It’s not that often that I leave an art exhibit with a new way of  seeing the world, but that’s what happened after I visited the ICA’s dance/draw exhibit, last weekend.

As described in an ICA press release, the show, ” organized by  ICA Chief Curator Helen Molesworth,  traces the journey of the line from changes in drawing in the 1960s to its explosion off the page and into three-dimensional space—ultimately finding itself in the realm of dance.  It  features  some 100 works—including video, photography, drawings and sculptural objects and  live performances.”

Based on the ICA Website’s  rather  formal description ( “In both dance and drawing, the line, as an independent means of expression, was liberated from the historical ideal of perfect form, to become a  mobile, open-ended element used to explore history, memory, and the expressive potential of the body”)   I thought the show would  dry and difficult–which is why I managed to avoid seeing it until just before the exhibit closes- on January 16.  And am I sorry!  Because what I found was a  refreshing new way of experiencing both dance and drawing–as well as objects and movement in the real world–that I’d like to go back to again and again.

One section of the exhibit shows how artists used body parts and objects rather than traditional drawing implements to make art. For example,  Janine Antoni used her eyelashes and mascara to make patterns on canvas;  Trisha Brown’s superimposed  tracings of her feet show motion in themselves; John Cage drew with plants and seaweed; David Hammons bounced a basketball covered with dirt onto a white background,  and Mona Hatou, below, drew with her own hair dipped in hair dye.   Photos and the works themselves document the artmaking processes–which often  involved dance-like  movement. 1.

In another room, a section called “The Line in Space” includes works in which  thread, string, or wire were used to form line–off of paper or canvas.  Of this group, I especially liked the mesmorizing simplicity of  Fred Sandback’s “Untitled Sculptural Study”   hung  in space.

If I recall correctly, a thread red  acryllic yarn hung up and down from ceiling to floor to the left, blue from the wall to the red thread, and yellow parallel on the floor–forming a three-dimensional representation of a Mondrian-like grid.

I also got a new perspective on  charcoal drawing  when I encountered Cornelia Parker’s  Hanging Fire (Suspected Arson)  sculpture, which is part of the ICA’s permanent collection. Composed of chunks of charcoal hung from the ceiling on wire mesh, in this new context, the piece becomes a charcoal drawing– in space.

A third section, “Dancing,” explores challenges to traditional modern dance as dance performances were moved off the stage into  the “real world”  of streets, mountains, the subway and such.  “Babette Mangolte’s photographs and films of Judson dancers Trisha Brown and Lucinda Childs show us the dancing body, in its entirety, rigorously defining itself as a line in space…. Juan Capistran’s break dancing in a museum (below) “similarly engages dance to defy protocols of normative behavior. “2.

Finally, in the section “Drawing,”  younger artists demonstrate “how movement, performance, and drawing are ineluctably mixed… ” . 3. For example, Tseng Kwong Chi photographs  Bill T. Jones Body Painting with Keith Haring; Fiona Banner copies  life-drawing manuals, in which the figure often appears to be in flight; Silke Otto Knapp  traces photographic images of dancers  onto luminous silver-painted canvases, and  Helena Almeida has herself photographed while she is drawing.                                                         4.  

I loved these and  many other works in the exhibit–and can’t do justice to them all.   But my favorite was a video in which dancer William Forsythe explains and shows  how he as a dancer moves– over, under and around electronically superimposed lines and shapes –forming new lines, shapes and volume.    5.

The day after seeing the show, I could not help but notice  lines, shapes and volume in relation to individuals’ movement everywhere in my life.

Draw/Dance will be at the ICA through January 16, 2012, with major support  fromThe Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Ronald and Ronni Casty, the HBB Foundation, and Jacqueline Bernat and Adam Hetnarski.

Credits:

1.Janine Antoni (Bahamian, born 1964)
Loving Care, 1992-96
Color video, sound; 35:50 minutes
Performance on January 7, 1996, MATRIX
Gallery, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art,
Hartford, CT
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine,
New York

2.Helena Almeida (Portuguese, born 1934)
O Atelier/The Studio, 1983
Black-and-white photograph
67 3/8 x 48 7/8 in.
Framed: 69 ¼ x 50 ¾ in.
Exhibition copy, courtesy of the artist

3.Juan Capistran (Mexican, born 1976)
The Breaks, 2000
Inkjet print
40 x 40 in.
Collection of the New Museum of Contemporary
Art, New York, The Altoids Curiously Strong
Collection, Gift of Altoids
4.Tseng Kwong Chi (Chinese, 1950-1990)
Bill T. Jones Body Painting with Keith Haring,
1983
Gelatin silver selenium-toned photograph
20 x 16 in.
Muna Tseng Dance Projects / Estate of Tseng
Kwong Chi and Courtesy of Paul Kasmin Galler

5.William Forsythe (American, born 1949)
Lectures from Improvisation Technologies, 2011
Color video, sound; 9:54 min.
The Forsythe Company and ZKM, Karlsruhe,
2011

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a public relations firm located in Cambridge, MA.  Harris, its founder and president, also blogs there.

My friend Bill Lichtenstein is working on what’s certain to be a wonderful nonprofit documentary film about WBCN–a groundbreaking Boston radio station deeply involved in the political and cultural changes of the 1960s.  He’s seeking funding through Kickstarter: an innovative fundraising mechanism that will be of interest to entrepreneurs of all stripes–in order to help change the future.

The film, entitled  “The American Revolution: How a Radio Station, Politics and Rock and Roll Changed Everything”  documents Boston radio station WBCN from 1968 (when Bill, as a 14-year-old high school became the station’s youngest DJ) through 1974.

As reported in the Boston Herald (Dec. 5, 2011), during those years, Bruce Springsteen did his first radio interview ever on WBCN;  Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir,  of the Grateful Dead, and  the Allman Brothers’ Duane Allman stopped into the studio at 2 AM and jammed for an area. When Nixon invaded Cambodia, “BCN got local college kids to strike.

WBCN  “had tremendous national impact both musically and politically,” Lichtenstein told the Herald. “We changed the world one time,” Lichtenstein says.  And, with this film,  “we can do it again.”

Lichenstein, who has produced TV news and documentaries for ABC and PBS, has gathered more than 50,000 documents, photos,  and tapes–which include performances by Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

He has also garnered some $50,000 in contributions–but needs to double that amount by Dec. 19 to complete the film.

He’s  seeking $104 thousand in donations via Kickstarter–a nonprofit that allows contributors tax deductions–but gives fundraisers just a month to get the entire bundle.That is, Kickstarter takes an all or nothing approach:  Lichtenstein must  bring in all $104K by Dec. 19–or he gets nothing.

After three weeks of fundraising, he’s  now almost at the halfway point, with just a week to go.

More info and the film trailer are available at  www.KickstartWBCN.com.  Lichtenstein and Kickstarter will be featured on Boston’s WCVB-TV  “Chronicle”  on Dec. 13, 2011.

——Anita Harris

Anita M. Harris is president of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations firm located in tyhe Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square,  Cambridge, MA.   Anita  is a former national journalist who got HER start in the alternative press–as a founder of the Harrisburg Independent Press and writer for  the The Real Paper and Phoenix in Boston, MA.

c. AMH 2011

At 1PM, on Friday, September 18, collaborators from MIT, CIC, the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship, several venture funds, the City of Cambridge, Ernst & Young and others will inaugurate the world’s first “Walk of Fame” for entrepreneurs, according to an email from  Tim Rowe, president of  the Kendall Square Association.

The event, open to the public, will be held at the Kendall Square T stop in front of the Marriott Hotel’s  newly redesigned plaza.

Seven of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time will be honored with granite stars unveiled in the public way, according to Rowe.

While many of these individuals have passed away, one of these seven will be on hand for the ceremony (the identities of the honorees are secret until the event).

In future years, additional stars will be placed, building a kind of
“freedom trail” of innovation through Kendall Square.

“The Entrepreneur Walk of Fame has a mission to inspire young people to
consider careers as entrepreneurs,” Rowe wrote.  “While there are public efforts to
honor great athletes and actors, nowhere today is there a public place
where entrepreneurs are honored for their contributions to society.
Those contributions are significant. Entrepreneurs bring new
innovations to market in ways that improve the human condition, and
entrepreneurs help millions of people become productively employed,
thereby building healthy economies.”

-Anita Harris

###

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing communications firm located in Kendall Square. Cambridge.

On my way to a meeting at MIT, I happened to spot some stunning photos through the window of what turned out to be the Philip Alden Russell Gallery of the  David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. I contacted the Institute-which opened in March–and learned that the photos are featured in a gallery designed to connect the community with the Koch’s work.  I happily accepted Curator  Alex Fiorentino’s offer  to show me around.

On my tour,  Fiorentino  explained that the galleries are designed so that visitors can explore current cancer research projects, examine striking biomedical images, hear personal reflections on cancer and cancer research, and learn about the historical, geographic and scientific contects out of which the Institute emerged. The photos, he said, were taken under microscopes by Koch research scientists and collaborators–chosen through a contest,  then blown up, printed on fabric, adhered to stretchers over light sources,  Each has a scientific story to tell. The photo just below for example, is one I took of an EI-fluorescence micrograph by  Christian Kastrup of the Anderson and Langer Labs at the Koch. It shows a new  technique for delivering treatments to a blood vessel (seen in blue) using nanoparticles and microparticles. According to a Koch publication,  the original image was dark, with nanoparticles, microparticles and the blood vessel each stained a different color. But, in this version–to which my photo does not do justice— the original colors are inverted.

Zebrafish Eye

Another beauty is Kara Cerveny’s confocal micrograph–“Sunrise in the Eye: the Making of a Retina.”  Taken by the Koch collaborator at the Steve Wilson Group at University College, London, it is part of Cerveny’s investigations into how stem cells in the zebrafish eye differentiate to become more specialized cells. Her goal is to gain insight into how the normal development process goes awry in cancer and other diseases. There are ten award-winning photos displayed– all viewable any time through the Koch windows or inside during gallery hours–9-5 on weekdays.

Other gallery highlights include exhibits on five new technologies to combat cancer being developed at the Koch;  a “video box” providing 16 presentations by cancer patients, their families and scientists;  wallpaper showing cellular processes, a mosaic floor composed of thousands of tiles laid out to form a map of the Kendall Square area; and  timelines showing the parallel histories of science and engineering at MIT. The timelines converge in the present, with  the Koch’s cross-disciplinary approach to cancer.  And–just inside the lobby there’s an attractive cafe.

16 Personal Stories--Video display

As a journalist, I’d be remiss not to mention that David Koch, an MIT alum–has been the subject of some controversy. According to a 2010 article in  the New Yorker, as a  cofounder  of  Koch Industries,   the nation’s second largest privately-held corporation, he and his brother Charles are major funders of conservative/libertarian causes.  But, Wikipedia reports,  gifts of  $600m  for scientific research and the arts surpass David Koch’s  political donations.

While ordinarily I wouldn’t think that cancer research would be much of a draw, the gallery,  named for  financeer Philip Alden Russell– a mentor of funder Charles B Johnson and his wife Anne Johnson– is well worth a visit. Or several.

–Anita M. Harris

Koch Gallery Interpretation c. Anita M. Harris 2011

Koch Institute Public Galleries 500 Main St. Cambridge, MA Open to the public 9-5 weekdays. Admission Free.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing communications firm located in Cambridge, MA.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending a retirement party for Bob Giles, curator of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard for 11 years. A good time was had by all–except for Dorothy Parvner of the class of 2009–who was unable to attend because she’s  being held against her  will somewhere in Iran. The Boston Globe reports that the 39-year-old Al Jazeera reporter, who traveled to Syria two weeks ago to cover prodemocracy protests, was detained there, then deported to Iran and has not been heard from since.

Today, Bob sent the following request; I’m happy to oblige:

Dorothy Parvaz Dear Members of the Nieman Community, I’m writing once again to ask your assistance in publicizing the plight of Dorothy Parvaz, our Nieman colleague from the class of 2009. As mentioned in earlier messages, Dorothy was detained at the Damascus airport on April 29 while on assignment for Al Jazeera, and then deported to Iran on May 1. The Iranian government has not acknowledged that she is in the country. As part of the global efforts now underway to win her freedom, I request that if you can, you publish an article about Dorothy or mention her on air; post this photo of her on your websites and Facebook pages; and reach out to other journalists and ask that they do the same. Many believe that keeping her story in the news will keep Dorothy safe and put pressure on Iran to release her. The Nieman Foundation and many of our fellows are appealing for Dorothy’s release, sharing information and seeking diplomatic access to Iranian officials who might know about her detention or who can intercede on her behalf. A related story that appeared in The Boston Globe may be of interest: “Colleagues recall missing journalist as relentless on job” Thank you for your continued support, Bob Giles Curator

Earlier this month, in Kendall Square, two entrepreneurs described new medical devices designed to provide low-cost “point-of-care” tests-far from laboratories or medical centers in the developing world.

Speaking at a meeting of  Health Care and Life Science Special Interest Group of the MIT Enterprise Forum at the British Consulate  former Mass Biotechnology Council  President Una Ryan described the paper-based  medical testing technology that her new nonprofit enterprise,  Diagnostics for All (DFA), has licensed from the George Whitesides Laboratory at Harvard.

The technology allows bodily fluid to accumulate in patterns on postage-stamp sized pieces of paper–to be used for  multiple  tests simultaneously. DFA’s first project, funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a liver function test to monitor the effects of drugs for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and  to help manage viral hepatitis.  The test kits will first be sold in convenience stores in Africa at a cost of approximately ten cents each, Ryan said.

Bill Rodriguez, CEO of Daktari Diagnostics, showed a handheld, point of care, battery-operated diagnostics device the size of a small lunch box or portable radio that will first be used to test for AIDS in Africa–at a cost of $1.50 per test–starting next year. He pointed out that while drugs are available to treat the  33 million people worldwide who have  HIV– “ten million of them don’t know it.”

Scientia Advisors Partner Arshad Ahmed, who  served as moderator, (and is my client) pointed out in a recent blog that emerging markets may have the opportunity to adopt the latest point-of-care products, leapfrogging developed countries, in some instances–and that “emerging markets are where we will see the first application of low cost and inovative disruptive technologies at work.” Launching in the developing world allows companies to test out and market technologies before going through the rigorous approval process required in the developed world.

I was blown away by the prospects for  devices like these. I asked when and how they will affect the  costs and structure of, say, US healthcare–and whether those who make and market our costly technologies will try to keep these new testing devices from our marketplace. Ryan, whose nonprofit, DFA, will have a commercial wing, responded that she does not expect opposition from stakeholders in our current system. And a marketer for the device and pharma industries was adamant that  developments like these will not impact her customers–for many years,  at least.  Given the vicissitudes of the US regulatory system and financeers needs for ROI, that may well be true.

But, clearly,  technologies like these have tremendous potential to transform health care–and I’m excited at their prospects– for the long-neglected developing world.

—Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is President of the Harris Communications Group, a marketing and public relations firm specializing in health, science and technology industries, worldwide.

Apologies, once again, for the long absence….but this time I have a good excuse. I’ve moved  to the country!

Actually, I still live in Cambridge–but after 29 years in that lofty perch overlooking the Cambridge Common I now live in a new house–just across from Fresh Pond Reservoir.

New home, new neighborhood, new outlook on life–less than a mile and a quarter from Harvard Square.

A few observations:

When I told people I was moving after so many years in the same building, I usually got one of the following responses:

(1) Why are you moving NOW? (As if I should die in a place I NEVER liked. Too little space, too much noise and no parking!)

and

(2) That’s wonderful. Now you have a good reason to get rid of your stuff. (Huh? The main reason I”m moving is that I want more ROOM for my stuff).

The new place is gorgeous-three floors, a garage, a basement, big windows, light…and just a 10-minute bike ride from my favorite morning coffee haunt.  There’s a grocery store nearby, a gym, a Chinese restaurant…I have nice neighbors who like gardening so much that they bought some plants that they take care of in my front yard.  When you walk down the street, people actually smile and say “hello”

Yesterday, my friend Susan and I walked around the reservoir.  On a Sunday afternoon, it felt rather like a Parisian promenade, except that it’s 2.2 miles in  circumference and there were many, many dogs. Part-way round,  theCity of Cambridge Water Department  is renovating…that’s not what they call it…but setting up ramps for people disabilities, a walkway out over the water and something called a vernal pond–which, I now know, courtesy of Susan and Wikipedia, is a temporary or “emphermeral” pool.

These pools, devoid of fish, are dry for at least part of the year but when filled (usually in the Spring) they teem with life such as frogs, toads, salamanders, daphnia and fairy shrimp–the last of which are often used to decisively define a vernal pool.

Close by the pool, we met  MWRA Ranger Jean–who, with a colleague, was posting a sign explaining all of the above. She welcomed us to the neighborhood and told  us to say hi to people and dogs–who, along with the golfers, tennis and base ball players and my neighbors, make up quite a friendly community, and a welcoming crowd.

—-Anita M. Harris

Anita Harris is president of  the Harris Communications Group, a strategic marketing communications and public relations firm located in Cambridge, MA.