OK, I guess it’s time for me to weigh in on Sunday’s  Oscar ceremonies. My friends R,  A and I could not help but notice that  many of the be-gowned stars had bad hair: it was  either stringy,  in their faces or matted down, in patches.  Watching  from anything-goes Cambridge, even we were shocked. We liked Jennifer Hudson’s red dress and new figure and Oprah’s hair and straightforward presence (if not the boxiness of created by the stiching in her black  bodice). We  were a bit creeped out by Kirk Douglas and relieved when he made it through.  I thought Anne Hathaway was great in Love and Other Drugs, did a great job with her song,  and was a clear winner in the   best  gushiness category.

Which brings me to the point: James Franco. (Full disclosure–which I repeat whenever I get the chance–he is a cousin. Don’ t ask me how–but my mom grew up in Cleveland with Mitzi, his grandmother, and somehow, their  grandparents were related or perhaps two and the same). James’ Oscar appearance has been the topic of much discussion.

As my friend D wrote on Facebook: Can’t help it — after seeing Bob Hope and Billy Crystal, who can take Anne Hathaway and what’s-his-name seriously as Oscar hosts? At least bring back Alex Baldwin.



New Neighbor

This morning, I ran into this fellow  on the Cambridge Common.  When he tried to pick me up,  I gave him the cold shoulder, which he seemed to enjoy. Oh, well.

It was cool to come upon the whimsical snowpersons  that seemed to guide my way  along the paths covered in deep snow by yesterday’s fierce blizzard …especially after President Barack Obama’s thoughtful talk, last night, about the importance of civility, the American national family and the need  to move forward in a positive way after  the horrific shootings in Tuscon. [ Here’s a link to the speech, in case you missed it: http://pol.moveon.org/azobamaspeech.html?id=25807-6209466-EecNh0x&t=3]

In fact, despite all the awful things going on the world–or maybe because of them–I’m finding that my neighbors–like whoever made the snowman–seem to be more considerate these days. After the last big storm, I ran into someone from the building next door (who asked me not to use his name) who was clearing snow, water and ice at a crosswalk so that people would not have to wade through deep water to reach the curb. And my downstairs neighbor, who doesn’t have a car, sometimes just shovels out other peoples’ cars for the fun (and exercise) of it.

Actually, I’ve felt that many people have been more neighborly, nicer, since 9/11…tho this group does not include certain Republicans and pundits who seem to get nastier as time goes on. I was shocked to learn that Ben Quayle, Vice President Dan Quayle’s son, who is now, unfortunately, a Congressman, actually said in a campaign ad that Barack Obama is the worst president this country has ever had..and don’t get me started on Sarah Palin’s trigger-happy “mean girl” rhetoric.  Rather than engage in namecalling and derision,  I’ll quit now –and simply  thank whomever built Mr. Snowman for your neighborliness and sense of fun. You really brightened my day!

–Anita M. Harris

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

This month, Charles LeDray and Evelyn Rydz at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston,  and Leonardo Drew, at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA, share a common theme–all focus on decay and the passage of time.

DeDray makes small items–men’s clothing, thousands of tiny ceramic pots,  sculptures in stitched fabric, carved bone, and wheel-thrown clay. As ICA materials point out, the smaller-than-life formal suits, embroidered patches, ties, and hats, as well as scaled-down chests of drawers, doors, and unique, thimble-sized vessels–and even facsimiles of used clothing stores complete with dust, make the viewer feel large and encourage thought about the content of the constructions. For example the coat in the photo to the left encompasses all sorts of other clothing–bras, pants, tops–making the point that individuals are composites of their experiences and other people.

My friend E liked the exhibit–because it elicited people no longer with us.  S, who tends to save things, found it interesting.

Nearby, in the galleries housing winners in the ICA’s Annual Foster Prize Exhibit, Evelyn Rydz’s “intricate drawings of beaches, based on her own photographs–focus on objects she finds washed up on coastlines worldwide. ”

According to the ICA, this work explores ” the site where sea meets land”…and shows “characters with long stories to tell.” She “references the journey and transformation that these objects have undergone, illuminating their role as castaways in foreign landscapes.”

At the DeCordova, Drew’s show, “Existed”  highlights  “the cyclical nature of creation, decay, and regeneration through a selection of large-scale sculptures, installations, and works on paper.

Built from rows of stacked cotton and wooden boxes, stuffed with rags, covered with scavenged objects, and caked with rust to suggest degeneration, Drew’s sculptural work is made to resemble the detritus of everyday life.

The artist often ages his found and fabricated materials, employing a process that is physically and conceptually steeped in memory, history, and the passage of time. These disparate materials are often composed within a grid that organizes the chaos into an ordered structure.

 Not exactly the pleasantest of subjects.

And  I suppose it’s good to be able to find beauty in decay–or to make beauty of  it.

In pondering the  decisions to highlight these artists,  I can’t help but conclude that  the curators are  making  statements about the current state of civilization, politics, and art.  All of these artists are highly skilled at what they do. But  I ask, after exploring and commenting on decay and loss, what is left for them (and us?) to do?

Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris, a writer and photographer, is president of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Kudos to the display team at the new Anthropologie shop in Harvard Square–their store windows are works of art that absolutely drew me into the store–although I really don’t need a thing.

Anthropologie, located at 48 Brattle St, in Cambridge, has taken over the old Design Research building–which has been almost empty for over a year since Crate and Barrel moved out.

 The new store carries an enticing array of clothing, jewelry, shoes, boots, bags and home goods. Most items are a bit ornate for my tastes but definitely worth a visit if only to see the store’s  artistic and  creative arrangements of merchandise.  –Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisCom Blog.

The pharmaceutical industry and especially Pfizer will hate Ed Zwick’s forthcoming movie–Love and Other Drugs–which portrays drug reps  as money-grubbing sex fiends.  

But while the  film, starring   Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway,  is loaded withsex scenes and Viagra jokes, don’t be fooled: it’s funny and enjoyable for the most part but deals with some very difficult and provocative themes.

In the film,  neer-do-well salesman  Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) takes up with the beautiful and insightful  Maggie Murdoch (Hathaway) who, at age 26, has been diagnosed with Stage 1 Parkinson’s Disease. Like Erich Segal’s 1970 Love Story, the film portrays the joys of love but also the anguish that comes with any incurable illness– here, in the context of seemingly uncaring pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Hathaway is convincing, even mesmorizing as the artist and activist who brings old people to Canada to buy drugs. Gyllenhaal is believable and fun as a manipulative salesman who seduces, in one way or another, every woman he meets. The two portray their characters’ evolving realization/questioning of what’s important in life.

I enjoyed the film, but I left feeling unsettled and a bit disturbed–a result of tension between the funny and sad parts, worry about the future of the characters—and wonder about how I myself might deal with a loved one’s serious health issues

My friend K commented that while he liked the film, he felt it was opportunistic –that Zwick and the actors will make a ton of money–while people with Parkinsons and other incurable, debilitating diseases will just go on struggling. 

But I thought Zwick did a great job of personalizing and making more manageble what can sometimes seem like overwhelming problems,  and that he has performed an important service by asking serious questions in a way that will be palatable to a  mass audience.

I recently met Zwick– who was having a publicity photo  taken at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge–and asked why he made the film. It wasn’t for money, he said. He’d been impressed with Jamie Reidy’s  non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, on which the movie is based,  and had personal experience with a situation like the one the movie describes.

For the pharmaceutical industry…it’s not a pretty picture. But I guess they’ll have to–and have the resources to –fend for themselves.

The film is to be released in late November. In the meatime, here’s a link to the official site and a trailer:  http://www.loveandotherdrugsthemovie.com/

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

Went to see my cousin (James Franco) in Eat, Pray Love with my 89-year-old mom, last night. It was so boring she wanted to leave BEFORE her second? third? cousin Mitzi’s grandson from Cleveland even came on. And he was only the FIRST boyfriend.

I made her stay to see him, at least, and we agreed, James  is VERY cute. (The server in the restaurant next door told us she wanted to KISS him).  When James got dumped, my mom asked me if I wanted to leave. (I didn’t–I wanted to see how they handled the ashram scenes).

At one point, Mom handed me a kleenex because we were supposed to be feeling sorry for the Julia Roberts character, who was really wallowing. I apologized  for making Mom stay. She told me no problem, she was enjoying the scenery (not sure if she meant James Franco or Rome) but, really, how many spaghetti closeups can one 89-year-old enjoy?

Made it through the ashram (which I thought was the best part of both the book and the movie, tho it’s not clear how Julia managed to have a spiritual conversion, her guru being a rather annoying Texan. ), then on to Bali.  Not clear how, in book or movie, Julia managed to have a spiritual converversion, her guru being a toothless medicine man who didn’t have much interesting advice except to go for the Brazilian.

My mom could not understand why she would go for such an old guy if she wanted to have children.  Especially when I pointed out that Julia Roberts is 42–but Mom said the character was supposedly in her 30s. She was very surprised to learn that it was a true story and that Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the book, ended up marrying the Brazilian. So he could stay in the US.

My mom, who is getting a bit forgetful, told me that if she forgot the title and went to see it again I have her permission to put her in a home.

The upshot: James Franco is hot. Eat first, love the person you see it with, and pray you don’t have to sit through  it again.

–Anita M. Harris

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

Loved Mao’s Last Dancer, a new film based on the true story of ballet dancer Li Cunxin, who, as a child, was pulled from his poor family in the Chinese countryside to train in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution–and through his own quest for freedom  wound up an international star.  

Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies)  the movie was filmed in China, Houston and Australia–and stars  Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Chi Cao, Australian Ballet dancer Chengwu Guo  and Huang Wen Bin, who play Cunxin at different ages. 

Mao’s Last Dancer showcases many beautiful–even breathtaking–ballet sequences from acclaimed Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy and co stars  co-stars Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan and Joan Chen.

The story is so moving that I even teared up at times–despite a bit of clunky acting ( foregivable because the artists are dancers, first, of course).

Mao’s Last Dancer premiered on 13rd September 2009, at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be opening in theaters Oct. 1, 2010.  I’d give it 3 and 3/4 stars–and a great recommendation for anyone who likes dance and US patriotism.

^{–Anita Harris}

^{New Cambridge}

I love the Williams College Museum of Art, in  Williamstown, MA.

Yesterday, Sara and I drove over from Albany–and found one wonderful surprise after another.

First–Tristan Lowe’s Mocha-Dick: a life size white whale made of felt–modelled on a levianthan that once harrassed sailing vessels in the Pacific Ocean and inspired Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby Dick. Made out of industrial wool felt, the sculpture  appeared at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum in May 2009.  It’s accompanied by a film composed of film clips, cartoons, and commentary on whaling–but be warned–it has some gory moments.  Both the sculpture and film will be at WCMA through August 8, 2010.
Then: “The Girl Bends,” an exhibit exploring connections between art and feminism through sculpture, video, photography, and prints since the 1960s.

The exhibition features over 20 objects from the museum’s collection, including work by Lynda Benglis, Patty Chang, Ed Kienholz, Glenn Ligon, Ana Mendieta, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Carolee Schneemann, Kiki Smith, and Nancy Spero. This Girl Bends also highlights Kerry Stewart’s sculpture of carved crayons by the same name, just above.  Through Dec. 12, 2010.

Then, onto the fabulous Photography at the Frontier of Physics and Art, featuring the photos of Eadweard Muybridge, Harold Edgerton, Berenice Abbott, and Man Ray. Each of these photographers broke new ground in using photography to better understand physics–and emerged with astonishingly beautiful works of art.

 
Muybridge’s photos, in the 19th century, were forerunners of motion pictures–totally graceful horses; Edgerton used strobe lights to capture instants in motion (the shattering of a light bulb) for example; Abbot captured  light and motion in lab experiments, bubbles, Man Ray experimented with objects on photosensitive paper–all inspirational and a bit daunting to me, as a photographer myself. Through Dec. 12, 2010.

Check the Museum Website at http://www.wcma.org/exhibitions/additional_current_exhibitions.shtml for information about additional exhibits, directions, curators and closing dates–and do get there if you can! Admission is free but I’m sure that donations and gift shop purchases would be appreciated.

—Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscom blog and Ithaca Diaries blog.