Still transforming

Artist Lucas Samaras has been at it since 1960. He has worked in broad range of mediums and even participated in the earliest Happenings, a wave of performance art events in the 60s.

Always self-referential, Samaras soon became known for producing experimental photographs where he used his body as subject and metaphor. Taking advantage of the malleability of dyes in wet Polaroid prints, Samaras manipulated these prints and created what he called his “Photo-Transformations.” Now into the 21st century, visitors to the George Eastman House will have the good fortune not only to view three examples of this historical work from the ’70s but also a new acquisition, PhotoFlicks and PhotoFiction (A-Z). It’s a new work with digital technology — 4.432 iPhoto and 60 iMovie files on a Mac Mini — but still the same principals of interaction and transformation are at play.

Like the earlier Polaroids, the clever and yet simple manipulations on PhotoFlicks produce wonderful and magical moments where the technology is evident but never stands in the way. Visitors can sit at the computer station and choose just how much of this excellent acquisition you want to experience.

Lucas Samaras’ work is on display indefinitely at the George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. $8. 271-3361, www.eastmanhouse.org

— Alex Miokovic and Heidi Nickisher

Heavy metal

For
being just another element on the periodic table, lead has the uncanny ability to make people sit up and pay
attention.

The
persistent and toxic metal once common in paint was the subject of an animated
public hearing at City Hall last week — or rather, the question of how best
to get rid of it was.

Community
organizers, activists, parents, scientists, and others are pushing for the
strongest ordinance possible to get lead out of homes — particularly those
housing children up to 6 years old. They’re the most likely to be exposed to
lead-based paint and most likely to suffer its severe effects.

Their
reluctant opponents are rental property owners, who say they’re as concerned as
anyone about getting rid of lead, but don’t want to be put out of business in
the process.

The
two sides disagree over how expensive it is to adequately clean up homes and
who should be responsible for the cost.

The
subject of the hearing was a draft of a General Environmental Impact Statement
prepared to guide City Council as it considers adopting a lead ordinance.

The
EIS considered three main proposed alternatives: — one from Councilmember Tim
Mains, one from Mayor Bill Johnson’s administration, and one from a landlords
group called the New York State Coalition of Property Owners and Businesses.
The EIS also considers the impact of doing nothing.

If
you missed the hearing, you can still check out the EIS and let councilmembers
know what you think of it. It’s on file at the city clerk’s office, NET
offices, city library branches, and the city’s website:http://www.cityofrochester.gov/main/docs/misc/RochesterDGEIS.

You
can submit your comments until 5 p.m. on October 11
to: Robert Barrows, Director of Housing and Project Development; City Hall,
Room 028B; 30 Church Street; Rochester 14614.

Color from the Greens

Thank God for third parties.

They
may not be able to win very often. Sometimes, they aren’t even able to inject
important issues into the political dialogue. But they’re good at bringing
humor back into the sometimes dismal arena of politics (with the exception of
Ralph Nader, of course).

For
the latest example, steer your browser over to http://gpomc.org/2005/politics_as_usual/. This tongue-in-cheek guide to local campaigning,
from the Green Party of Monroe County,
is among the best — and funniest — political statements we’ve seen locally
in a long time.

In
row after row of identical photos, each Republican candidate for CountyLegislature poses with
County Executive Maggie Brooks. Their faces are glued attentively to what looks
like a ream of budget worksheets, their brows deeply furrowed in feigned focus.

The
Greens used the adjective “cookie-cutter” to describe the pics, but that hardly
does the spread justice. And do catch the mouseover box accompanying each
photo.

“The
inspiration of the politics-as-usual piece came when we noticed the Republicans
using the same template for their literature,” writes Monroe County Green Party
Co-Chair Jason Nabewaniec in an email.

(It’d
be a lot funnier, though, if the Greens were fielding a few more candidates of
their own to challenge the “cookie-cutter” Republicans at whose expense they’re
laughing.)

Back from the charters

Most students who attended two closed charter schools ended up this fall back where they started
— in the Rochester city school
district.

Last spring, the state closed the Rochester Leadership Academy
and the School of Science
and Technology because of poor performance. Between the two, there were 1,500
students, and there had some concern that the district wouldn’t know how many
would return to Rochester schools
until close to the beginning of this school year, making staffing difficult.
That didn’t happen, thanks to an intensive outreach program by district staff.
The district identified students who hadn’t registered by April, and started
making home visits in the summer, says Joe Capezzuto, director of Student
Equity and Placement.

“We took extra care to keep elementary level siblings
together and in the same zone where they lived so they could be closer to
home,” he says.

A total of 1,384 former charter school students are now
dispersed throughout the district. The others have moved to suburban, private,
or parochial schools.

NET results?

For
nearly a decade, the city’s Neighborhood Empowerment Teams have been the first
stop for citizens looking for many of the services their government offers. Now
the NET program is up for review.

City
officials have hired a local think tank, the Center for Governmental Research,
to evaluate the program. CGR is to complete its report by the end of the year,
and it’s holding the following open houses to solicit public comments, each from
4 to 7 p.m.:

•
October 12, HolyApostlesUrbanCenter, 8 Austin
Street (Spanish interpreter available);

•
October 13, The Corner Place, 983 Monroe
Avenue (sign-language interpreter available);

•
October 18, Dazzle Theatre, 112 Webster
Avenue;

•
October 19, CarterStreetCommunity
Center, 500 Carter
Street (Spanish interpreter available);

•
October 20, Maplewood Library, 1111 Dewey
Avenue;

•
October 26, 19th Ward Community Association, 334 Thurston
Road.

You
can also call 327-7055 and leave a voice-mail comment, or email: reply@cgr.org.

This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2005.