New Jersey. Stated as Fact: Photographic Documents of New Jersey by Michael Bzdak and Charles Stainback.

New Jersey State Museum, 1989. Exhibition catalog, illustrations include photos by Berenice Abbott, George Tice, Carroll Siskind, Stephen Shore, Sol Libsohn, David Graham, Robert Frank, et al. Check list of all works exhibited, including both 19th and 20th century photographs. Wraps (not issued in hardcover), fine.  Summary:

Stated as Fact: Photographic Documents of New Jersey (1989), published by the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, is a slim, 55-page exhibition catalog co-curated and written by art historians and curators Michael Bzdak and Charles Stainback.

The publication serves as a visual and critical investigation into the state of New Jersey, exploring how historical and contemporary documentary photography has constructed, framed, and occasionally subverted the public's perception of the state's identity.

Core Themes & Content

• The Blueprint of the Garden State: The catalog's primary thesis centers on how photography captures the complex, overlapping landscapes of New Jersey—balancing its dense industrial centers, sprawling suburban infrastructure, and rural environments. Rather than leaning on idealized landscapes, the book embraces a gritty, literal, and unvarnished examination of the state's geography.

• A Convergence of Eras: Structurally, the text and exhibition span both the 19th and 20th centuries. It acts as a historical bridge, connecting early archival, sociological, and municipal records with the subjective eye of the post-war American avant-garde.

• The Document as Art: Bzdak and Stainback explore the shifting definition of the "photographic document." They challenge viewers to consider where raw historical evidence ends and fine-art expression begins, especially when everyday regional subjects are isolated by a camera lens.

• An Elite Roster of Masters: Despite its regional focus, the volume features an extraordinary lineup of American master photographers who turned their lenses toward New Jersey's communities and industrial zones. Featured artists include:

  • The Historians and Social Documentarians: Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Berenice Abbott, and John Vachon.

  • The Modernists and Street Photographers: Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Stephen Shore, George Tice, Sol Libsohn, Judy Fiskin, and David Graham.

Exhibition Checklist

As an official museum publication, the volume concludes with a comprehensive exhibition checklist. This cataloging acts as a valuable permanent record of both the 19th-century historical plates and the contemporary 20th-century prints that were assembled at the State Museum to map New Jersey’s cultural and industrial footprint.

Stated as Fact uses a localized canvas to grapple with a much broader national conversation about the power of photography. Through Bzdak and Stainback's curation, the state of New Jersey is presented not merely as a geographic location, but as an ideal, complex microcosm of the changing American social and architectural landscape.