The Right to Life

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a Health Reform bill. It passed along party lines, with one Republican voting in favor, a total of 220 for, 215 against. Abortion was a key issue of concern for many in Congress. The demand to bar abortion coverage in any government supported insurance won out and so the bill passed. It is interesting to ponder this issue in a big picture way. The tenacity of the anti-abortion crowd is awesome. And it seems like many of the same folks who fervently believe in the "right to life" approve military action that results in the killing & maiming of hundreds of thousands of women and children. Many seem less inclined to help folks in trouble, in particular single mothers trying to stay afloat. - who are actually stigmatized more often than supported. Women in this country are still fighting for their freedom - the freedom to choose the life they want to live. Most anyone who has faced the abortion issue directly realizes that it is a difficult, serious decision. All of the women I know who have been in this situation faced it with a heavy heart. It is a personal, emotional, spiritual choice - the key word being personal. I understand the concern that arises for very many men & women around ending a pregnancy - the "moral" dilemma - but do they have the right to determine the course of another woman's life? Health reform would surely improve the quality of life for children already born. Why not focus on improving these lives instead of building a wall of righteousness and standing behind it?

Peace Prize

Yesterday the Nobel Peace Prize was given to President Obama and I was moved, thoroughly heartened that his intention to work toward a more peaceful way of life has been acknowledged and rewarded. However, the response has been mixed. There are many who think this award should be given to someone who has delivered - managed to realize an idea in a visible, tangible, measured way and they find him undeserving. It will certainly take more than one lifetime to turn things around. But I think it is wonderful that our president really believes that peace is possible. And I am hopeful that he will touch not only the citizens of this country with that belief but, by example, have influence with the citizens of the world .

Good Guys, Bad Guys

The UN General Assembly is in session in New York and has in attendance international leaders from Barack Obama to Muammar al-Qaddafi. There were cheers for the United States, its new leader and its re-connection with the United Nations family. The Libyan leader was less well received after his 90 minute speech created havoc with the meeting schedule. A saint and a madman? The controversial president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is also in attendance. He continues to agitate the West and Israel with his anti-Jewish sentiments. An insistence on developing nuclear weapons gives him the attention he wants. The super powers - the US, Russia and China - who have the real capacity to annihilate the world are beginning serious talks about reducing their nuclear arsenals. Since the start of the nuclear age there has been an effort - beginning with scientists involved in its birth - to stop the development of nuclear arms. We are the only nation to have used nuclear weapons. Sixty four years ago. And since then the rest of the world fears our capability to destroy in such a massive, inhumane way. Why is it so reprehensible that other, more vulnerable nations, want to have equal power to defend themselves? How can we insist that countries like Iran cease their program when we already have the ability to destroy the rest of the world? I think many, many Americans, including President Obama, genuinely want to see an end to nuclear armament. But we have to be willing to take real steps in that direction and need to stop blaming other leaders for wanting to defend their citizens from the potential wrath of America. The bottom line is that there is no cause that can justify the rationale we used in 1945 to murder about a quarter of a million civilians. Weapons of mass destruction, axis of evil, terrorists . Looking at ourselves, are we not in fact seeing the face of the enemy?

Scenes from My Life in the Art World - Living in New York

It was exciting at first. New York City. I worked at the Whitney Museum when arrived I in 1980 and sold catalogs during the Edward Hopper exhibition. He was a favorite of mine so I spent many lunch breaks on the gallery floors. After the show closed I found a position in the accounting office. Boring. But it led to an interesting few years working as the bookkeeper for a major contemporary art gallery on 57th Street.

The Art World in the 80's was a wild place. Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat were becoming celebrities, Mary Boone and Larry Gagosian were starting to build their empires. Soho was buzzing and many uptown galleries were opening new spaces to accommodate the gigantic work their artists were making. The Odeon was a hot spot, cocaine was passed around like dinner mints, and everyone was reaching for the limelight.

A young artist could walk into a gallery with slides of her work and someone might take a look. But without existing fame it was hard to be taken too seriously. Most people were ambitious and only interested in making important professional connections. With some exceptions. If you were young, female and attractive there were many opportunities to have sex with powerful men - and I had my share of them. One experience happened when I first started my gallery job and the principle of the business invited me to his upper east side apartment to see his collection of Pop and Contemporary painting. How exciting! When I arrived he offered me a glass of wine and began to show me around. Quickly we ended up in the bedroom where he began to undress and asked me to help him select clothes to wear to a business dinner he was going to later in the evening. Embarrassed and confused, I played along like it was perfectly normal to be standing there with my new boss in his boxer shorts. He dressed and asked me if I would like to stay at his apartment until he returned from dinner. No, I don't think so. Fortunate decision. The following week his German live-in girlfriend resurfaced. They married a year or so later which did not have much effect on his ongoing flirtations.

I stayed in New York for five years. The glamor of the gallery scene slowly wore off and its nastiness wore me down. I found myself looking for the passion I once felt in the presence of great art. Trips to Italy in 1983 & 1984 helped me see that the passion was still burning within me. Standing before masterpieces in Rome, Florence, Siena and Venice my heart opened and I knew it was time to escape the Big Apple. A year later my brother and I drove a U-Haul truck to Boston where I started a more balance life.

I love New York now and go often for museum & gallery shows, for the theater and wonderful food, a walk in Central Park. My husband & I stay for a night or two and enjoy the energy. Then we come back to Boston filled with the inspiration these short visits provide.

Eight Years

I went to the Weston town green this morning to help place three thousand plus flags on the lawn to commemorate the September 11 attacks. At 8:46 the church bells rang and the high school students, police and firemen, the moms and dads, little kids and assorted other folks slowly but efficiently placed flags in the pre-drilled holes in the grass. It was gray, sprinkling rain, not the blue-skied day of September 11, 2001. I was in the Post Office that morning when the 2nd plane hit the World Trade Center. Everyone was frozen listening to the radio. Driving on Rt 2 afterward, the traffic moved unimaginably slow - a shared trauma. It was quiet today too, solemn. A wound still deeply felt.

Back to School

A chilly Sunday morning with crystal blue sky and perfect warm light. Fall is here and school starts for me this week - its always hard to see summer end.

Barack has made a commitment to education and
sees clearly how quality learning can change lives - especially for children who are socially disadvantaged. He plans to speak to kids throughout our country, via webcast, as they begin a new school year to encourage hard work and persistence. Staying in school will make a difference in what happens afterward and supporting each other in the process will benefit all. A great idea - the president offering a positive message about education directly to the ones who will benefit most. But apparently some parents are opposed to this fearing that Obama is trying to indoctrinate their kids with socialist propaganda. When I hear things like this I am completely taken aback. How can something so inherently constructive be twisted into something so perversely destructive? Fear? I have a feeling that the focus on socialism and liberalism is a smoke screen for the real issue of racism. It is truly sad that even the most benign efforts can be transformed into a cancer by an angry, threatened few.

Scenes from My life in the Art World - The Museum Show

As anyone who is engaged in the Visual Arts knows, it isn't easy. Working in the studio is usually satisfying and enriching and, at times, even powerful. Dealing with the art world at large is another story. Two years ago I began a 5" x 10' drawing - the largest of my gunpowder and graphite series to date - of four Muslim men bowing in prayer. At about the same time I was invited to exhibit in a group show at a museum south of Boston. The exhibition paired contemporary drawings with prints from the museum's collection. I was excited that the new drawing would be included. The exposure would be terrific and who knows where it would lead, what doors would open afterward. I could never have imagined what actually transpired.

The first disappointment was that the museum failed to mention, in any of its publicity for the exhibition , that there were drawings included - never mind listing names of the several artists involved. I sent out my own invitations and at least some of my acquaintances attended the opening. The curator left the museum at the start of the exhibit so there was no follow up with her. In November, just after Thanksgiving I had a call from the registrar telling me that an unsupervised child ran into the unguarded gallery and dragged his hand across the entire bottom surface of my unframed piece. It was not too visible she said. I drove there to see for myself and found that the marks were not very noticeable and that I could probably touch up the drawing back in the studio. A relief. Then, just after Christmas (It was a long show), I had another call from the registrar. The roof leaked above the drawing and for three days a channel of water flowed over one section of the piece. This time it was noticeable and quite damaged. Off it went to a paper restorer and, after a year in storage, attempts to unbuckle the paper, remove the red stains, and repair the graphite surface, the drawing was no better. The insurance company paid me in full for the drawing after I signed ownership over to them. It seems that they try to resell the damaged piece or donate it to a conservation school for student practice.

Yesterday - September 4th - about two years to the start of this saga - a trucker came to pick up the half of the two panel drawing that I had in my studio. I was actually relieved that this experience was going to be behind me and that I had let go of the lingering idea of remaking the piece. The delivery truck arrived at 10am, backed into my driveway and a fellow in quite a hurry packed up the drawing, scribbled a receipt in duplicate for me to sign, and drove off. I went back to my office to finish the work I was doing only to find that the phone and internet were dead. Outside I saw the cable wires dangling on each side of the driveway , torn apart by the over sized truck. By 8pm last night the neighborhood was back on line, I had calmed down and I think at last this story is over. Stay tuned - this has inspired me to write more about my ever eventful life at mid-career in the Art World.

Beyond Loss

This morning our President will give the eulogy at Ted Kennedy's funeral on Misson Hill in Boston. It has been a very moving few days beginning with the announcement of the senator's death on Wednesday morning. His funeral motorcade wound its way from his home in Hyannis to the Kennedy Library, where he was waked in a sunlit room facing Dorchester Bay and the Boston skyline. Thousands stood on the streets of Boston to watch the procession, others waited in line to pay respects as a military and civilian honorguard stood quietly by the flag drapped casket. Last night we watched the memorial service and felt waves of emotion as family and friends spoke of his life.

Another Season

Teddy Kennedy died yesterday, 77. The last of the dynasty and a true loss to all of us who think democracy means fairness, dialogue, balance. He was a leader and a wise man. His death is metaphorically and physically a symbol of true change in the way government looks. Obama is the new face - dark skinned, exotic, multi-cultural and worldly. He is the future and he is the continuum.

Fear and Sabatoge

I continue to be amazed by the efforts of some to confuse and scare people with false information and crazy interpretations of simple facts. What scares me is the way this information is validated. I know that I flinched when I first heard about the "death panels" reportedly part of the health overhaul. Rumored and re-formed with each iteration the information becomes science fiction. The most surprising is that people think it is real. I read that Sarah Palin, on her facebook page, wrote about this in relation to her child and mother - death panels wanting to rid society of non-productive members. When she was running for Vice President she was equally combative. Many continue to support her and this divisive chatter. I think is is very healthy to have intelligent debate about important issues facing this country. The problem is that intelligence is so often missing. I really hope that

Obama and his team can instill more reason into the process, the business of governing.

I Think We Can

I am going over to Rep Markey's office this morning to voice my concerns about health reform and to encourage him to support Barack's efforts to build a more equitable system of care for everyone. There are many people working hard to sabotage this effort and it is frightening how the dialogue is centered on fear tactics rather than frank discussion of the issues. Insinuations that Obama is trying to turn this country into a socialist state and comparing the administration to the Nazis is unfortunate and misguided. Why is it so hard to see the goodness in caring for all of our citizens regardless of circumstance?

Black & White

Last night the Sundance program "Iconoclasts" featured Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson - clergyman and entrepreneur - an unusual pairing. They share a belief in the power of individuals to change the world and work to encourage peace as the basis for conflict/problem resolution. They belong to an organization of Elders, (Tutu chairs, Branson helped establish) who meet to discuss, then take action around worldwide conflicts. Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Robinson, Muhammad Yunus are some of the members. Heartening to see the mix - men, women, black, brown, white - of wise people coming together and collectively using their talents and knowledge to bring reason, kindness and calm to difficult situations.

Contrastingly, the story of Henry Louis Gates and Sgt James Crowley in Cambridge MA was in the forefront of the news this week. Misunderstandings, egos, disrespect, and a long history of bad situations led to an unfortunate outcome between these two. Its troubling that this specific situation became a stereotype rather than a unique incident with specific details - a true cause of racism and misunderstanding. The only potentially good thing about the incident is that the issue of racial profiling may find a rational forum for discussion countrywide.

Connections

Anniversaries

July 16 - 2005, our marriage on a very warm summer afternoon with friends and family filling the garden, and our Buddhist meditation teacher presiding under a somewhat unconventional hoopa. On Thursday Rick brought home a giant bouquet of wedding flowers to celebrate.

And in 1999 on July 16 John Kennedy Jr, his bride and her sister were killed when their plane disappeared into the waters off Martha's Vineyard. I remember hearing, then watching the news - mesmerized, deeply saddened. Maybe in part I was remembering the Kennedy assassination in 1963 -a traumatized child, experiencing a traumatized nation in mourning. The only other event with that power for me was 9/11... another story altogether.

In light of this, it was interesting to be at the ICA on the 16th for the Shep Fairey exhibit. He has a complex engagement with culture (high & low), politics, media, celebrity. I found the work engaging, provocative and dimensional. Really glad to finally get there to see it. I was not expecting to be as touched by the work.