LIKE -- THIS IS AN ENGINEER'S BED.

THIS IS WHERE HE WENT TO DO HIS ART.

LATER ON, THE PIER ON WHICH THIS LITTLE CABIN SAT BEGAN TO ROT AWAY, AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, HE WAS FRANTIC.

THERE'S NO PLACE ELSE HE COULD DRAW.

SO HE BUILT A BARGE.

HE SAID, THAT'S HOW I BECAME THE ARTIST OF THE FLOATING STUDIO.

THERE WAS NO CUTENESS OR COLOR TO THIS.

I BUILT THE BARGE TO SAVE MY STUDIO.

AND THAT'S WHERE HE WORKED ALL THROUGH THE '40s UNTIL HE DIED.

HE DID ABOUT 150 OIL PAINTINGS, AND HE DID 80 LITHOGRAPH EDITIONS.

THEN ASTONISHINGLY, WE HAVE 6,000 PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WE TOOK OF THE HARBOR.

OUR MISSION IS TO CELEBRATE THE PEOPLE AND TRADITIONS OF NEW YORK HARBOR.

WE DO IT THROUGH THE WORK OF JOHN NOBLE, WHO CAPTURED SO MUCH OF THE 20th CENTURY HISTORY IN HIS WORK.

WE DO IT BY STUDYING SAILORS SNUG HARBOR, WHICH IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT COMPONENT NOT ONLY OF MARITIME HISTORY, BUT A HISTORY OF TAKING CARE OF FRAIL AND ELDERLY ADULTS AS WELL.

AND WE ALSO CELEBRATE THE MODERN WATERFRONT.

♪♪ >> FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CULTURAL EVENTS IN OUR AREA, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE WEEKLY EMAIL AT NYC-ARTS.ORG/EMAIL.

TOP FIVE PICKS WILL KEEP YOU UP TO DATE ALL YEAR ROUND.

AND BE SURE TO CONNECT WITH NYC-ARTS ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.

♪♪ >>> NEXT ON OUR PROGRAM, A VISIT TO THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM LINCOLN CENTER, IT IS THE PREMIER INSTITUTION IN THE COUNTRY DEDICATED TO THE APPRECIATION OF TRADITIONAL FOLK ART.

IT IS ALSO DEVOTED TO RESEARCHING AND PRESERVING THE CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS.

NOW CURATOR STACY HOLLANDER PRESENTS ONE OF HER FAVORITE WORKS IN THE COLLECTION.

>> HI.

I'M STACY HOLLANDER.

WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM.

I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU TODAY FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST SURPRISING AND UNIQUE WORKS OF ART IN THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION.

IT'S A SCULPTURE FROM THE MID-19th CENTURY BY A VERY LITTLE KNOWN ARTIST NAMED ASA AMES FROM EVANS AND ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

THIS PIECE IS UNIQUE NOT ONLY IN ASA AMES' BODY OF WORK BUT REALLY IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN FOLK ART AND AMERICAN FOLK SCULPTURE.

THIS BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL, HER FEATURES ARE EXTREMELY FINE AND TYPICAL OF AMES' WORK.

AND THERE'S A QUIETUDE IN HER FACE AND IN HER WHOLE PRESENTATION THAT IS TYPICAL OF HIS WORK AS WELL.

THERE'S JUST THIS SENSE OF INNOCENCE AND BEAUTY IN THE WORK THAT HE DID, ESPECIALLY THE CARVINGS OF CHILDREN.

THIS PIECE IS SOLID WOOD, SO ALL OF THE DETAILS THAT WE SEE IN IT ARE CARVED INTO THE SURFACE, AND THEN IT'S BEAUTIFULLY PAINTED.

BUT OF COURSE WHAT DISTINGUISHES IT ARE THE STRANGEST MARKINGS ON HER SCALP.

THESE ARE INDICATIVE OF WHAT WAS TRULY A MAJOR MOVEMENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY IN AMERICA OF PSEUDOSCIENCE CALLED FRENOLOGY.

IT WAS AN EXAMINATION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN, AND IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO DIVIDE THE HUMAN BEHAVIORAL SPECTRUM INTO 27 FACULTIES, AND EACH OF THE FACULTIES WAS NUMBERED AND ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR PART OF THE CRANIUM.

THERE WAS A BELIEVE AT THE TIME THAT IF YOU FELT THE BUMPS ON SOMEONE'S HEAD, YOU COULD TELL HOW FINELY DEVELOPED THAT PARTICULAR FACULTY WAS, WHETHER IT CONTROLLED YOUR SEXUAL APPETITES, YOUR HUNGER, YOUR AGGRESSIVENESS, YOUR SECRETIVENESS.

ASA AMES SADLY WAS SUFFERING FROM CONSUMPTION, WHICH HAD NO CURE IN THE 19th CENTURY BEFORE THE INVENTION OF ANTIBIOTICS.

THE FREN LOGICAL HEAD, WHICH PROBABLY -- IN 1850, AT THE TIME HE WAS LIVING WITH A DOCTOR OF ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, WHO WAS TRYING TO SET UP A WATER CURE CLINIC AS A WAY TO CURE CONSUMPTION.

SO IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT ASA AMES CARVED THE FREN LOGICAL HEAD IN FACT FOR THE DOCTOR WHO WAS ALSO INVOLVED WITH FRENOLOGY.

ASA AMES IS KNOWN TODAY FOR REALLY A SMALL BODY OF WORK, AROUND 12 OR SO CARVINGS IN WOOD, ALL IN WOOD, AND A REMARKABLE IMAGE SURVIVES OF ASA AMES ACTUALLY AT WORK WHERE HE'S CARVING WHAT APPEARS TO BE A SELF-PORTRAIT.

IN THE 1850 CENSUS, THE ONLY ACTUAL DOCUMENT WE HAVE OF ASA AMES, HE'S LISTED HIS OCCUPATION AS SCULPTURING, WHICH SUGGESTED THAT HE THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS A FINE ARTIST AND NOT AS AN ARTIST IN WOOD, WHICH WAS MORE OF AN APPLIED TRADE.

THE FREN LOGICAL HEAD BY ASA AMES HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTWORKS IN THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION.

IN PART BECAUSE OF ITS EERIE BEAUTY AND THE SENSE OF QUIETNESS IN THE FIGURE'S FACE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT AT ODDS WITH THE STRANGE MARKINGS ON THE SCALP.

IT'S EXQUISITE AS A WORK OF ART, AND IT HAS A POIGNANCY THAT'S LENT TO IT BY THE ARTIST'S OWN STORY.

I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED LEARNING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ASA AMES AND THE FREN LOGICAL HEAD THAT HE CARVED AROUND 1850.

THERE ARE SO MANY REALLY FASCINATING AND BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF ART TO DISCOVER AT THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM.

PLEASE COME VISIT US SOON.

>>> NEXT TIME ON "NYC-ARTS," A VISIT TO FOUR FREEDOMS PARK, WHICH PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE IDEALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT.

>> WE HAD WELL OVER 600,000 PEOPLE.

I'VE SEEN PEOPLE WEEP AS THEY LOOKED AT JOE DAVIDSON'S SCULPTURE OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.

>> AT LOOK AT A HIGHLIGHT AT THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

>> BEHIND ME IS THE RETURN OF THE 69th REGIMENT, THE IRISH REGIMENT IN 1862 FROM THE SEAT OF WAR.

WANG HAS USED THIS AS A KIND OF SHOWPIECE TO SHOWCASE HIS ABILITY AS A GENRE PAINTER, AS A PORTRAITIST, AND AS A LANDSCAPIST.

>>> AND A PROFILE OF ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR MEMBERS OF MTA'S MUSIC UNDER NEW YORK PROGRAM.

>> THAT'S THE POINT OF PLAYING STREET MUSIC.

PUT DOWN THE TECHNOLOGY AND JUST DANCE.

CONNECT.

THAT'S ALL.

♪♪ ♪♪ >>> I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR PROGRAM THIS EVENING.

I'M PAULA ZAHN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING AND HOPE YOU'LL JOIN US NEXT TIME.

TO ENJOY MORE OF YOUR FAVORITE SEGMENTS ON "NYC-ARTS," VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT NYC-ARTS.ORG.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> FUNDING FOR "NYC-ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THEA PETSCHEK IERVOLINO FOUNDATION.

THE LEWIS "SONNY" TURNER FUND FOR DANCE.

THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.

JODY AND JOHN ARNHOLD.

ELISE JAFFE AND JEFFREY BROWN.

CHARLES AND VALERIE DIKER.

THE NANCY SIDEWATER FOUNDATION.

THE MILTON AND SALLY AVERY ARTS FOUNDATION.

ELROY AND TERRY KRUMHOLZ FOUNDATION.

AND ELLEN AND JAMES S. MARCUS.

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY MEMBERS OF THIRTEEN.

"NYC-ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY -- >> FIRST REPUBLIC BANK PRESENTS "FIRST THINGS FIRST."

AT FIRST REPUBLIC BANK, FIRST REFERS TO OUR FIRST PRIORITY.

THE CLIENTS WHO WALK THROUGH OUR DOORS.

THE FIRST STEP?

RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY CLIENT IS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH UNIQUE NEEDS.

FIRST DECREE.

BE A BANK WHOSE CURRENCY IS SERVICE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL BANKING.

THIS WAS FIRST REPUBLIC'S MISSION FROM OUR VERY FIRST DAY.

IT'S STILL THE FIRST THING ON OUR MINDS.

>> AND BY -- >> SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES.

WE HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT AUCTIONS.

OFFERING VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ART SINCE 1941.

WORKING TO COMBINE KNOWLEDGE WITH ACCESSIBILITY.

WHETHER YOU'RE A LIFELONG COLLECTOR, FIRST-TIME BUYER, OR LOOKING TO SELL.

INFORMATION AT