HAIR & BEYOND

SALON SERIES, "HAIR & BEYOND" RHONDA RATRAY 2009, ACRYLIC ON DURALAR, SPARKLE MAGIC BACKGROUND

on view:
Historic Interpretation: Contemporary Artists Interpret the Historic Collection

Osborne-Salata and Gideon Foster Houses

August 15 - October 18, 2009

Opening weekend, August 15, 12 - 7 pm & August 16, 12 - 3 pm
Also on view 1st and 3rd Sundays: September 6 & 20,
October 4 & 18, 12 - 3 pm

Everyone dies, but no one is dead

We arachnid, we resourceful.
For months now I've had hair on the brain... it's alive, its dead it lasts forever, but it falls out. Hair is part of a person, but it isn't. It's renewable...sometimes.
Thinking about this wreath @ the Peabody Historical Society, Peabody , MA. Horseshoe shaped and from across the room this appears to be just dried flowers. It was made in 1857, is a stunning example of "fancywork." "Fancywork " or "hair work" was typically created by women and utilized their own hair or that of a loved one. (Often locks of hair were traded between lovers as a precursor to the photograph.) Also given as mementos. In this case, each flower in this piece represents an individual from the artist's church congregation. The hair is tightly wound and neatly configured into flowers and butterflies. Both beautiful and temporary...