Hatry photo, Menard Gallery Heads and Tales

If Heide Hatry’s provocative photographic show—Heads and Tales–at the Peirre Menard Gallery, (10 Arrow St. in Cambridge) is meant to shock: it does. In fact, for a few moments,  it made me fear for the mental health of the artist, who has (beautifully–even lovingly)  photographed her sculptures portraying female victims of violent death.

Hatry, who grew up in Germany and moved to New York City in 2003,  sculpted life-sized female mannequins from clay and covered them with untreated pigskin (a cold wet sample of which is available in the gallery with the notice: “please touch”). She added raw meat for the lips and fresh pig eyes—and in some cases, flies, safety pins, and other props—creating, according to the gallery writeup, “the illusion of life where there is none”.

Hatry then photographed the mannequins—some enlarged to 20”x 30”, others more life-size, at 12” x 18”.

Viewed from afar, the photographs appear lifelike, but close up, you realize the subjects are constructs—adding physical and intellectual layers to the artist’s statements on the horrifying situations faced by many women—and on photography’s role in bringing the inanimate to life.

Hatry’s “views” are further emphasized by accompanying tales about the “women’s” lives (and deaths) as imagined by 27 writers—some of them well known feminists.

The show is well-conceived and displayed, which makes its subject matter all the more disturbing.

The exhibit, which opened Feb 13, 2009, will run through March 15. It corresponds with the release of Hatry’s book, Heads and Tales, and with readings, book signings and the premiere of a play.

AMH

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

On Valentine’s night,  I spent two hours chatting with one of my new tech support friends, in India.  Eventually, he determined that the huge icons on my desktop were not caused by a previously diagnosed corrupted user account or Vista–that my computer—a bad hard drive–was to blame.

The next morning, Walt, from a list serve I subscribe to, suggested a two-click fix.

If you need to create PDF files, you can try PDFCreator — open source and free.  Much cheaper than Adobe Pro 9.  In fact, the only real good reason to get Adobe Acrobat Pro anymore is if you want to use their review, annotation, and editing tools.  For PDF creation, PDFCreator works great, and evidently FoxIt is the better reader.

If your icons are large because of a setting, then try the following — http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/12/09/how-to-resize-and-change-vista-desktop-icons-size/

Both solutions worked.

Later, my Indian tech support friend  emailed to tell me that he was glad to have resolved my issue, was closing the case, and that it was a pleasure serving me.(Having previously spent 64 hours trying to resolve MS issues, I was remarkably patient, it I do say so myself).

Still, much as I appreciated the companionship on  Valentine’s night, I’m afraid the relationship just isn’t working out.  It’s not easy to break up with Microsoft…but, clearly, that’s something I need to do.

Comments (and lawyers!) welcome!

AMH

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

I know there’s nothing more boring than other peoples’ computer problems but now that I’m in my 61st hour of  Microsoft Vista difficulties and my sixth day of being unable to use Comcast email for my business,  I’m going public  in hopes that Microsoft and Comcast will take note and send reinforcements–or of finding  a lawyer who would like to start a class action suit or two.

If anyone is interested in either saga or has any advice, I’ll  be happy to post the details (or email them–should that become a possibility).  In the meantime, I look forward to continuing my newfound friendships and morning, noon and late night phone calls with the tech support communities in India, New Jersey, Nova Scotia, Boston, Newfoundland, and North Carolina . Everyone has been most gracious and sympathetic, and I do appreciate finally having a social life.

AMH
PS–Did you know that Microsoft will help with Vista issues for free? From the support web site, it looks like you have to pay $59 per call or online chat–so I wasted three months emailing back and forth with 24-hour response time.  According to the site, free support is available only for Service Pack I  will be available only through March 31, 2009, but at the rate my case is being resolved, it should be available for years to come.  Click here for the url.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

After spending Friday night in jail,  today,  street artist Shepard Fairey was arraigned today in Boston for allegedly  pasting “Andre The Giant” graffiti near an entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Boston University bridge across the Charles River–nine years ago.   Fairey also countersued the Associated Press–who  sued him last week   for basing his now famous Obama “Hope” poster on a copyrighted  AP photograph.

Having seen the poster at Fairey’s opening at the Institute of Contemporary Art last week, I agree with him that the poster significantly transformed the photo (actually, I think, improved it and turned it into art)  and, thus, does not violate copyright law.  What’s more, Fairey has not sold the work–and, while he might have enhanced (and now harmed) his reputation by distributing it for free, he did not directly use it for financial gain.

The “tagging” of public places and ensuing  arrests are part and parcel of Fairey’s art.   He  and his work present a provocative and humorous challenge to authority; the bruhaha  publicizes Fairey’s image and images,  delights upstarts, and, I suppose, infuriates the powers that be. It also  promises to enlarge the coffers of Fairey,of the ICA (whose director,  Jill Medvedow recently sent out an email of support on Fairey’s behalf)  and, especially, of the lawyers.

Still,  with the world  going to rack and ruin, it’s nice to know that some people are making money– and  fun to have a new set of old issues to focus on.

AMH

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Over a brown-bag lunch at Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, New York Times Business  Columnist Joe Nocera opened his talk on the daunting question, “The Economy: Where Are We Headed?” with a resounding:  “I don’t know.”

He  offered background on the current (and future, he predicts) financial crisis, focusing first on the  housing foreclosure  crisis, and then on the banking industry.

Regarding housing, he suggested that– unfair as it may seem to people who didn’t buy into risky mortgages they couldn’t afford–we as an nation should bite the bullet and find ways to help those who did hold onto their homes.  One suggestion:  rather than  kick people out of foreclosed  homes, banks could rent them to the forfeiters  with an option to buy them back in five years with a 10 per cent down payment.

Regarding banking, Nocera said he sees no reason why “shareholder value” should remain the cornerstone  of banking industry strategy.  He  feels little sympathy for those who bet that they’d win big profits–up to 25 per cent–but lost, he said.

In Nocera’s view, Washington currently seems paralyzed by indecision over how to proceed.

One option  is the “bad bank,” in which the government buys all of the bad assets but that option has stalled because no one knows what the assets are worth.

Another is an  “RTC”  strategy like that used during the Savings and Loan Crisis of the  1980s,  in which the government formed the Resolution Trust Corporation to take over  banks. The RTC  allowed some to fold, and sold others, without the assets to new owners. The RTC  then gradually sold aoff the assets, with riders assuring that if the new owners made money, the government would receive a portion of the profits.  The process took ten years, Nocera said, but it worked.

While  President Obama  is confident about his ability to make decisions on many topics, the economy isn’t one of them, Nocera said.   Obama  chose  Bush holdover Tim Geitner as Treasury Secretary over former Harvard President Larry Summers mainly for personality reasons, but, Nocera predicted, Geitner is not likely to be able to move away from the thinking of the previous administration in order to come up with much needed  new options.

Nocera commented  wryly that his  blog, the Executive Suite,  has served as a clearning house for ideas on how to solve both the economic crisis–none of which appear to have been taken up by either administration.

Nocera’s latest post as of this writing is entitled” Bankers Gone Bonkers.”  It appeared on January 30, 2009 at http://executivesuite.blogs.nytimes.com/.

AMH

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Yesterday was sparkling cold and sunny so Sheila and I decided to drive up to Salem to visit Treasures Over Time, one of  the loveliest shops I’ve ever been in–and for someone whose favorite sport is shopping, that’s saying a lot.

Founded by proprietors Nestor and Sivan Sergott,  the shop, recently relocated to 139 Washington Street, features  gems and geology: hand chosen, hand made decorative, home and office and jewelry items made by international artists and artisans from mineral materials all over the world.

As the Webite explains, Treasures Over Time is all about time. The hundreds of millions of years it took nature to present us with her gifts. Time brings diversity of form, color, texture, morphology, landscape and clues about ancient life into our lives.

Serpentine Vase

Some of my favorite pieces are made of serpentine–rock sculpted into useful objects, then fired at high temperatures, which brings out their colors.

We also loved the jewelry–and the

Pendant

fantastic collection of fossils, and        rough mineral specimens, all beautifully displayed  in the two-room  store.

Full disclosure,  Sivan’s grandmother and mine were sisters; one reason for the trip was to discuss  a show of photographs of rock formations I took on the South Coast of Australia–which, we agreed will happen sometime this Spring.

Anita

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, of Cambridge, MA.

Watching the Obama inauguration ceremonies on TV, I felt disappointed by poet Elizabeth Alexander’s “Praise Song for the Day”…but  agree with Martha Swartz of  Philadelphia, who points out in her email newsletter that that the poem works better read than heard.  It’s included below.

Martha, a lawyer who regularly sends out political commentary,  also offers links to photos of the inauguration: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html.

Inauguration photos by Wilmington, DE photographer Kathe Kahn Morse are posted at http://gallery.me.com/kathemorse#100008 .\

If you’d like me to link to your photos, commentary or anything else regarding the inauguration…or actually…anything else at all…please leave a comment to let me know!

Anita

Here’s the poem:
PRAISE SONG FOR THE DAY
by Elizabeth Alexander

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair. Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice. A woman and her son wait for the bus. A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.” We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider. We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.” We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see. Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of. Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables. Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.” Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need. What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance. In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Thought you might like to know that my client, Scientia Advisors, is offering five free Webinars aimed at helping major corporations, emerging companies and innovative startups choose strategic directions.

The Webinars, in February, 2009, will present Scientia’s latest industry reviews. The reviews are based on interviews with scientists, clinicians, manufacturers, and product developers as well as on traditional market research.

The Webinars will initially be presented live, with opportunities for interactive participation.  Less-detailed Webcasts will subsequently be available for download from the Scientia Advisors Web site.

Here’s the schedule; click on any of the titles for more information or to register.
Anita

· Riding the High Value In Vitro Diagnostics Wave: Translating Promise Into Clinical Reality With Managing Partner Harry Glorikian, 11 AM Tuesday, February 10

· Back to the Future: Cell Market Entrance Strategies, Post-Stem Cell Deregulation

With Partner Arshad Ahmed, 11 AM Wednesday, February 11

· Drivers of Success in Functional Foods
With Principal Bob Jones 2 PM Wednesday, February 11

· Molecular Diagnostics: Identifying Candidates for Success in an Innovation-Driven Market

With Harry Glorikian, 11 AM Thursday, February 12

· Point of Care: Enabling Broad Product Adoption Through Maximized Access to Health Care Sites
With Harry Glorikian, 11 AM Thursday, February 19

Scientia Advisors, based in Cambridge, MA and Palo Alto, CA, is an international management consulting firm specializing in growth and operational strategies for major and emerging companies in health care, life science and biotechnology.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, of Cambridge, MA.