8/31/06
TOMORROWS ALWAYS COME LATE

NOW SHOWING @: http://www.tjnorris.net/blog [ visit often ]

A year is a very long time in a small city. I’ve had the pleasure of intimately meeting, working with and otherwise hanging out with some of the key cultural strategists, fellow artists and others, virtually chopped from the region’s finest woodwork. Actually it’s been a lotta wordwork for me here at Oregonlive, on and offline. The dialogues that have stemmed from this column are endless and have humbled me greatly. It’s been more a stage for a personal, in-depth rattling of provocative ideas than I originally anticipated. And during this last year, not only did I endlessly expose myself to all the goings-on around me (and also in NY, MA and WA), but it triggered some finer and grosser motor skills that hadn’t been sharpened in years. It was a time to truly explore the possibilities of looking. All of this, and a dedicated readership to boot. What more could I possibly desire (except for getting back in the studio)? The cultural dialogue opened something intuitive for me, and simultaneously enabled me to feel my roots literally growing deeper here in the Pacific Northwest (five years and counting). I now instinctively realize that my studio practice (mostly darting about outdoors with camera-in-hand) deals, in endless ways, with “place”. For these reasons I have truly become grounded and grateful. Though, the time spent writing and philosophizing have made me realize the brain can easily take over for the body if you let it. My quest is for ultimate balance (I am a Libra after all).

Turning 40 has been notable in my career path as I continue finding the scope and fusion between vocation and occupation. This October I present an exhibition of brand-new work (mostly “dangerous” work-in-progress) that’s been conceptually purcolating, on and off, for nearly a year called Objects + Images at the 12×16 Gallery. The exhibtion, presented in this cozy space, will offer sculptural works that use my ongoing series of urban images in new ways (I’m even attempting to use steel, photo silkscreen and other unfamiliar materials). It’s been truly great working with the gallery crew, they are a terrific members space, and I encourage you to visit if you haven’t already. They have primarily presented high quality collage/assemblage and mixed media work, that works (and is highly affordable for young collectors).

Also this autumn I plan to settle into a studio space and work towards the completion of my Tribryd series that I started back in 2002. Two focal spaces are now considering this installation proposal. My collaborators for this project are the venerable experimental sound composers Asmus Tietchens (Germany), Christian Renou (France) and Scanner (UK). The prospect of presenting this is quite exciting as the series will soon be partly documented in the November CD/DVD release of triMIX (Innova Recordings). This set, funded in part by the American Composers Forum, includes three videos (one by local favorite Ryan Jeffery) and eleven new soundtracks that have been deconstructed from the originals used in my installations by sound artists Nobukazu Takemura, Xela, Andreas Tilliander (check his new site!), S.E.T.I. and many others. I’m happy to make this limited edition set available exclusively, a month early in Portland, as part of the exhibition at 12×16.

So, as you might imagine, life’s kept me busy. Enough so that just earlier this year I put down my music journalist pen after six years writing for publications like Brainwashed.com, e|i Magazine, Signal to Noise, Grooves, Just Out, Igloo Magazine, Paris Transatlantic, Vital Weekly and a handful of others. Yeah, I’m a soundaholic, and there is no twelve-step program that’s going to cure my ill. Though the way I shape free time is something that has been more clearly defined this past year. It will be hard not to grab opportunities like interviews I’ve conducted with folks like Andrew McKenzie (The Hafler Trio) and Bob Mould - but now that time will be devoted to the studio.

Of course, next year I have already committed to three curatorial gigs with New American Art Union and Newspace Center for Photography (call it eastsiding)…and a forthcoming film festival under development. My primary time shift remains clearly creative. These last six years have been a culminating, energizing (and never tranquilizing) period of realization and focus. I’m certainly gonna miss writing daily and all the wonderful cd promos, the engaging dialogue with musicians and artists and the general research that goes into the everyday…but that doesn’t compare to restructuring my time “selfishly” to be more diligently studio-focused. First, I have to actually establish a real, down-n-dirty physical studio space where I can both do my “clean work” and experiment with nobs, wires and whatnot.

Next year I get the opportunity to show my work outside the state and the country with a show at Boise State Visual Arts Center (January), Sweden’s Neon Gallery (late Spring) and a two-person show with Jamie Drouin in the works for Vancouver, BC. Here in town I am scheduled to be in the Portland Modern Window (date TBA) and have a proposal pending for a gallery just over the mighty Columbia.

It’s an exciting time in the Northwest, with a growing urban metropolis (w/tram and a new riverside neighborhood), the ongoing development of the north and southeast sides of the city as cultural districts, Jennifer Gately aboard at the PAM, the emerging being that is Organism, the local mainstream papers paying more close attention to the fusion of visual arts, installation, sound art, etc. It’s a time where the galleries are looking pretty sweet with recent gorgeous remodels to commercial spaces Pulliam-Deffenbaugh, Elizabeth Leach and PDX….not to mention the forthcoming emergence of several spaces (including new galleries coming to downtown) at the former Daisy Kingdom building, along with the emergence of C/AMP! And we are talking the talk as a region, online scribing with discussion forums Visual Codec, Art Dish, Lovelake, Urban Honking and PORT. So, I know you’re not alone! And of course, I will be all over PICA’s TBA Festival in the coming weeks, even though I have to battle between time in the studio, and time-based art. Choices, choices….

I want to especially thank Darby Cave and Kevin Cosgrove of Oregonlive for giving me the forum, all of the engaging artists and gallerists I’ve worked with these past years, nods to my family and a special shout out to David Eckard (…and Jonboy and Maryellen, Uma, Oprah…and “all my fans in the balcony”). But seriously…thank you all for reading, making, writing, curating, teaching, looking, criticizing, performing, experiencing and doing all that you do to make this city a cultural center - challenging yourself to take your own level of creative risks. Thanks, in short, for everything.

Sayonara, Auf Wiedersehen, Adios, Ciao, Au Revoir…
Sincerely, see ya ’round, TJ

* This is (not) the last voice you will ever here. Don’t be alarmed… *

8/30/06
CULTURAL FORECAST

As I begin closing this written chapter in my life it makes sense to envision some upcoming highlights in and around the area. If I could, I might write a book…hmmm, thought balloons are popping all over. I’ll simply leave you in the hands of these luminous predictions….this list is partly based on available info.

HAPPENINGS

Halleluwah, September 1-2 (Disjecta)
PICA TBA Festival, Sept 7-17 (various locations)
Ultra Anniversary Party, Sept 9, 9PM-Midnight (Rake)
Hexasion III, Sept 23, 8:30PM (Portland Art Center)
Decibel Festival, Sept 14-17 (various locations, Seattle)
The Affair @ the Jupiter Hotel, Sept 29-Oct 1 (Jupiter Hotel)
Vitalic: Oct 11 & Dat Politics: Nov 6 (Holocene)
FO(A)RM Festival of Sound & Video, Nov 18 (Portland Art Center)

S. Healy

VISUALIZATIONS

Sean Healy, Elizabeth Leach, Sept 7-30
Naomi Shigeta, Augen, Sept 7-30
Brenden Clenaghen, Pulliam-Deffenbaugh, Sept 5-30
Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Small A Projects, Sept 5-30
Aili Schmeltz, Tilt, Sept 7-30
Margie Livingston, Archer Gallery, Sept 19-Oct 21
David Eckard, Linfield Fine Art Gallery, October
Jacques Flechemuller/Brad Adkins, PDX, Oct 3-28

Ty Ennis, New American Art Union, Nov 1-Dec 3
The Quest for Immorality, PAM, Nov 5-Mar 4
Matthew Cosby, Augen, Dec 6-30

8/30/06
FO(A)RM SEEKS SOUND

The partly Portland-based annual journal of arts and research, FO(A)RM, is an interdisciplinary magazine that covers electronic sound culture, word and performative arts as well as acting as a broad umbrella of social arts practices. Each issue has a topic for dissection and dialogue such as utility, dis/embodiment and the upcoming autonomy. To celebrate the launch of this new issue (now includes an accompanying CD of related sounds) the founders of FO(A)RM, edited by local field recording composer Seth Nehil, are seeking musicians (particularly large bass drum, trumpet, trombone, clarinet) to accompany composer/sound artist Olivia Block. This will be part of their first-ever FO(A)RM Magazine Festival of Sound and Video scheduled for Saturday, November 18 to be held at the Portland Art Center.

8/30/06
THEY’RE ONLY HUMAN…

…but back in 1977 they formed a league (er, band), The Human League.

Out of Sheffield (which also spawned Cabaret Voltaire, Pulp and ABC), in the early days their sound was dark, truly experimental, with tracks like Being Boiled and The Sound of the Crowd. Those were the days!

Through the 1980’s they splintered into another electronic act, still standing and sounding off wonderfully today, Heaven 17. This era allowed them to hone their sound into something charmingly pop but still edgy, by adding two contrasting female singers, Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall. Together they rose to the top of the charts with the new wave classic Don’t You Want Me and other hits like Human, Love Action and Open Your Heart. This new fame, and added MTV presence with stylish videos and a poppier sound garnered the League a larger following of audiences that crossed over from techno-geeks to hipsters. But they were just getting started.

Eventually, lead singer Philip Oakey was tapped by legendary electronic (disco, etc) composer/producer Giorgio Moroder to cut a record together called Together in Electric Dreams that was used in the cheesey futuristic (and so dated) flick, Electric Dreams(1984). With worldwide attention in their cue they managed to still make political statements in their work, as heard in their more guitar-based track, The Lebanon.

Since that time, the Human League have had ups and downs, like every band does as they transition the curves of the decades. But if my hunch is right, given their solid (and darkly synthetic) performance in 1998’s The Big Rewind tour, along with last year’s Live at the Dome DVD, they are still right on track. A threesome since the 90s with catchy lyrics, stage presence and a very clear independent thread throughout, their sound and look has been saucy and saavy even as they age as musical changelings. It’s a rare chance to see this trio in Stumptown, so I highly recommend to get your tickets and bring a league of your own to see the Human League at the Aladdin Theater (3017 SE Milwaukie) for one show only on Saturday, September 16 (8PM, $25).

8/29/06
THE VIEW FROM HERE

Newspace Center for Photography has a Vision. As they continue to develop their practice as a budding non-profit, this educational spot for all things spot-toned and F-stopped is undergoing a capital campaign (click on their site image to walk through a catalogue of past accomplishments and future plans). If that’s not all, the facility at 1632 SE 10th will be expanding, nearly doubling their size in the process, and making new space for greater dabbling in digital.

R. Shapiro

Besides for a comprehensive catalogue of top-notch classes Newspace also offers exhibition opportunities, like their next two-person show, The View From Here including work by Wieden & Kennedy’s Rachel Shapiro and Georgia-based photographer Greg Turco. The pairing of their color work deals in both the humor and fiction of the social environment. Opens Friday, September 1 (7-10PM).

8/29/06
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING RANDOM

A group show in a coffee house, providing an extra kick. The Random Order Coffeehouse (1800 NE Alberta) is planning a lil’ bash for a pack of nearly twenty artists, this Last Thursday! So, if you like a good roast or an iced Tao of Tea (breve or soy), you may want to raise your cheer a notch or two this time ’round. Actually, they will be celebrating with a DJ, cupcakes, champagne and sparklers. It sounds more like an afterparty than something in broad daylight — but alas, go on down and have a merry mug with these creatives:

Daniel Anderson, Chris Bennett, Francisco Garcia, Kim Hamblin, Burk Jackson, Zak Margolis, Lisa Maurine, Kat Matthews, Paul Middendorf, David Neevel, Grant Olsen, Tracy Olson, Niki Polyocan, Ben Rosenberg, Brandon Stahlman, Cynthia Star, Brent Wear and more.

8/29/06
CAPITALIZE: GET CREATIVE

An informal gathering in the PICA Resource Room to meet Sean Elwood (Creative Capital) and Kelly Cooper (MAP Fund) whom will talk about their respective funding initiatives for visual, performing and new genre artists.

Tuesday, September 5 @ 7pm: PICA (224 NW 13th, 3rd Fl) — Free and everyone is welcome!

The Creative Capital Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that supports artists pursuing adventurous and imaginative work in the performing and visual arts, film/video, innovative literature, and in emerging fields. Creative Capital seeks to support projects that have the potential for significant artistic and cultural impact, that transcend discipline boundaries and tell us something new about ourselves, our communities, and the moment in which we live. In 2007, Creative Capital will be considering proposals in the Visual Arts and Media (Film/Video).

The Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund is a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The MAP Fund supports new works in all disciplines and traditions of the live performing arts. Our aim is to assist artists who are exploring and challenging the dynamics of contemporary live performance. In contrast to the preservation of existing repertoire, MAP supports those creating the art of our own time.

Other Creative Capital Programs

The new Creative Capital / Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers’ Grant Program will recognize and support the contribution of individual arts writers through project-based grants ranging from $3,000-$50,000. The program aims to promote critical discourse that is both rigorous and accessible, to foster innovation in arts writing, and to encourage writing that nurtures connections between art and the public at large. More information.

The Creative Capital Professional Development Program was launched in 2003 to offer the career-building component of Creative Capital’s Artist Services Program to a broader community of artists. The Professional Development Program has served more than 1000 artists nationwide, and features a comprehensive menu of workshops that include a Weekend Retreat , as well as day and evening-long workshops.

8/28/06
NOW/THEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: This month Portland officially celebrates twenty years of First Thursday! To harness this momentous occasion, a new online cultural media source has been developed, called Portland Art Focus. The Portland Art Dealers Association along with Portland Art Museum, PICA, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Reed College, Affair @ the Jupiter Hotel and the Portland Oregon Visitors Association have stepped up to the plate and formed a coalition to better advertise events of national and international caliber in our backyard. The site offers a top level view of what’s “now and wow” and is set up to help host out-of-town visitors with cultural offerings and a one stop hotel package.

8/26/06
SITES>SOUNDS>SEATTLE

Beautiful Day: Over the past few days I hit Seattle, darting up on Amtrak’s Cascades (Tacoma is so lovely) on Thursday morning. There always seems to be a reason to visit, and Seattle-folk always have nice things to say about their sister city down south. The main focus of my trip was to finally (after so many years of communicating) see LA area artist Steve Roden perform live to accompany his Day Ring, Night Ring pair of sound installations at the Henry Gallery through October 15th. The installations are installed as part of the inner and outer structures of James Turrell’s Skyspace. Though the space already collects the ambient (er “found”) sound from passersby and other basic, and distant street noise, Roden’s five channel recording added a quixotic and sensual layer in an already sublime setting. There are also two sound-based video paintings on view, one at the front entrance and one in the elevator, which makes for a sparkling ride…going up!

While visiting I stayed with sound composer/indie label founder Yann Novak (Dragonseye Recordings) and explored the creative scene some with a much needed stop at James Harris Gallery (Harris and his new curator were very engaging) to see Junctions, including standout drawings by Odilon Redon and Laura Vandenburgh among many others. We also popped into G. Gibson, Davidson Contemporary and Soil. Then we stopped at Howard House, where his sound work will be featured as part of Alex Schweder’s Sick Building Sequence (a piece he developed while a fellow at the American Academy in Rome) which opens this weekend! We enjoyed the concert with Carolyn Zick, who captured some of the fun on her wonderful blog, Dangerous Chunky! I was also fortunate to have dinner with Roden, Gretchen Bennett, sound sculptor Dale Lloyd (and/oar), most of the curatorial staff of the Henry, Suyama Space and Western Bridge and Roden’s lovely wife (they each got the same fortune), three-month old baby nephew and extended family. The family were visiting from both California and Victoria. I had a great time chatting with his mom and aunt about being a ‘vegequarian’, growing up on the east coast ending up on the west, and having reviewed a recording of Steve’s uncle, bassist Jeffrey Roden a handful of years ago. Dinner was wonderful, and just plain down to earth, and the whole group ate and the conversation overfloweth….from sound construction to gay films and from wine connoisseurs to fortune cookies (”in bed”) - it was a great night to remember.

Roden’s performance was a short half hour, but sweet it was. It was like time stood still for just a lil’ while. He played “banjolele”, rustling loose cassette tape, foot pedals, voice and pinecones. He looped and repeated and used his vocal techniques in a completed distorted, but still quite melodic way. At one point he blew through something like a prepared harmonica. The hall was nearly full - I would say maybe somewhere around 150 folks came out for this. It was a combo ambient teaser mixed with field recordings and live instruments. Even the drone of the auditorium’s ventilation system, in some odd way, lent to the overall drama of his work. At the end he kindly participated in a question/answer session that was informative about process and passion around scoring without proper training in composition. He’s more of a live improvisationalist. And admitted to never really performing the same concert twice, so these minutes were exclusive for this audience. A few familiar faces in the crowd, and I was introduced to some artists whose work I really admire including Victoria Haven and Susan Robb.

On Friday morning, Yann and I enjoyed his most perfectly disc-formed fluffy pancakes with Gretchen. We discussed our work, Roden’s performance and candor, the philosophy behind tattooing/body mapping and Portland/Seattle connections. Afterwards he introduced me to a UK hip-hop movement called grime (which is quite astonishing to hear the human voice as a purely contemporary instrument in this way) and then got an eyeful dose of YouTube before starting the day. We took our time surveying the scene and though it was my intention to see shows at both Western Bridge and Suyama, unfortunately, both were between things, but I got to see their interior/exteriors. The Byron Kim exhibition, Threshold at the Henry is also quite lovely. The way it deals in colors to define skin tones and memory through paintchips and multiples — so worth the trip. I ended my days in the city by the sea with a typical visit to Wall of Sound. I’m going to skip the delays, derailments and general baffoonery of the open track because I had such a wonderful whirlwind of a time, something just had come over me….

* Listen for up to five hours of Steve Roden’s work, Soundwalk on UbuWeb. Then check out his recordings on quality labels like 12K/Line, Trente-Oiseaux and nonvisualobjects. A local spot that always has his recordings in stock is Anthem Records right off SE Belmont.

8/23/06
#200: ART/ETHICS

Can you imagine? This is my two-hundreth entry to this column! And to celebrate, why not do it with other people’s words in the context of controversy that stems from “art ethics”. Though, I often have the “too cool for school” attitude when local politics go from dialogue to diatribe - it can be engaging. However you slice it as you watch the fur fly, vent it out, ruffle feathers, it would seem best to get to the heart of the matter. This latest “work-in-progress” partially stems from a string of difficult postings (on Mon/Tues - which have now been all removed). These came from an anonymous craigslist poster who called the choice of writers here into question. It’s my guess that string wasn’t suitable for that particular forum, but it sounded very “juicy” to me. At the same time, I think people deserve the respect that comes from direct communication, difficult to deem from an anonymous source.

My message is that blogging is our new frontier. It allows us to confront issues directly, it allows artists to be even more creative, it offers a new way to communicate, a larger freedom of voice. Also, blogging (like most writing) is from the personal. Though, here, it’s designed to be akin to a diary of sorts. A day planner that all can see to a degree. And, even though sometimes we get critical, optimistic, and questioning - the voice can still be constructive. The one missing piece for me in this column is the one-way communique. But it just makes it that more personal I guess.

As we have grown to be charmed by Portland’s comfy growth boundary, there will be necessary and underlying agitation, backlash, and questionable rationale within the civics of the arts scene. Abi Spring touches on the subject in her blog and many respond. On a similar topic, Eva Lake continues to discuss the very importance (and questioning) of the creative toolbelt (citing Stieglitz got my attention).

8/21/06
PAM JURY PRIZES

Since the opening of the Oregon Biennial there have been reviews, radio dialogues, and a complete absence of Oregon artists in the upcoming Northwest Biennial to be held later this year at the Tacoma Art Museum. Back on August 10, PORT reported that Jo Jackson’s video work was purchased by the Portland Art Museum as part of the Biennial. In doing so, the Contemporary Arts Council effectively purchased time-based art for the collection. This is especially significant given that its run on computer technology, continuing the shift of ye olde lore of “the stodgy institution”.

JURY SAYS…
To further break the traditional barrier, a museum panel made up of PAM curators have selected their Oregon Biennial Juror Awards, this time around tapping Matthew Picton, Pat Boas and David Eckard. It may be important to point out that, at this time, PNCA teachers Boas and Eckard are both commercially unrepresented; London-born Ashland resident, Picton, is represented only outside Oregon by sister states - dually by Howard House in Seattle and Toomey Tourell in San Francisco. Strong choices! A round of congratulations goes out to these fine artists.

8/21/06
[kinda] NEW IN TOWN

WELCOME JEANINE JABLONSKI

Oregonlive and I welcome Jeanine as our newest arts columnist. Jablonski is no stranger to the Portland area, and though until recently has been in Memphis for several years, she will have a lot to bring to the growing cultural table. So, as I venture back into the deep bliss of the studio process, I am leaving you in good hands in only eleven short days.

TJ Norris: Jeanine, I am so glad we crossed paths! Welcome back to
Portland…I am thrilled you are taking on this column.

Jeanine Jablonski: Me too! I’m so excited to be back, and for the opportunity to write for Oregonlive. I have been away for a few years, but have kept close tabs on Portland, specifically the arts, so I’ve been reading your column, and was really glad to finally meet and talk with you.

TJN: Tell me about what you were doing in Tennessee?

JJ: I moved to Memphis in 2003 to attend graduate school. I decided to go to school somewhere I knew I would never live unless I had a reason, you know? And living in the south definitely fit that description. So I worked on my MFA and interned for the Memphis-based non-profit arts organization Delta Axis for two years, until the spring of 2005. At that time I graduated from the Memphis College of Art, and was hired on by Delta Axis as a gallery manager, as well as a curator for one of their two exhibition spaces (delta axis @ marshall arts). I also became a Board Member for Lantana Projects - the only International Artist-in-Residence program in the mid-south, and began teaching.

So for the past year and change, I have been curating exhibitions, gallery managing both of Delta Axis’ exhibition spaces, (marshall arts and the Powerhouse), working as both a Board Member and Project Manager for Lantana Projects, teaching as adjunct faculty at the University of Memphis, and exhibiting my own work. It was, to say the least, a crazy year. But in a good way.

TJN: (wipes his sweaty brow) Sounds it. It may have fallen in a time slot after you left town, but you didn’t happen to catch the Battle of the Artist Curators show at the now defunct Haze Gallery a few years back, maybe three now, (run by another artist, Jack Shimko) did you? The exhibition included folks like Eva Lake, Bryan Suereth, Jacqueline Ehlis, Jeff Jahn, Justin Oswald, myself and others. I thought it was a great concept for a show, inaugurating the infamous and defunct space even though the media completely snubbed it. It’s the kind of thing that makes people like us wonder. If you didn’t see it, you will certainly hear about it. Shimko moved to LA to indulge in his first love, surfing.

JJ: I didn’t see it…it sounds great though! I have long been fascinated with the growing niche that is the ‘Artist Curator,’ and with artists like Danica Phelps in New York, whose work was in a Memphis group show I co-curated, Harrell Fletcher, and Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller- all of whom continue to either question (or obliterate altogether) those roles in their work.

TJN: We’re alive and well and have voices that sometimes speak in the tongues of the observer rather than the observed. What made you decide to come back to PDX?

JJ: I always knew I would come back, at least to this coast. Memphis is a great city, one that introduced me to ideas and people I never in a million years thought I would come across living there. And there are certainly individuals and aspects of the culture I already miss, but it wasn’t home. My parents are here, along with my sister and her husband, so family was a huge pull to come back. But I also have seen, and continue to see, so much potential Portland. I wanted to bring the connections I have made, the things I have learned, and all that I hope to accomplish back into this city.

TJN: To the point, potential. That’s the word. I still envision Portland as the great incubator, but what’s in the lab is slow-churn in my eyes. I mean there’s a solid community of artists, curators and collectors here. That would seem like an instant, perfect blend. The past three years have been enlightening and stirring. We want to have the power to turn the casual passers-by into ooglers and from there, build a network of smart collectors. Not only those who collect the same old oil landscapes and other dust collecting chatchkis, but those who understand challenging aesthetics head on. In work that defies genre and perhaps deals in technology or other hybrids. A few years ago, when I operated Soundvision, my two proudest moments were selling a sound installation to a collector who wanted it to hang from her bedroom ceiling and the dialogue that surrounded the sale of a kinetic sculptural work to a young collector in LA. Mind you, purest artists who don’t cross genres are still quite valid.

In the past few years we have experienced the emergence of art centers (for good, bad or indifferent reasons), the constant flow of cultural dialogue (blogs in particular), updated galleries and more yet to come, and lots of personal/artistic growth. The Museum now has its own curator of Northwest Art, and it will be great to see how she filters and interprets the mélange of what’s actually happening here. But with this growth, other concerns have surfaced, like the full-up rosters in the primary pro galleries, neutral or dictorial curatorial voices and assumed cultural politics. This potential could be retooled to fit, that’s my hope for Portland’s vital scene. Without progress and change the best of the best will move out of town, and I think it is essential to foster your best talent, and in some ways, do as the vision statement of the New American Art Union states, prosper through levels of philanthropy, encouragement, promotion, membership and patronage. It may seem even a touch old-fashioned, but if it’s logically designed it can easily be justified. Care to comment?

JJ: This is a lot to digest, and I think has bi-lines and routes that could lead to dozens of side conversations on everything from the rise of the arts non-profit in Portland, to the inevitable dilution of accesible arts funding.

But in order to keep myself on track, I’ll simplify my thoughts and say I have most definitely seen more happen in the three years I’ve been gone than the five years previous. I think it is obvious we aren’t the only ones who see the potential either - look at how many artists and musicians have relocated to Portland in that time! But yes, we need to keep them here - change and growth are key, I like the idea of ‘retooling’ (is that a word?) things, questioning structures that are already in place, and continually moving forward in a continuous cycle of awareness, re-evaluation and action. And Ruthann Brown (@ NAAU) has no doubt got her finger on something, which hopefully will inspire the like in, and will reverberate throughout, the community.

TJN: Excuse the diatribe-like primer, it’s my way of passing the torch. Thanks for being eloquent and brief in your response, but so much is happening around us, it is energizing. What intentions, that you care to share, do you have for your column here on Oregonlive?

JJ: When discussing this very question with a friend recently, I think I put it best when I said I wanted to bring to the column an equal mixture of three things: an honest, critical voice, idealism, and an awareness of all that is happening culturally in the US and abroad. I would like it to be something that simultaneously pushes and embraces, informs and prods.

TJN: That’s refreshing. A broader view, it helps put the region in perspective. Ahhhh, I realize you are just re-settling in after your recent transplantation here, but how have you already gotten back into the swing of things?

JJ: I arrived really driven and focused on getting myself involved as quickly as possible, and thankfully, have kept that focus. Thanks to some great friends, some re-introductions, and meeting some new people, I’ve been surprisingly busy. Along with attending every art show and event I can, I’ve been catching up on all the other things I missed so much about Portland- my favorite bars and restaurants, second-run theaters, great shoe stores, my hair salon…

Not too long after arriving, I had heard from a few people that the Portland Art Center might need an artist for an upcoming exhibit, and hunted down Gavin Shettler’s number to see if I could help find someone to fill the slot. We met up soon after, and though they had found someone for the exhibit, we got to talking and I’ve been working with him, Kelly Rauer, and the great artists, volunteers and board members involved with the non-profit ever since, helping with various projects and ideas. I’ve recently been voted on as a PAC Board Member as well, and look forward to being more involved.

I also have some other things in the works, including some independent curatorial projects, so am trying to meet as many new artists and see as much new work as I can.

TJN: It’s all in the spirit. Congratulations on the PAC role, they are starting to sprout and will only continue to emerge with a solid Board. Portland certainly does have all those “special places” in and outside of the arts scene per se, but on the whole, it creates one big seamless place to explore. What is your favorite bar? I’d have to say mine is either Masu or Apotheke, though I love Mint – and only recently got introduced to Acme.

JJ: Yeah, the Biennial-semi-after-party at Acme (was the first time I had been there, and it was pretty great.

** Side Note: the three guys at Acme are currently re-vamping their site, so I want to interject a bit of info. here — Jon Beeaker, chef at Acme, who is of Pazzo, Blue Hour, and most recently Saucebox fame, has some really innovative ideas cooking in that huge kitchen. The comfortable and affordable restaurant smokes all its own meat on huge smokers in the back and makes their own kimchi- how cool is that?

But….what was the question? Oh, my favorite bar of the moment….I think that what Ringlers Annex lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for with a mean Makers-and-(fresh) gingerale.

TJN: I’m thrilled that other businesses (especially the ones that deal in the sense of taste) interest you. I always feel that the flair of any great city comes from the entire set of our social culture. Restaurants in Portland are no longer a dime a dozen, they really have impacted the scene greatly. So, in your view, since you’ve been gone, has Portland changed?

JJ: I think I might see things differently if I had been gone the entire three years without visiting, and then returned to see all that has happened. But instead, like you, I’ve seen gradual changes happening over a period of time. The city is obviously growing and expanding, both physically and culturally.

What I’ve not seen change enough, that I think we all really need to push ourselves to move further and faster, is getting Portland off the proverbial fence. This city, particularly in terms the arts, has long since been ‘nearly there’, or ‘right on the edge’ of something really phenomenal on an international scale, and I think it is possible for us to be that — that is why I moved back. But we’re not quite there. (Amy Jenniges‘ href="http://http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=45622&category=34029/">2020 Vision, written for the Portland Mercury recently, talks about this exact issue and more.)

TJN: Right on. So, what’s your 411? I mean, do you approach art criticism and the larger dialogue from an ivy leaguer’s perspective or are you all about streets smarts?

JJ: I value my education very much - I’m a graduate of the Oregon College of Art and Craft, and that four years taught me so much about myself, as well as my work. I certainly have no regrets about getting my MFA. And I love to read and talk theory. But what I have realized in the past few years is that most of what I have taken, the most from experience wise, has been outside of the structure of school, through the people I’ve met, where I’ve gone, and the work I’ve done. So, I don’t know - maybe I’m somewhere in between….?

TJN: Anything you want to say, in general, about cultural criticism and/or the Portland arts scene?

JJ: For now, I think I’ll just finish by saying that I don’t think I could have picked a better time to be back in Portland. There is so much happening right now - so much great work, so many plans in action, and so much potential.

TJN : Well put. You’ve come at a great time, with the Oregon Biennial in progress, CAMP opening within months, Organism just planted, the Affair at the Jupiter Hotel and PICA’s TBA Festival around the corner, the community is alive and well. Welcome back Jeanine!

8/19/06
STRIPED CHAPTERS

New works by painter John Brodie are on view at the Hillsboro Cultural Arts Center. Yesterday, I trekked nearly to the end of the Max line to catch a glimpse of what he’s up to. It had been more than half a year since I was first exposed to his work at the Portland Art Center (a large text piece on cardboard) and the New American Art Union (a lovely collage-like painting now appearing in my own studio). For a busy man he’s obviously been burnin’ the studio candle late night. In the dozen plus works on view at the center alongside geometric abstractionist Joe McMurrian, Brodie has some ROI for those long hours, indeed.

Though his works range from a sculptural wooden totem tower dripping in stripes of horizontal color to a wild manipulated self-portrait collage (complete with two karat eyes), his paint books are the stand out here. These bound books, each approximately thirty-two pages, contain several painted works on wallpaper in a hardcover with gold embossed titles. In most of these compositions, the four books on view provide little evidence of the wallpaper, which is completely obscured by the layering and dripping (ala Morris Louis) over page after page of intriguing color combinations, brightly lustrous and gently faded. Even where the pages may have accidentally stuck together randomly, the transference of paint was interesting to ogle. The handling of these works was also something that immediately brings you closer to the process of the artist’s own experience of working the surface.

The works speak of serrated clouds fused in kaleidoscopic landscapes. They are as milky opaque as they are translucent and keep changing as you flip pages. A definite rhythmic pattern emerges and calls upon flashes of hyperkinetic energy like the pace of dramatic nightlife. The stripes blend and undulate smoothly as the slick tactility of the vinyl-like pages provide a sturdy ground for your perusal. One book is, in fact, thirty-two separate paintings. The balance of the left and right sides play off each other, sometimes with a beguiling blur, sometimes with pop color and throughout with a sense of impassioned wit. These are some of the best artist books I’ve seen in Portland. See them for yourself through August 25.

Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 East Main St, Hillsboro, Hours: Mon-Thurs 9AM-9PM, Fri 9AM-6PM and Sat 10AM-4PM. INFO: (503) 615-3485.

8/17/06
ON THE RADIO [ & ELSEWHERE ]

While on Julie Bernard’s Art Focus at KBOO this morning something stuck. While sitting on a radio panel made up of interesting, and well spoken, art provocateurs, so to speak, we all had one thing in common — community. I joined Madames Lake and Radon and Monsieur Speer for a live session on the air. And though we only vaguely scratched the surface of issues we covered post conceptualism (if that’s even possible), biennials past and present, a few show highlights, a new curator in town, and women in the competitive politics of the arts. It was such a diffused summary squashed into a half hour. To breathe into this more deeply, as if taking in the nose of a fine wine, these topics must be left to diffuse. Into community-based dialogues at bars and cafes, among friends, a re-visit to the show with one of the included artists perhaps, or during the ensuing artist talks - anywhere, anytime…really.

It was interesting to hear everyone’s, albeit shortened take on this pivotal event for contemporary art in our city. Though, this type of forum only has best impact when people openly discuss what they see and their expectations. These include those about how a museum guides the general public, and the culture of arts enthusiasts — in their appreciation and understanding of the placement of work within the walls of an institution. Audience development starts in our hands, out of our mouths, in the gestures of our whole bodies. Portland, being of its size and ilk, is needing now to step up to this magical “plate” that seems to be the coin in every other person’s pocket. And I’m not talkin’ spare change over here. We need to accept ourselves, our cultural breadth and our shortcomings, and charter a logical map of who and where we are.

And that starts here and now. Again. With a compendium of voices, just like those in the room today. Those saavy, interesting, sometimes critical, always vocal people out there. These folks have dedicated a great portion of their time to juxtaposing the arts into our lives. This needs acknowledgement, encouragement, and frequent feedback. Our collective voice shapes the cultural cityscape and the potential of where we go from here. So, ya see, it’s not all about being an average talking head. Au contraire.

In that short half hour we only had time to briefly touch upon a few artists on view in the exhibition. We discussed: Laura Vandenburgh, Storm Tharp, Vanessa Renwick, Andrew Ellmaker & Mark Brandau, Chandra Bocci, David Eckard, Holly Andres, Zach Kirchner, Matthew Picton, Houston, Lucinda Parker, Brad Adkins and Federico Nessi. It was an unintentional collection of soundbites, a cliff notes-style thinktank central. I didn’t get to say how I felt that Brandau/Ellmaker’s piece somehow reminded me of a tireless take on post-Woody Allen, it had that same sardonic appeal, but was obviously coming from the perspective of the id. The timing, the tonality, the flatness of it all.

I don’t think any of us had an opportunity to complete a full thought. Well, Eva’s point about women artists is a good one, it could easily be a two-hour special unto itself, an endless topic of our ongoing his/herstory…but when discussing the Guerilla Girls it should be appropriately under the guise of anonymity, unlike the house of Houston™ (aka Matt Clark) which has its toes in the intentional. I think we could have spent the whole half hour discussing self as commodity. Nah. Even though there are some good things about his Focus Group show over at Portland Art Center, that logo may wear thin after a short while. Someone said it seems like the permutations of a Master’s thesis show, and I kinda agree.

PATENT PENDING

Not to play safe, I think some of the younger artists, while bringing a “fresh” spirit to the art world, often with it comes an awkward derivative nature. I mean - the glossies only provide enough eye candy by way of advertisements…but the copycats will be found out, unless they can bring about an entirely new dimension - and that is what we can predict here to a certain extent.

Houston’s work as reported by Chas Bowie in this week’s Portland Mercury does infer a potentially limitless je ne sais quoi in the hands of fabricators (hell, most of my work is fabricated), and this is one of those larger areas for discussion. But this point would be completely moot without something new being said. Bowie’s comments around the aspects of his imagery “Flavor Country” hit that nail dead on. So, it’s not all about a buncha sticks strewn around, and not even about its pretty rainbow colors, it’s work about place, work about the enculturation of subliminal advertising and merchandising of beauty. So, I ask, how do you fold in the gas masks and the central mirrored tableau, a bbq cum coffin to addiction. That’s where the whole thing goes awry. Yeah, it’s senseless to some extent - BUT - it has cahones in Oregon, a wild, untamed bastion of wilderness outside our growth boundary. Take a trip southeast a few hours, eventually you will stomp down on the last frontier (literally). So, this speaks to people of the mystical allure of the place we are surrounded by. There is real land out there, believe me, lots of rolling hills, fields, farms, streams, forests (well, those that havent been burnt to smitereens or clearcut to death). So, though unconventional, the Arizona native, educated at RISD, has landed in Portland, probably for the better of some and the worse of others.

Anyway, all and all I think I said most of what I needed about the Biennial this time out, but since the show must go on through October 8, there will be other voices in the mix….

Bernard will continue to host shows each Thursday at 10:30AM during August focusing on the Oregon Biennial, each with a slightly different twist. Next week I believe she has Tom Cramer and Jeff Jahn and the week following we can hear directly from a dynamic trio of those included: Storm Tharp, Kristan Kennedy and David Eckard…(though you can also hear these three speak about their inclusion in the show this Sunday, August 20 at PAM, 2PM). Tune in and talk back.

8/16/06
NEWPORT’S LEONARDO?

HOLY TOLEDO! THE CODE CRACKED?
Toledo, OR: Why has traffic virtually come to a stand-still (or is that still life) outside of Newport? First there were sightings of UFO’s, then it was once all sacred in the Church of Elvis…now a hillside mirage? Is it the shroud of….HOLY, MONA! I first caught glimpse of this story (SWI, are ya listenin’?) on CNN today, but the good folk at KGW picked this up. And the full story here. At 60 feet high I wonder if mason by day, artist by night Samuel Clemens (and we’re not talkin’ Mark Twain here) got a grant for this…..The Newport News did a nice lil’ piece too. A Louvre in our own backyard (literally)!

*** IN OTHER NEWS: Don’t forget to tune into KBOO 90.7FM (or online) at 10:30AM (Thursday, 8/17) on the ‘morrow. You will be treated to a fashionable panel of experts that includes Lisa Radon, Richard Speer, Eva Lake and myself, discussing the Oregon Biennial! - Play Loud -

8/16/06
RACC

Due on Monday (8/21) are the latest available RACC Grant proposals. These fall under the following three categories: Artistic Focus, Neighborhood Arts and Arts In Schools. Keep in mind that this year, if you have not already done so, it was a requirement to have sent in your electronic Intent to Apply before August 14. The three categories are broken down as such:

Artistic Focus (AF) ~ project grants that demonstrate high artistic quality, innovation, creativity in programming and artist selection, and demonstrated ability by the artist or organization.

Neighborhood Arts (NAP) ~ project grants that support cultural and arts programs and services that involve direct community participation. The project should impact a variety of citizens in the RACC service area by helping to provide them with a greater sense of self, family, community and place.

Arts-In-Schools (K-12) (AIS) ~ project grants that encourage and enable members of the professional arts community to work in schools and create arts-rich learning environments.

If you have questions contact RACC: 503-823-5111

Speaking of which….And then Theeeerrrreee’sssss……
no pun intended: ADRIENNE BARBEAU!

She, the Tony-nominated® star of Maude fame…of the b-cult classic Swamp Thing (1982) and little else, really. But, here she is, back from retirement, to drag out her newest vehicle (maybe puns do apply) a memoir simply titledThere Are Worse things I Could Do (like what, become a serial killer?). But, I digress. You, the public, will have the ultimate privilege to hear her reading at the Bridgeport Village Borders (why not?), Monday night at 7PM (and it’s free!).

As you toil to meet your deadlines, take a moment out for a wee bit of tuneful station identification inspiration:

MAUDE THEME (Dave Grusin)

“Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
She didn’t care if the whole world looked.
Joan of Arc with the Lord to guide her
She was a sister who really cooked.
Isadora was the first bra burner
And you’re glad she showed up.
(Oh yeah)
And when the country was falling apart
Betsy Ross got it all sewed up.
And then there’s Maude. (6X)

And then there’s
that old compromisin’,
enterprisin’,
anything but tranquilizin’,
Right on Maude!”

* Good luck to all, and to all a good night. Now Get Back To Work!

8/15/06
KIMBER SHIROMA: AN INTERVIEW

LAYERED DEPTHS:.

TJ Norris: Walking into your recent show, Attached, back in July, I was pleasantly surprised by the daring scale of your new work. In fact some of the pieces may have been too large for the basement space at Gallery 114 with its normal height ceilings. What challenges did the actual space pose? Can you discuss your figurative (and literal) growth process?

Kimber Shiroma: I began doing larger work gradually. It came from my transition of thinking in two dimensions to thinking about more three-dimensional concepts such as installation and my exist signs. My desire to do larger work and installation, as well as my work as an art director in film, comes from my desire to fully encompass the viewer in the work. For me, it’s about creating an experience for the viewer. I see this particular show as layers of questions and invitations to the viewer to experience the work on whatever level they are comfortable with. The installation is an environment that you can walk into, smell, touch, and hold each shape - discovering the liquid, or the various objects hidden inside. The fabric in the entrance reminds the visitor that they are entering a space that is different from the hall, or the street, or the salon next door. They are entering a gallery where ideas are brought to a resting place.

As far as installing the work, I had to re-stretch the paintings in the gallery (they were too big to fit through the door). The installation was made mostly in Gini’s studio and then assembled, bit-by-bit, over four days in the gallery space.

TJN: What is the significance of the title of the show?

KS: The show’s title is about the opposite sides of our relationship to the world around us. I feel that we all have things that keep us steady and things that keep us from our potential. Attached was about the things we are connected to and the positive and negative of these connections.

TJN: As part of this growth, there also seems to be a clear style shift. Gone are pop references, the structured and architectural grid-style geometrics of former pieces, except for one possible transition work at the rear of the gallery. Am I seeing things?

KS: Yes. This work is much different from my other work (the architectural abstractions and the process painting). I continue to work on paintings that are more along the lines of slow transitions, using the same palette and concepts similar to those previous shows. I think that this current work is a reaction to working with tiny brushes and photo realistic images on carefully mapped surfaces, or the process paintings (of which the back painting is a looser process piece). The process pieces were abstract, yet all about control and precision. I needed to work with the raw materials again. I found myself working in a different way - larger and more expressive.

FLOWING:.

TJN: Far more expressive, highly languid and gestural. And there were watery references in the work. And the fishtank piece….How does this fit into your vision here?

KS: References to water have often appeared in my work. I think that an artist, in the modern sense, is a person who has ideas. For me, paint, wood, wax, video, Plexiglas, and plaster are all potential tools that I can use to create. The fish tank projects are basically mazes. The idea is that the fish have basic needs - oxygen and food. I feed them in the upper left hand corner and they get their oxygen from the top floor of the tank. They have no real need to explore the other floors or to seek out the oasis of plants on the bottom floor of the tank. Basically, it was a simple experiment to see if the fish would be adventurous and seek the beauty or would they just hang out at the top where their basic needs were met. I wanted to reference society and to acknowledge that all of us do things that wouldn’t be considered practical (the people that are looking for more than just the basics in life).

TJN: For me, the strongest work in the show is also the darkest (horizontal piece when you walk in to the left). Its expressionist layers of paint is rich and mysterious, like falling in a cloud of thunder. Though, I also see it as potentially problematic. Can you say something about the choice of stretching this work only on three sides and for exposing only a horizontal strip of black with only your signature at the bottom?

KS: At first I was planning on stretching the canvas’s directly on the walls of the gallery. I really liked the way the drips and the excess medium collected on the bottom of the three large paintings. I made sure that when stretching the canvas’s I wouldn’t have to cut off those bottom edges. On that particular piece, I decided to show that edge by leaving it hanging.

TJN: Say something about the incorporation of the artist signature on painting….

KS: I think that the signature helps to balance the piece. I am usually against signing pieces on the front. I think that if it looks wrong than don’t do it. In this case though, it works with the composition.

TJN: What is it like working with a collaborative gallery space like Gallery 114? Did you actually collaborate with Gini Chin, the other artist on view?

KS: Gini Chin and I did collaborate on the installation piece. It was really great. We know each other well enough that we aren’t afraid to critique each other. Because of this open dialogue, the piece evolved freely and without much struggle.

SUPERSIZE YOU:.

TJN: The new work, while on a grander scale, also invites a more intimate inspection of its surface, which includes mixed media. Why did you choose some of the materials that are only partially revealed for this work?

KS: With the paintings I really got into applying layers of slightly tinted resin. By covering up parts, I wanted to create contrast between the matte and shine, wax and resin, dark and light.

TJN: That shines through.

I carry the spirited words of Henri Cartier-Bresson with me always. The fact that he was more concerned with “the perfect moment” rather than caring about the F-stop or the contrast levels at the time of point and shoot. The moment impacts all artists. Care to talk about any of your influences? Artists that you hold dear to your own philosophical ideology? In other words, are there colleagues, teachers or historic references that can be imposed, even if subconsciously, in your work?

KS: I like that idea of being ready to take a picture at any moment. I think that sometimes we have to forget about the politics and practicalities of whatever situation we are in. Sometimes I paint first and think of how and where I will show later. I can only bring what I have at the time and give it my best intentions. I can’t control what others will bring to the show. You have to let go.

As far as my influences go, there is a local painter named Jim Donnely who’s work and philosophy I have always admired. In L.A, I worked for Paul McCarthy who has really influenced the way I feel about really doing the kind of work you want to do.

TJN: What’s next for you?

KS: I want to work bigger - think bigger.

KIMBER SHIROMA shows at the cooperative GALLERY 114 (1100 NW Glisan). Regular gallery hours are Wed-Sat 12-6PM. (* This interview was edited for clarity.)

8/14/06
ART SQUARED: The Organized Chaos of Jesse Hayward

It’s been a few weeks since I attended the opening of the Oregon Biennial. The opening night had more than a simple lilt of glamor, it was a reckoning. In particular it was great to see some friends be chosen, and to celebrate with them. There was a sense of anticipation, as if like watching Monty Hall announce “what’s behind door number 3!!!”. But less trite than that, it was a time to see those making strides in the community get their due fifteen minutes in the spotlight (though some have already burned the candle on both ends for years). Once I walked into those galleries my brow furrowed, yes, my critical eye was out. I was in my best Doubting Thomas stance about the whole thing. Spending a good portion of the year re-honing my critical, curatorial chops has gotten to me, and only amplifies the continuous beckoning back to the studio. The Biennial provided one of those types of time-released unveilings that allows you to not only feel part of the greater visual arts community, but have the leverage to shoot from the hip about work that is both ingenious and plain ugly.

One of the artists who may not mind falling under either category is Jesse Hayward. You know, this guy is an artist’s artist. He’s a bit brusque, quick with a quip and tenaciously edgy. Last week he was one of three artists who talked about their work as part of an ongoing lecture series at the Portland Art Museum. He spoke to the crowd with a somewhat defensive stance, even at one point describing his work ridiculously as ‘blobism’ as he openly quoted Frank Stella, an obvious influence. Outside of the verbiage, Hayward is a damn good painter and can build a mean surface. So what is he doing now?

When I met up with him in January to do a studio visit I was moved by some of his personal history, and enjoyed his gingerbread house-like backyard studio. With a new toddler, he’s got his hands full, but this only seems to make his life all the more colorful. Upon entry, his home, set in a quiet green nook of Northeast Portland, is filled with his work and some by his boldest regional contemporaries. A lively collection of cartoon figurines greets you in the entryway. When I visited he was simultaneously resolving countless works, some were in latent or dormant stages, others were freshly wet, some were leaning against one another and parts of the Large Pod Project on view at the Museum now, were strewn around the space. The work echoes in the harmony and bravado of artists like Judy Pfaff, Linda Benglis and Elizabeth Murray rolled into one entity. When I suggested to Hayward that his work had this forged aesthetic reminiscent of some of the best known women artists of the previous generation he seemed comfortable with this assertion.

My first reaction to his Biennial entry was “what the hell” rather than “great resolve” or “bravo, a masterwork”. Hayward admitted in his talk, answering to an audience member’s question, that his work doesn’t really come to completion…meaning it’s never done. And while I think it’s novel to imagine something permanently-in-progress, this seems to be an altered prospectus on his modus operandi. His critically successful and sought after earlier works, paintings referred to as the ‘goop series’, have been all but replaced by this distinctly irrational installation style output. These earlier paintings have been collected by the likes of Donald Baechler, Jeff Jahn and myself. The works, as he describes, are something of a hybrid that vascillates between being sculpture and/or painting and vice versa - though winds up being neither. The work is meant to be viewed from multiple angles, making it much more sculptural by default, though the entire conglomeration of objects is covered in frothy layers of built-up paint. Though, what he seems to commandeer best is a sense of organizing the chaos of objects quite neatly. The resulting push-pull tension has a somewhat unresolved overture. The components look to be closeted, packaged, reigned. While they scream to take over the space they stand, contorted limbs and all, somewhat awkwardly.

The work feels sorted and poses a cacophony of problematic conundrums. It has the potential to command the space to a vast degree - but he’s not going there, on purpose. Though this leaves the objects as if in storage, containing their ability to physically engage me, instead they enrage me, and seem puny. But how can this happen when I am only 5′6″? It’s all about placement and the power of installation. To succeed the work needs to completely dominate a space, by using the ceiling, walls, everywhere the viewer wants to look — it should surround you. So, he must be up to something, raising my need to question. And when he spoke about his work he nailed it by saying just that. The work offers the questions of space, weight, balance, construction and form.

But, for some reason, when I heard Hayward speak at the Museum, a funny yet realistic sense of clarity overwhelmed me. Though he was a bit poised, he was talking to the crowd with both a sense of depth and humor, he wasn’t talking down about his placement in this important show, he had arrived. Just where his final destination was clearly in flux. He was quite open and unafraid with the audience, and though he drifted off a littlle, he was in an honestly illogical space with his work. How exciting and fresh is that? VERY. And while the work may ignore the use of some conventional presentation motifs, like pedestals and a linear hanging, the cluster-fu*k approach can hit you unwittingly.

But, such is his aesthetic. It’s far from my methodically clean numerology and fetischistic finish. His is flung over the top, with lines and colors aplenty. But his new penchant for order is what he’s working out. I saw this action coming on first in his Spiders In the Trees piece in Jahn’s Fresh Trouble show last Fall. It was done so well, it was even a bit shocking in its calculated sense of total recall. I mean, here is an artist using baby blues and umbers and reds in combination with plaid-like configurations, right angles, bulb-like growths akin to macro explosions of popcorn, yet they were like a gathering of totems. Though minimally abstract and geometric, they were like the faces of fifty different people staring right at you. In Large Pod Project, however, he’s gone a few steps further, morphing traditional canvases, now interconnected, bolted together, coagulated, and treestump forms that look as though they are bleeding ice cream from being cut short. It’s a great big megamix of wild, freestyle work pertly arranged. And yet, there is a bit of sadness in this blur of folly.

Hayward will present a solo show at Chambers in October.

8/11/06
REAR VIEW

Hind sight is 360 degrees, or something like that…The last week has been filled with flicks and no-frills and flashbacks. I ventured to the theater to see both the irreverant and funny Thank You For Smoking (w/Rob Lowe) and the bleak drug haze of the animated version of Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly (w/Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Keanu Reeves), both which were quite good (Downey, Jr. was particularly notable as the neurotic genius leaching roomie). Last night I was at the NW Film Center’s showing of Xanadu (1980), wow, is that picture dated or what? Good humoured cheesiness. Kira, a roller-boogie space goddess played by Olivia Newton-John meets Gene Kelly (in his very last role, virtually playing himself) as Danny McGuire, a seventy-something retired pro clarinetist. All to the music of Jeff Lynne’s ELO. Someone had to have thunk it. The crowd at the top of the parking structure brought new meaning to “Top Down” vocally wincing at every super bad special effect on screen. It was good clean Portland fun.

Speaking of films….I just saw Vanessa Renwick’s Portrait #2: Trojan (2006) as part of the Portland Art Museum’s Oregon Biennial. The astonishing five-minute color film was shot in 35MM and transferred to video, sporting a perfectly synched musical score by Quasi’s Sam Coomes. No narrative, just a picturesque haunting reminder of our lives under the totem of a nuclear state. Long defunct, the monumental tower was imploded earlier this year and Renwick (of Oregon Department of Kick Ass) decided to capture the haunting silhouette that has simply stood there menacingly for years. She calmly documents its demise, which is very much an anti-climax. The short film adores its subject, the towering cement structure. Over a varying course of time, with lapse and stills we view a building painted in pastel light, stark at night, at dawn and dusk. Its inevitable course in its history would be told through a moment in time when it was no more. In essence, the very moment of implosion infers the ultimate destructive potential of its former chilling power. The film, shot by veteran cameraman Eric Alan Edwards (To Die For, Copland, The Break-Up), is stunning to watch, and perfectly blunt.

Don’t miss Renwick speak about her work (along with Shawn Records and Michael Brophy) at the PAM on September 24, from 2–3:00PM.

8/9/06
CLOSER TO HEAVEN

TOP DOWN
Wow, it’s like taking the forgotten concept of the Drive-In to a whole new level, literally! Starting tomorrow night, and for the remainder of the month, the NW Film Center screens quirky films of the 70s and 80s, accompanied by live music, atop the newly refurbished (and may I say quite stylishly) Deluxe Hotel (815 SW 15th, formerly The Mallory). The hotel continues to feature one of my favorite bar finds in the entire city, and WWeek’s Best Of 2006 for Best Former Best of Portland (That We’re Glad To See Is Still Kickin’ It), The Driftwood Room. This place brings class to classic (with an aire of the 40s and a touch of futurism). Speaking of which, up first in this mini film fest is the b-classic (in the making) the Olivia Newton-John vehicle and 80’s romp Xanadu (Thursday, 8/10, 9PM - $5.00) complete with live music by Per Se. Ongoing films will include Gus Van Sant’s Mala Noche and others (check listings). A welcome return to the glory days of roller disco featured at the spire of downtown elegance this Thursday! Come and convene with the stars…..

8/8/06
STEVE RODEN / JAMES TURRELL

One of my favorite living sound sculptors is Pasadena-based Steve Roden. His exhibition and performance history dates back to the mid 80s, presenting from Tokyo to New York. He may still be best known for his recorded works (12K/Line, Nonvisualobjects, SIRR) of minimal hiss, noise and the like, though his field recordings and electronics are quite far-reaching and his work, while sensational and at times subtle, remains sensory and situational. Roden will make a live appearance on August 24 (7PM) as an adjunct to his installation piece, day ring, night ring (August 25-October 15) shown collaboratively in James Turrell’s Skyspace at the Henry. Tickets are limited and are going fast, check their site for full information.

8/7/06
STREET SWEEP

In the past week, between things, I managed to get out to see some new work in galleries across town. While winding things down this is more like a fly commentary rather than a critical overview.

At the Portland Building (below Portlandia) I took in Jenene Nagy’s Saturated Pasture, installation complete with pink mountains, cool blue insulation foam forms (ala recent Amanda Wojick’s Biennial offering) and other “mundane” household materials. In a simulated super-pop landscape, trees are formed from tiny button shapes and the irreverent neons blast your eyes in this quirky tableau. Through Friday, August 11.

Brenda Mallory probably set the bar for the continued future of the Portland Modern window on Lovejoy. Her organic honeycomb-styled work Emergent Properties, fit the storefront window display site to a ‘t”. Now de-installed, please watch for new work by the Gilsdorfs (Bean and Dan), currently on view.

PDX Contemporary has the latest work of James Lavadour, Sun Spots. These intersections of architectural landscapes and minimalist abstraction are easy on the eye. The vivid color, in deep reds, oranges and earthy tones reminds me of some early squeegeed Rauschenburg screens, but these seem so simplified, yet sacred in a magical way. Though striking, his best work is still akin to the beauty on the lower level of the Portland Art Museum. Though as an artist who has been using stencil-like silhouettes myself, I like the stark use of shape atop the divided layers of oil on wood here. Get around the corner and don’t miss the shaped “tile paintings” by Arcy Douglass in the window - very optical, very minimal, very strong work by this artist represented by New American Art Union.

At Tilt you can see the latest work by local duo Jonathan Leach and Amy Steel. I hate rainbows. Freeway Hypnosis brings on the kitsch. The show includes fuzzy bear prints and right angles and more architectural references as seen last month, but I think Avantika Bawa responded so much better to the actual physical space, and treated it with a spirit of minimalism somewhat lost here. This formula, already seen in work by others here in Portland, all with varying degrees of success, could be more purposeful as window display rather than installation.

The Black and White Show at Pulliam Deffenbaugh is a straight ahead, yet themed, Summer inventory show. It’s always nice to see works by Richard Diebenkorn and Terry Winters, here paired alongside show standouts Marc Katano’s bubbly, experimental acrylics, G. Lewis Clevenger’s clash organic geometry paintings and Jerry Iverson’s ongoing cryptic abstractions. The new Brian Borrello drawings are even more undulating than ever, just gorgeous.

8/6/06
A FRIENDLY LITTLE ART SHOW

THE EMERALD: Spending a beautiful day in the park, as part of inClover, was the polar opposite of meandering through the Pearl on first Thursday, so a few of us green types dubbed it such. Artists gathered early to install their work as part of this outdoor event organized by coupled artists Scott Wayne Indiana and Harvest Henderson. The weather was purely lazy Summer. We sat and talked critically and casually, ate apples, brie with french bread and ice cream sandwiches, played Yahtzee and had a genuinely nice day. The official report will include photos and documentation as well as a curatorial statement….In the meantime Carolyn Zick, who was down from Seattle shot some images. Artist Kiri Hargie also uploaded some.

In the meantime, as a participant, it was a creative and inspiring event giving me the opportunity to collaborate with Abi Spring and present something as public art. sim_park [network] is a prototype for a larger piece we will elaborate on in the future. It was spectacular watching the way neighborhood folks interacted with the work, in particular the wonderment of small children who were dazzled by shadow and light, color and foreign objects. Lots of artists and community folks came out to enjoy the day.

Later this week a review of the festivities will appear here as scripted by Is It Art’s newest correspondent Jeanine Jablonski who will take my spot here on O-live. So watch for that.

UPDATE: Jeff Jahn just posted his birdseye thoughts on inClover.

8/5/06
GOT GREEN?

Today, from 12-7PM in Mount Scott Park come see inCLOVER, a friendly little art show in Portland Oregon. Yours truly, alongside a bevy of nineteen regional and national artists, happen upon the park to present outdoor installations and other goings-on.

8/3/06
THE BALLOTS ARE IN

After inserting my own two cents, and though it only opened to the public eye five short days ago, they hopped to attention and made their mark (my word!). The critics have reared their heads in honor (and some in neutrality, disdain and a bit of humor) for our region’s best as chosen by Jennifer Gately, the first-ever Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art of the Portland Art Museum. One interesting tidbit (as many have cheekily termed this the Portland Biennial), of the thirty-four inductees this year only six are from outside of the more concentrated metro area. However, inclusiveness of the “scene” seems to be on everyone’s minds. The Oregon Biennial will continue to be on view through October 8th. Museum Hours are 10AM-5PM Tues, Wed and Sat; 10AM-8PM Thurs-Fri; 12-5PM Sun. Admission is $10; $9 seniors/students.

With plenty more press, talk, chit-chat, dialogue, gossip (jealousy and general blather), blogging et al to go - this is what four focal papers in town had to say:

The Oregonian & Interview
Willamette Week
The Portland Tribune
The Portland Mercury

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN:
*** I welcome YOU, the readers (artists, curators, gallerists, general art folk), to send me your comments about the Biennial. Other than editing any unnecessary expletives and the like, I will run YOUR response to this survey of regional artists. Seeking insider/outsider points of view. Whatever you wish to say, good, bad, indifferent - share your piece of mind. Since I am retiring my contributions to this column at month’s end, the time is now. If I receive enough thoughtful and provocative comments by August 18th I will run ‘em all that weekend for the world to see. All I ask is to try to keep it to approximately a solid paragraph or so, and that you do your best to keep the grammar/punctuation print-ready. Email me at tjnorris[@]gmail.com so that I may include your voice in this important dialogue. Be creative, dynamic and wise. Tell it like it is. ***

KBOO BIENNIALISMS: On Thursday, August 17th please tune into Julie Bernard’s ART FOCUS show (10:30AM) as yours truly, along with an expert (and fun) panel of cultural attaché fetischistas, will discuss their critical opinions and other musings about this years fête. Dial KBOO-FM 90.7.

8/2/06
SKIP TO THE EDIT

Portland film/video explorationist and provocateur, Ryan Jeffery (last seen at PDX with his gorgeous work Fallen) takes his vision to a new level, above the clouds and into the editing room (where he is when he’s not touring with Small Sails).

BIRDS HAVING FLOWN
Jeffery, working with music video director Chel White, has been key editor in the making of the latest Thom Yorke video Harrowdown Hill from his just released solo disc The Eraser. He of Radiohead fame, unleashes a new sound that’s as grey as it is a blend of funky techno beats and strident guitar line. A distrurbingly elegant vision that looks as though its taken advantage of our local Lens Babies point of view. Be the first on the block to take a PEEK at what is yet to come….

8/2/06
FIERY LAKE

It’s the first Wednesday in August. The air is temperate and there’s so much going on around town. First Thursday brings another slew of interesting work, in particular shows by James Lavadour (PDX), Rhoda London (Q Center, 1028 SE Water Street), Pat Boas (Nine @ Blue Sky) and Eva Lake (Augen).

I had a sneak preview of Lake’s work last week. Two words, colorful and eye-popping. A complete melange of a new take on an old classic sense of Bauhausian minimalism twisted up into a ribbon of surreal color combos. The larger they are, the more I fall into them, and though you might mistake some of the colors for sprightly 80’s fashion (Stephen Sprouse, Fiorucci and the like) it’s NOT about neon, it’s NOT about flashy trashy quickie post-Op/Pop. In the new work, on view through August 29, Lake has made an homage to the repetitious rectangle and made it float on light.

The showstopper, also the postcarded image, is surely Night Ride in a synchronized balance between yellow-orange and deep blues that are at once opposite, and twice blithe. Though, she has control over this odd palette, the introduction of the more evident hand in the work is also clear. These new works on canvas dance in your eyes with a candied color sensability. A smile emerges with a bit of joyful delight, but the more one stares into them the crazier they toy with the viewer’s basic balance - almost evoking a drug-like state. The shapes are dominoes, matchsticks, tribal teeth clentched and ready to bite your head off. They are mechanical and maniacal and their geometries are deterred by much of the surface tilt. They may induce a floaty sense of sea-sickness for some, but that’s physical painting. She calls this practice maximalism, and I just may agree. My only criticism is the installation needs more room, more white space between them, and of course I want them to be eight feet tall. Though to counter that, they may become too over the top and more circus-like than necessary. The chattering levels of Warmer and the petit square foot of Crimson were my other two favorites. These works need to be taken in one at a time, and the more actual time you spend with them the more they conjure cut-up lansdcapes toying with your macrovision. The show’s title, Take Off has enough multiple entendres to keep you guessing.

7/31/06
(T)ART: OREGON BIENNIAL

If the arts were a pie, the thirty-four individual slices dealt from 700+ submissions at PAM’s latest Biennial are parts sweet and sour, but unified by a buttery crust that brings it all together.

OK, I admit, I have an attitude. First impressions are both imperfect and important, they set standards, can be prophetic and/or pathetic (spelled, with a few glowing exceptions, this year’s Whitney Biennial). My initial reaction to the 2006 Oregon Biennial (aka “the Triennial“) is more of an improv response in the spirit of the opening ceremony, than to the artwork per se (and apologize for missing the press opening). A return visit is in order to capture a more comprehensive reading of the goings-on, though the instantaneous factor parallels a curatorial vision only recently exposed to a vital creative scene.

Jennifer Gately, the Portland Art Museum’s first-ever curator of Pacific Northwest Art gracefully swerves the curves as a newbie to Stumptown. She has finessed a vibrant exhibition survey that recognizes and catalogues some critically important work created over the last three years.

It’s important to point out that the Biennial’s showstopper and predominant low-point are both commercially represented by Elizabeth Leach. That said because of the clear playful aesthetic form that the two artists embody. Chandra Bocci’s Gummi Big Bang II, strings syrupy sweet candy into something of a molten mobile as shrine, emphasizing a work that illustrates a comic astral end during wartime. The placement of this installation-based sculptural work is quintessential to it’s success by way of its use of (inner) light and her ability to contain and diffuse the unusual power of odor. It’s subtle and odd enough, within the construct of the museum, to take your surprise and contort your senses in double take. It’s like a pulsating, vibrating, fire-eating satellite orgasmatron of bursting flavor. It tempts the senses of the viewer. It’s also like a still from a music video or TV commercial. Bocci, the youngest artist in the exhibition, has re-branded a piece she first developed as something of a chandelier back in 2003 for the Modern Zoo exhibition. This emphasizes that installation work can skillfully morph into another entity altogether, a prime example of the velocity of site specific work. This refabrication of an earlier work is something that Gately also astutely “museumizes” (or brands) herein in works by David Eckard and Brad Adkins.

Though in polar light to Bocci’s bright vision are the offerings by Amanda Wojick that somehow makes her 3D bobbly and intricate methodology appear quite flat and passe. Though I have been somewhat be-dazzled by her past work and don’t bother challenging her penchant for embellishing every last detail, this Biennial veteran has landed on something a bit kitch with a flaccid outcome here. Particularly awkward is her newest work, a blue packing foam-looking form with bevelled tiers of psychedelic growth. She seems to want to obsessively develop a prototype for a simulated future world of sorts, and like Bocci, who has used the exact emphasis in her meticulous tableaus (not seen here), Wojick needs to stand back a bit more, maybe taking the circles and dots and swirls and button-like patterns to much larger wall surfaces to distract the viewer from its hyper craft-like insular take on twenty-first century nature.

The opening was a gala, and some will criticize that it was a “private” event, and yes, it was by invitation, though this is one of the very few events of this ilk that is handled this way, and there seemed to be more leniency around the “big bad closed museum door walls” than ever before as virtually everyone I know, represented or not, DIY or “famous” were there. Sure there were photos for society pages and champagne toasts, but some of us eat toast. I’m not standing here to defend exclusivity, but the fire marshall has a role in all this too. I mean, the Schnitzers and other museum patrons shared the gallery lobbies with twenty-something emerging artists fresh out of PNCA. Mid-career artists rubbed elbows with their own students and advisees, focal gallerists stormed the same rooms, business folk and philanthropists were in union. No genre or slice of life went unrepresented, in many ways this brought together the community like no other event I have personally experienced in my half decade on this coast. It felt strangely like an extended house party (NOT to be unilaterally confused with the concept of “old home week”). This was an exhilirating evening. Gately has established herself in her first effort which is something of a divining rod from past versions of this important overview of work from our region. She had the wherewithall to pound pavement, and that is respected in a town that really relies on face-to-face contact, the hand/selfmade approach, the intricate community that doesn’t always need to be ridiclously back-biting as seen in many other major cities. But the show, was able to deflect this unnecessary smugness and still apply cultural punctuation with a fresh sensibility and inclusive openness for both the traditional and the unexpected. I am unsure how many “units” this one may sell, but if this doesn’t make thinking artists and habitual scene critics (gossip queens) satisfied in their own juices, I don’t know what will.

That said, one of the downsides of seeing an exhibition during its opening definitely aids in the loss of context, and for video work in particular. But, can I just say, there is video work on view at the Portland Art Museum through October!!! Did you hear me? Whether you think this is a nod to the last three decades of the moving image, outside of commercially available theater faire, Gately’s selections here are quite daring, but I will save comment on these works until I can sit and relax (or not) and absorb this time-based work for what it is. While separate from the rest of the show (save for the poppy animated geometries of Jo Jackson which used a flat screen to hang alongside nearby paintings as 2D), the video workhas its own dedicated space within the flow of the exhibition as a whole, a big nod for representing a highly important and ever-changing medium for our times here. With as much traffic and chatter you just cannot experience the subtleties of sound as intended.

In contrast (no pun intended) to the works on celluloid the very clear absence of much painting was clear as day. And it was for this very reason in reverse, that prior Biennials were criticized. Mind you, I’m a painting fa-frreeek (and love the potential for mistake, painting outside the lines and not by numbers), but having a more representative feeling that the curatorial voice is in symphony with its artists it gives deeper truth the the term “represent” - building the region higher than a simple hill of beans.

Making a grande return, with an updated and moving performative monologue is Eckard’s master work, Podium. The steel constructed perch from which he’s been seen atop and all over the region (TBA, the Affair at the Jupiter Hotel, downtown and all around) is part processional pomp, part prolific parody and part power poetics of the contemporary art politic. His work stands in its own class with virtually no one in the region as silkly adept at almost unconsciously defying any genre boundaries. This primarily due to his own brand of performative sculpture, as seen here in Podium as well as Scribe, Tournament (lumens) and the soon-to-be-seen-to-be-believed Float that will do as its title says, only this time he will grandstand as rococo as it gets teetering at 16 feet from the surface of the snaking river below. On September 7th the mighty Willamette will be set alight with the sight and sound of this fresh new work of daring scale as part of PICA’s 2006 TBA Festival. Though unrepresented, this Renaissance man among us is equally a proven draughtsman and sculptor, Eckard’s three sculptural works here each have an assumed performative role. One piece that contains a set of crying self-portrait postcards b/w a depiction of a smoked panel taken from his Postcript piece (recently shown in grey|area at Guestroom) plays with the viewer’s sense of interaction. Should you take a card or is it something of a human scale mousetrap? Partly reminiscent of museum takeaways like that of Felix Gonzalez-Torres‘ beautiful black and white sky posters, this piece also makes the audience cognizant of the distance between themselves and the object, making the gesture of taking something away, however curious or peculiar, an act of willful choice. His piece with foot ‘pedals’ plays a bit role as part of the actual architectural museum space, repeating the footprint of the guarded ’stand back’ policing of institutional art. It’s subtle, almost unrecognizable at first, partially derivative of Robert Gober’s early works. But on Saturday evening, during his performance, his oration deftly went where no others seem to dare, for the intellectual gut, the romanticism of the art cognizenti. Bravo!

Another major standout is the astonishingly ambient topical maps by Laura Vandenburgh. These along with Bocci’s triumph are the two key artists to watch here. I couldn’t take my eyes off the soft palette and cool undulating passion with which she makes her marks. Patches of landscapes as patterns from various altitudes and viewpoints may have been taken from either the Encyclopedia Brittanica or Google maps as easily as they could have been surveyed live. The artist doesn’t give away those intimate working details here, instead she has sliced into isolated transfigurations of Earth to present something disembodied. In our fragile environment, this view of our dead planet is dead on. It’s focusing between the micro and macro at the same time. Our land dissected under a microscope, in a petri dish. Cold and calculated, it questions the whole bygone conclusion of our lush surroundings by not just coughing up an easy apocalypse, but fervently seeing life as we know it evaportating into likely synthetic pods.

Only six or so months ago I had a powerful studio visit and interchange with mixed media artist Jesse Hayward. Somewhere between the studio and the Museum something got busy, jumbled, super-messy, and dare I rhyme, wayward (”kick me”). This partial installation-based work seems completely unsupervised (almost ‘punk’ in its approach), but included are many of the works I saw that day. There are what can be inferred as bloody tree stumps alongside fairytale painted rectangle frames and a whole regurgitated smorgashboard of merry mishegas. It’s funny — brut, misplaced. What I like about Hayward’s work is that it crosses this line of painting parody as he designs a tableau from a much larger selection of individual works. Probably something of a purposeful car-crash, but the wreck will only survive if the elements don’t just sit there staring. This grouping feels awkward in that way to me. I would have preferred to have seen this piece in the nearby corner veering, busting out towards the viewer. Granted it becomes a bit difficult to decipher the bridge between this and the adjacent John Chamberlain-redux works of K.C. Madsen, but for me, this is the only outstanding installation faux pas in the Biennial. I’m a fan of Hayward’s work, so don’t read anything deeper into this than need be, but outside of that minor justification, the site specificity of this piece is weakened by its poor mapping. He makes incredible gloopy paintings, he had a formula, and even when he brought it together for last year’s Fresh Trouble show there was great potential for this newfound aesthetic he’s working. I don’t recommend going back to the drawing board here, just find some breathing room, white space inside the chaos. We will watch and wait to see what emerges in his Chambers show in October.

Recent PNCA grad, now Wieden & Kennedy designer, Federico Nessi shows his latest ‘heroic’ work in the form of c-prints mounted on aluminum. The imagery is quite interesting, the outcome a bit lack-luster. My favorite was a lightburst heavy image of an archer and another of a shoe-gazing, deer-in-the-headlights meets Caravaggio androgynous nod to Manet’s The Dead Toreador. They seem to require something else, there’s a lost tension, it’s not Cartier Bresson’s perfect moment in my eyes. And while this is the little league version of what we have flipped through Art Forum’s pages to see for years, they are related to film stills in the vein of Catherine Opie or Jeff Wall. His work does conveniently have an afterbite in the ilk of Biennial colleague Holly Andres, so see Gately (and other major dealers) for a better reading of what appeals in this particular genre of sedate work that delivers tales of nymph-like stoicism. There is nothing bad about this work, really, it’s just too influenced at the moment. One can easily see his vision broadening into the future, so maybe he’s on the cusp of something.

Other strong works here include Michael Brophy’s lusciously melancholy sumi ink drawings that hang directly across from Mark Hooper’s large scale digital prints that echo and parody Lewis and Clark’s fateful journey’s Northwestward. These two artists act as perfect foils for each other, while simultaneously capturing the myth of history of place. These two artists’ work may be very deeply different tonally, but physically and spiritually they deal in the dreams of a past, in many ways now only preserved. The ecology of man in light of the path of discovery. A great synergistic pairing in conceptualized environmental contrasts.

Of the few other painters in the show Zach Kircher, Pat Boas and Kristan Kennedy are all worth mentioning for different reasons. Boas continues her totally surreal anthropormorphic (with a stress on the morph part) investigations of wildlife merging in and out of each other, into shapes that parody splitting atoms and astrological hijinks. These natural anomalies are equally beguiling and creepy. She’s got a zoological sense of hand/eye coordination. The change to working on blue paper is curious. Though no real comparison other than base color choice, Joe Biel did the very same thing a few years back with his pencil works on paper. Curious. Kircher is a good (albeit dry) painter. These works have more in common with David Salle (circa post-Pop mid 80s) than anything else going on in the scene here. It’s up to you if that’s a good recipe or not. Kennedy’s work truly embodies the oozing, drippy afterlife of the best of Philip Guston. There’s a simplified baring here on the grotesque with one heel firmly implanted in the slowly degrading loss of volume and dimension. They simultaneously have that innate tension to attract/repulse. She uses space in bold, brassy ways and doesn’t seem to care about seducing you with anything meticulous. In fact, these pieces snub the more hyper sensitive (rational) drawing style by Ty Ennis (appearing here as well) by randomly staring ugly in its most loathing eye. She’s more akin to what you see in works by Hayward and Anna Fidler whose few contributions in the Biennial, though not her best work overall, are simply irresistable. Fidler, now living in LA, again emphasizes her systematic layering of materials, their segmentation of the landscape, a farsical loss of gravity, and over-the-top sense of gutsy paper craftsmanship. Though these works are more in the color scheme of Good and Plenty’s they dynamically resonate more with her past work, than to her recent solo stint at Pulliam Deffenbaugh. As for Ennis, aside from the shift into color works like the Family Tree I had reported earlier on my allegiance to watching him continue to emerge. His detailed draughtsmanship is always understated, leaving a spirit of the line where he can take off from next time. The cluster of drawings, like Vandenburgh’s were an apropos salon style grouping of some of his more sarchastically humorous ideas without any cloying nya nya nya. Take my advice, as a young artist with his stylish use of chosen implements, Ennis will continue to be sought after for major international drawing shows. Mark my words, then connect the dots.

I found Shawn Records barren, photographic scapes to be ghostly cool and one of the few entries truly capturing the spirit of the actual local environment. Its grays hint at the same daliance of colorlessness as in the few pieces by both Brad Adkins and Houston (Matt Clark), a recent import from scorching Arizona, who presents the other installation-based tableau in the form of spirit catchers falling from a torn out section of acoustic foam ceiling tile suspended from the actual ceiling - then paired with a piece that replaces a Hon (brand) file cabinet with his own Houston version. He crosses some obtuse line between the noir of films like Brazil with the containment of Dilbert. But the work evokes no cracked smile, my immediate response was something more like a quizical mona lisa-style poker face. The work deals in abridged tribalisms meeting white collar culture. It’s a reversal of fortune, and could be off-handedly mistaken for a “take back the night” voicing for all the natives who were ever trodden upon. The work has a sensitive aura about it. Though it suffers from its slightly claustrophobic placement, and it would be best to see each of these two pieces separated from each other, the physicality makes his two pieces into one larger statement. THIS JUST IN: Watch for a larger survey of his work, Focus Group during the month of August at the Portland Art Center.

Big breath….Let’s see, oh, of course - Matthew Picton’s hanging sculptural drawing is lovely in its navy blue chasm of the in-betweens of environmentally shot cracks and crevices. Though here, his signature transluscent resin-like plastics lose their usual play with light and shadow, but, instead are more about drawing than ever. Speaking of which, Emily Ginsburg’s Social Studies pieces are continually brainy, unlocked surprises. These board-based screenprints hinge on illusory futuristic soliloquies that are coyly decorative, if you could possibly consider a Rorschach test in this same regard. These subnarrative silhouettes make a link between Morse Code, HTML and Kara Walker. Admittedly, this was my first-ever exposure to her work but the extended dialogue here is into the networked void of a pictographic nature and is instantly comical, yet not “flash” in any way. In fact, if you are a crossword puzzler or gamer of any sort expect to potentially spend hours deciphering the details.

Storm Tharp surprised me. This is excusably not his boldest work as I think he’s saving that for his upcoming solo show at PDX. But what I wouldn’t have known, is that they were self portraits. This put them into that narcissistic place, that chasm of misunderstanding the self, effortlessly effacing or not. He sees himself as clown (sad), minstrel (menacing), jokester (melancholy) which can all be redefined by their place as a reaction to a selfish society. I enjoy the way he uses his work to guard himself, it seems a bit circumspect, mysterious and dandy in all the right ways. There were so many other artists in the show, though the only thing that made the place feel crowded was the crowd itself. Though sculptor Bill Will’s salvaged ‘tree’ did pull a bit of a Richard Serra on the spacially challenged. Brittany Powell’s contact paper wall-install “Mini Mart” was like Colorforms come to life. This work easily fits into the Superflat Portland scene (often seen at Compound, Basil Hallward, Reading Frenzy, Motel) though kicks it up a notch as her donut shop voids basically scale the very tall walls (16 feet?) of the museum. This was a bit of a surprise for me.

Brad Adkins: Is there anything left to say? (I did see some handsomely savage figurines that looked an awful lot like you recently, not to mention comic depictions of your mug [not your paint bucket, key set or water bottle] in a local newspaper not all that long ago). Though, in the words of (I think they were her words) Olivia Newton-John, “I honestly love you” (…don’t get any ideas…).

* Action figure sold separately

PS: Society Page Moment: As an aside and observed, I must comment that the suavest arts men about town are for sure Mark Brandau, Tim duRoche and Matthew Picton. Class acts one and all. Also, on Saturday night I’m pretty certain I finally met everyone else in the arts hereabouts (Henk Pander, Michael Brophy, Jo Jackson, Kristan Kennedy, Storm Tharp and Isaac Peterson).

7/31/06
Melding, Merging…MOULDing

Bob Mould is an evolving enigma. The 45 year old musician/songwriter is one of those seminal indie rockers who has delivered for three decades without a sign of stopping his secret formula for critical success. As a leader of Hüsker Dü his band (w/Greg Norton and Grant Hart) was built on quirky lyrics, broken percussion all wrapped up with a post-punk edge. Later Mould went on to record three records in as many years as Sugar, a trio featuring David Barbe on bass, and Malcolm Travis on drums. In and around these projects Mould set out on his own recording solo, often influenced by his obsession to sounds in his immediate environment. His latest project, Blowoff, with dance-pop music producer Richard Morel (Morel) is a tight little gem. In the midst of touring I had the opportunity to chat with him just before their live appearance at the Doug Fir on August 6th:

TJ Norris: Times change, people change, people stay the same, and the sounds remain untamed. Mr. Mould, it is an absolute pleasure to have the op to speak with you.

Bob Mould: Thank you.

TJN: Mapping Mould. You grew up in New York, right? How did you get to Minneapolis and where are you living these days?

BM: I was born and raised in Northern New York, and moved to the Twin Cities when I was 17. I currently reside in Washington DC.

TJN: It was just about 20 years ago (time flies, etc.) that I remember spinning my vinyl copy of Warehouse: Songs and Stories. I loved that record, some of the shorter tracks, it was somehow the most experimental rock thing I had heard to date. It probably was an impetus for all of the avant garde post minimal noise I fill my ears with these days. I was in college studying photography and film. There was this synergistic passion in those songs for me. How has your songwriting changed, remained the same?

BM: I’m not as angry these days, and I’m not necessarily trying to change the world. I’m more content with myself and my life, and as I get older, I’m more interested in finding different ways to convey my thoughts and feelings. Screaming was useful for a time, but not so much any more.

TJN: After Hüsker Dü and Sugar, both trios, you are now working with Richard Morel as a duo. Is there a different element that happens in two-way as opposed to three-way collaborations for you?

BM: Rich and I come from similar backgrounds, he more the electronic side, me more the guitar side. But, we’re both big pop music fans, and view the project as an equal collaboration.

TJN: Blowoff was born out of a Capital City nightclub dance event, yes?

BM: Yes, a monthly DJ event. Rich and I had started writing together before the first Blowoff event (January 2003). The two components of Blowoff evolved naturally, and they complement each other nicely.

TJN: If you don’t mind me saying so, you’re in good voice on this forthcoming epnomous . The new sound is pop and has layers of incredibly flavorful 80’s Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen. Am I just imagining that as I listen? Labels aside, is the live touring version of Blowoff more of a band, a DJ-based thing or some combo thereof?

BM: It’s a combination of DJ and live performance. Ideally, when we’re touring, we’re replicating our DC event. We DJ for a few hours, play a brief live set, and resume the DJ sets.

TJN: The collaboration seems well designed and crosses genres in a cool way. I guess it’s no big secret, your sexuality and all that. Though I’ve always seen you as akin to the average guy’s guy (like me), it’s refreshing that you can fit into the whole rock paradigm and still coincidentally be out. Morel and yourself look like typical teddy bears in most of the press shots I’ve seen, are you life partners as well as sonic collaborators?

BM: I’m not in a relationship at the moment. We don’t even share a room on the road – that would explain why we get along so well in the work environment.

TJN: OK, I am sure that personal space can be at a premium, especially when touring. What’s the obvious difference playing for a rock audience as opposed to a house full of clubsters?

BM: The rock audience faces the stage when music is playing; the clubsters are all over the room, socializing, dancing, and not necessarily watching the DJ.

TJN: Hmmm. That could be either disconcerting or sort of comforting as all eyes aren’t on you as you sculpt the environment. You’ve now been on the scene since the late 70s. Can you say something about the resounding elements that remain in your music, and maybe a touch about long gone trends, like acquaintances forgot?

BM: The music is still loud, it’s normally aggressive, and it’s pretty straightforward. It’s funny: I went to see The Editors this week, and was struck by how powerful the no-frills rock approach can be when done properly. Some things are timeless, if presented tastefully.

TJN: Ain’t that the truth! I recently read an interview with you somewhere talking about fetish gear? Were you poking fun at the whole rock pageantry of fashion faux pas…or do you really get in front of an audience shirtless in a utilikilt?

BM: No Utilikilt for me. They look good on others, though; I don’t have the calves to pull off that look,

TJN: LOL. Have you played Portland recently? Any memories?

BM: My last appearance in Portland was on Valentine’s Day. It was a solo performance at Doug Fir, and was a very good show. I have a few friends in Portland, and I always enjoy the city. Great music scene, fun clubs, and I enjoy the weather. And the coffee.

TJN: To date, what recording is your loudest and proudest?

BM: I like them all, but for quality, I think of Copper Blue, Workbook, and Zen Arcade. I quite enjoy Body Of Song as well – I think I’ve found a good balance of all the different elements I use when composing and performing music.

TJN: There are clear sexual overtones in some of your new songs – not necessarily explicit – almost uniquely subliminal. At 45, you sound very alive. What is the source, the fire of inspiration for your writing?

BM: Life, plain and simple. A wonderful group of people in my life, a city I enjoy living in, and a newly found appreciation for the simple things in life. I don’t think or worry about things so much any more, I just live.

TJN: Any phobias of touring?

BM: No, but there are things to watch out for – bad eating habits, not getting to the gym enough, lack of sleep.

TJN: Reading anything these days, film recommendations, other musicians to watch?

BM: Grief by Andrew Holleran. MSTRKRFT, CSS, Ed Banger Records.

TJN: Looking forward to your show! Any parting words?

BM: I hope the first Blowoff night in Portland goes well – it would be a great city to add to our regular event list!

7/27/06
SUPERSONIC POSTMODERNITY

Retreat From The Heat
Recently, mostly due to the irrational temperatures, I found myself in the cinema (rather than the kitchen). OK, I admit it, I can’t take the heat. Instead, I just so happened to select two recent films that touch on the modern day (super)hero, or bent reality of one. Those films were Nacho Libre and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Both completely trashy, mind-numbing farsical excuses for entertainment. Jack Black plays Nacho, a monk with a fascination for the forbidden life of a pro-wrestler. I sorta like the premise that he is living out his fantasy with the good intentions of providing for the orphans who live at his monastery - though the premise can’t save this completely flat dud of a dragging film. I barely eeked out a few half-assed guffaws. The only thing worth noting is that this good guy “hero” lead is fat. Good for Jack, bad for the rest of us. I’m not even going to discuss his deadpan, lacking Mexican imitation - but I will say he is no Peter Sellers (see The Party for reference).

The shmarmy Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) is actually the perfect foil for the dauntingly stunning Uma Thurman (not a stranger to superhero flicks) who plays G-Girl (aka Jenny Johnson) in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Hideously stupid stuff with some cheesey effects, it is well paced and funny, the sets are bright and the superhero is questionable and fallible. In other words, insanely jealous, neurotic and probably not perfectly suited to be intimately involved with a mere mortal. You “have” to see the film to see how it plays out - but let’s just say it gets ugly but its finish is a typical glossy Hollywood patina. Notable is that Thurman plays a New York Gallery curator (!!!) who just happens to be showing the work of, get this, Kiki Smith. I found it odd and wonderful - especially the very brief scene where they discuss the merits of the work, or fear of its peculiar unknowns as it were. The film gets one star for meaningful theater and several for being the purely indulgent, sugar coated guilty pleasure feature of the Summer.

What does this say of the state of our world today? That even our fantasy superheroes have baggage and issues, make mistakes, are far from all-knowing/all-seeing. That its acceptable to allow personal emotion to drive policy, commerce, politics, the continued search for “truth and justice” - rather than finding an unbiased, fair happy medium for all? Talk about wonder!

ABRIDGED ARCHETYPES

The upshot of this recent screening is a gaggle of imagemakers floating through my noggin. Some of whom have truly questioned the role and power of the superhero myth in the fourth dimension. A house favorite in the hands of video provocateur, Dara Birnbaum’s Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-79) comes to mind. Vintage and postmodern. The now 60-year old videomaker has work in the permanent collection of ICP, the Jewish Museum (if in NYC before mid September, don’t miss Eva Hesse) and all over the map. In the late 70s and early 80s she worked with Dan Graham at Nova Scotia College of Art & Design (where I attended). When I first saw this piece I will never forget how bowled over in laughter I was - it was a flash of power-reality. It was something of a clear-cut feminist statement, using the language of television to convey something ultimately new about the commodity of body politics. It still resonates.

Locally there are two talented artists who continue questioning the subliminal underpinning of what makes a contemporary superhero, a level debunking of (and re-assessing what’s left) of such urban myths. PNCA instructors M.K. Guth and Daniel Duford continue to have at it. Through layers of (stone)aged and hip mythologies they each bring a new dialogue to their narratives. Duford’s nail-biting honking torsos, oft with a twinge of (unintentional) homoeroticism, show the logic behind “the bigger you are, the harder you fall”. His characters are almost anti-heroes by nature of their mortal fault lines. It still disturbs me that someone out there, drunk or not, felt the urge to squash his outdoor golems. It’s perfectly poetic in the end somehow, though also, eerily, a desparate reversal on his ultimate intention. Duford’s pagan characters are pinned together, emasculated appendages replaced by wildlife, they question and dazzle in a sense of removed, silent power.

Guth re-enacts scenes of some known fictitious characters, with her own sarchastic twist. Through the iconography of costuming even a nimble waif can become Batgirl (from the digital video work Weekend Get Away, 2003). With the superimposition of a crown she composites an image of herself blowing wind (ala the Storm character from X-Men) in Wonder Power Action Series: Air Freeze Blast (2002). The work uses cliche to play with the viewer’s acceptance of playful power. Even her ongoing Red Shoe Delivery Service series touches on the philosophy that Oz’s Dorothy was somehow inpenetrable through the guise of magical footwear. But they are, in fact, just shoes, and they adorn many feet in various styles. Immediate and questionable.

7/26/06
Café Flambé

Like Boston (damn that coin toss) Portland should have been called Beantown. Why? Well, for the sheer volumes of coffee product and its near relatives consumed daily. The cup overfloweth. On any corner there’s The Fresh Pot, Coffee People, Goldrush, Portland Coffee House, Coffee Time, Cafe Vivace, Tully’s, Rimsky’s, Tiny’s, Pete’s, Floyd’s, Pied Cow, and of course, the omnipresent Starbucks. Everyone’s got a local favorite. Infectious, addictive, delicious, bitter, smooth - the forms are endless. Not to mention the additives and subtractives (x-amount of foam, soy, grande vs. venti, breve, decaffeinated, double flavor shots, etc).

COFFEE WITH A KICK

So, last night I decided to try something that brought the classic sensibility of coffee to new heights (literally). In what could only be described as a tableside circus act, Portland’s oldest restaurant, Huber’s (serving since 1857), offers its version of Spanish Coffee. At $8.50 these lips were pursed as tightly as my wallet. But when the bartender arrived for the pour, it turned skeptical to spectacle. After setting the sugar-rimmed glasses aflame with the bold Bacardi 151 the mix master poured parts Triple Sec and Kahlua and then hot coffee in a swooping figure eight gesture without a single drop spilling (I checked). From a distance of at least two feet from hand to glass this man should sign on to the Big Apple Circus for his next act. Topped with whipped creme and a powdering of nutmeg it made for a perfect nightcap to a long day at work. Worth every penny. Hot cha-cha!

7/24/06
ARTISTS + ARTISTS (PT II)

With the sparse response to the call for voices on this topic I have discovered there are many shy birds in the flock. I am opting to simply run the lyrics to a song that still chills the spine a few years hence. Antony & the Johnsons continue to make brooding lullabies about relationships so rich in context and harmony. You can hear the song as part of a preview for the new film La Vida Secreta de las Palabras by Isabel Coixet:

Hope There’s Someone (video)

Hope there’s someone
Who’ll take care of me
When I die, will I go

Hope there’s someone
Who’ll set my heart free
Nice to hold when I’m tired

There’s a ghost on the horizon
When I go to bed
How can I fall asleep at night
How will I rest my head

Oh I’m scared of the middle place
Between light and nowhere
I don’t want to be the one
Left in there, left in there

There’s a man on the horizon
Wish that I’d go to bed
If I fall to his feet tonight
Will allow rest my head

So here’s hoping I will not drown
Or paralyze in light
And godsend I don’t want to go
To the seal’s watershed

Hope there’s someone
Who’ll take care of me
When I die, Will I go

Hope there’s someone
Who’ll set my heart free
Nice to hold when I’m tired

7/23/06
DEAD (or alive) CENTER

WORD ON THE STREET

The topic on the lips of many personal and public conversations of late seems to be the logic behind the current explosion of new art centers in Portland. Arriving at a time where the volatile market is less than luke warm, the emphasis seems to be on the institution, rather than the commercial venture. When even long established venues like the Portland Art Museum are in the rough straights of finding the public and private funding to make good on its worthwhile new digs, there are many unresolved questions about how, why and who will pony up and sustain younger efforts that attempt to further enrich our lives with contemporary art. Is this where organizations like RACC, the Oregon Cultural Trust and the Oregon Arts Commission could emboss the public’s acceptance by establishing a larger leadership role in the subsidization of such lofty efforts? Is it safer for a public funding body to take on the role of sink-or-swim voyeur?

Ever since PICA virtually bowed out of the game a few years back, the physical presence for cutting edge, risky and educational programs in the visual arts became somewhat homeless. The business strategy to focus more exclusively on the very successful TBA Festival left the future of Portland’s visual and media arts in extreme question. When the young Portland Art Center stepped up to the plate to establish something tangible, people were naturally skeptical. The organization was born out of a more defined community business saavy rather than a curatorial prowess. Though, nothing of this type has yet to emerge in Stumptown, and you can’t build a colossal all-knowing, all-seeing institution overnight - it takes many years of establishment. In the short few years since they opened their doors, Gavin Shettler and his crew of volunteer power, along with a smart board, are making good in Chinatown where they are building out, slow-churn style. They have high hopes, a reasonable mission and initiatives, something of a cultural map of sorts and so far, they have been nominally successful in fundraising.

TALK ABOUT GROWTH BOUNDARIES!
The frothy cultural fry-baby crock pot stew of potential has breweth over and seemed to scream “let’s find a way to play nice together.” We’ve heard the story of the splits and mergers of Shettler’s sister organization Disjecta, run by sporty Bryan Suereth. You too can read about it in Chaos Theory, Camela Raymond’s colorfully astute re-examination and detailed history (Portland Monthly, August issue) of the unsteady waters the space has set sail upon. Primarily presenting large-scale party events in its new found home in the hollowed out Templeton Building on SE Burnside, the space is more akin to the celebrated growth of similar organizations as Seattle’s Consolidated Works than anything else on the chopping block. In fact, Portland really does have the need for a space that can host an amazing music or experimental film festival providing a cavernous space with an attitude which is unafraid to present super-scale work (who wouldn’t want something like that?). But is the ever-changing guard of staff and board, along with the challenges posed by timelines up to snuff to see something this grandiose come to life? While dusty and dingy the broken-ass space has a foreign charm that attracts artists who are used to the allure of mysterious warehouses (many have lived in such spaces) in a town that recycles its own. Though, again, Disjecta, as the article reports, was not built with a curatorial mission in mind and the pigeons that nest in its tall eaves, by way of its broken windows, won’t be strong enough wing support on their own. So, in many ways, this new penchant for building a better beast to compete with the lack of venues presenting work without bounds is an honestly commendable one. Though, the buck doesn’t seem to want to stop there….

QUESTIONING DUPLICITY

Sometime later this year cultural philanthropist Henry Hillman, along with Elizabeth Leach and a few others, will attempt to launch the Contemporary Art Museum Portland. This somewhat monied venture seems to have huge potential in the hands of longtime cultural navigationists, and will surely be a direct attempt at filling in the blanks. But where does that leave all of the aforementioned outfits? And also the emergence of something of an art center in the Daisy Kingdom building to include galleries like Froelick, Augen, Blue Sky and the grand move of the Contemporary Crafts Museum. Maybe this would seem more of an art mall than an actual center, but the millions of dollars in renovations will create a lush space to finally enliven that whole seedy area of the lower Park Blocks. Of course, keep mindful that it’s gentrification that excites the wealthy and dually scares the actual artists who show there (though are priced out of its territorial schematics).

CAN WE GET A CULTURAL PLANNER, HERE?

It would seem the team needs to grow broader. Those few and far between, random calls to Sam Adams’ office will be mere lip-service if some sensible solutions aren’t divied up sooner rather than later in this re-centering of urban culture. Salem may need to prick up their ears and pitch in on the grande scale. Or maybe this is a siren song for an urban cultural summit where the leaders of these groups meet and build a systematic approach to doing collective cultural business? The voice of reason would project the limitations on cultural spending, whether they be patron-based, membership or pure entertainment dollars.

Add to this convex ball of wax, the pioneering curatorial spirit of Jeff Jahn’s new pet project Organism, and it’s anybody’s ball game, and he’s not simply a good sport. So, you’ll need to watch and wait to see what his strategy may be before taking a position on the field. As it deals in the cross-section between the arts and sciences (technologies) it surely has my bated breath in the now. Throwing their opening bash at the Wonder Ballroom this upcoming Thursday, July 27th - be there…

SOMEONE HAD TO SAY SOMETHING

Further reading, includes the Oregonian’s piece Art runs deep, but funding is shallow by Erin Hoover Barnett. The inspiration for my going on this diatribe in the first place, is the good word of painter Abi Spring on the subject. When you talk about centers, this one’s on target.

7/22/06
MUG SHOT

Photo by TJN

Ryan Alexander-Tanner is a local cartoonist. He’s best known in this area for his PDXexposed! series in the Willamette Week. We got together so he could draw my mug, meeting up at a local Coffee People over by PSU. Alexander-Tanner graduated from PNCA last year. While sitting pretty we discussed the fine and finer arts, intellectual drawing and his recent debacle with his project The Prisoner, now showing at the Sequential Art Gallery (328 NW Broadway) through July 29th.

PICTURE THIS

TJ Norris: Hi Ryan. I’m flattered you took some time out to come on down and draw ye olde visage and chat for a bit. Were you just teaching today?

Ryan Alexander-Tanner: Hi TJ! I’m flattered that you’re flattered! I wish I could say I was teaching today. I was scheduled to teach a 2 week comics illustration workshop for teenagers at PNCA this month but it got cancelled due to almost no enrollment. This sure put a damper on my summer finances! Luckily I managed to hustle up some last minute janitorial work, so I’ve actually been cleaning toilets all day.

TJN: Well, that’s literally the sh_t, if you don’t mind me saying so. Hrrrmph. I think we figured that we both landed in Portland around the same time about five years ago, just before 9/11. It was a frozen moment in time (we’ll get back to that in a moment). Where do you hail from and why set up camp here in Portland?

RAT: When I was about ten years old I moved from LA to the Bay Area with my Mom. We lived primarily in Oakland and Berkeley, which has always been kind of like one big city to me. After I got out of high school I kind of putzed around for a while. I lived at home and worked at a video store, which was really fun but wasn’t really going anywhere. I didn’t think I’d ever go to college because I didn’t want to amass a gigantic debt. I came up to Portland to visit a friend of mine who was going to Lewis and Clark and I really enjoyed the city. Downtown was full of old brick buildings and girls with glasses and p-coats, and the weather was always overcast. I went to a house party and I asked the guys who lived there what they were paying for rent and that pretty much sealed the deal. I was just gonna come up here and get a jobby job, but then I decided to apply to the art school and bite the bullet if I actually got accepted, which I did.

TJN: Romancing the memories…Well, glad you did.

OK. So, the question of the day, what’s percolating in some minds lately, is your current work The Prisoner and the whole issue surrounding if it was or wasn’t for real, and the take of your former newspaper, the Willamette Week, on the whole thing. What gives?

RAT: You know, it’s pretty surprising to me that anyone even cares. Up until really recently, the most common response to any of my work would be running into acquaintances in a bar or wherever and them asking me if I was still doing animation for the Mercury.

Anyway, the show is entirely fictional. I wanted to create a character and conduct interviews with them and make it as seemingly real as any actual interviews I’d done. It was just a challenge I gave myself, and something I used to build a narrative around. I’d like to think that the show did a lot beyond creating a convincing hoax, even though there hasn’t been much focus on these other aspects.

One of the first things I learned during my stint at the Willamette Week is the value of controversy. Getting people’s attention and/or getting them all worked up is one of the strongest reactions you can hope for, and it’s a good way to score some free publicity, too. In this case, though, I think the controversy sort of drowned out the show. I didn’t create a hoax for the sake of pulling a fast one or to make anyone look stupid, I did it to create a separate viewing experience for different kinds of viewers, and to test what I was capable of. I think that there’s a degree of meaning behind both viewing experiences (the real and the fake one). The thing that really bothered me about Richard Speer’s response to the show after I told him it was fake is that he never bothered to question why I had done it, or what the meaning of the work was. I think that to him it became all about his reputation and that I had “fooled him.”

Up until the interview I did with Richard Speer, everything I had done to promote the show was written in such a way that it described the show as either real or fictional, depending on how you wanted to read it. Of course, it was more likely to be interpreted as real, but at least I couldn’t be blamed for that. I really wasn’t prepared to be interviewed about this, so when Richard called me I kind of panicked. Ultimately, I decided to perpetuate the hoax. If I had discreetly confided in him that the nature of the show was a ruse, I’m sure it would have ended up in the paper, and I couldn’t let that happen. I was actually proud of myself because he was asking me these questions about The Prisoner and I had been close enough to this creation of mine for long enough that I was able to talk about him as though he was real, and recount this history of him that I had created as fact.

Anyway, initially at least, the paper was pretty pissed. My original editor, the guy who more or less discovered me and gave me my start, called me on the phone and pretty much denounced me. He said I had destroyed everything we’d created, and that our work together had been a waste of his time. This left me feeling pretty crappy, although it occurred to me later that he hadn’t come to see the show, so his opinions about how valid the work was were pretty dismissible. Still, I hadn’t anticipated that the paper would be so pissed, or that I’d be ruining my credibility as a journalist (which meant that I couldn’t do any more work for WW). I really didn’t mean to upset anybody or cause them to feel betrayed, I just wanted to test my abilities and create a narrative that could be read two ways to arrive at two different meanings.

FRAMED

TJN: As an unbiased third party I guess I can see everybody’s side of the coin, however, as I mentioned to you, I think you should have continued to perpetuate the hoax as long as you could - in a performative stance. Well, you probably did, so, I guess you’re about as honest a guy as the next one. I have two questions. First, was this a “performance” so to speak…and secondly, has this given you any fortitude to actually consider doing something as in depth as what you tried to pull off, I mean, something as investigatory as was perpetuated in your efforts?

RAT: Parts of it were a performance. I really enjoyed studying performance art in David Eckard’s class at PNCA and it’s something that I always like to explore whenever I get a chance. I think most of what I’ve done professionally has performance elements because it’s all about documenting interactions. The interview I did with Richard Speer certainly had performance elements, although I suppose you could just as soon call that lying. I thought about going to his house and being in character as the “Ryan” character in The Prisoner but I wasn’t really prepared, and, again, I guess I’m only able to make myself look bad up to a certain point.

TJN: You bring comics to life….

RAT: As far as more investigative interviews or documentary comics, I’m sure this is something that’s gonna happen in the future, but it’s a little ways off. I’m getting interested in other types of comics right now and I wanna go off and do that for a little while. My thesis work, Real Life Comics, was an adaptation of four interviews with carefully chosen subjects set up to create a contrast and a range of characters and ideas to create a commentary of sorts about culture and society and yadda yadda yadda. I think it was an interesting project but it asked too much of a casual audience. The end result of doing that project was my realization that you can’t come out of nowhere with interviews of nobodies and appeal to an audience. So I’ve either got to make more of a name for myself or get a hold of some more well-known subjects, which is hard when you’re a nobody yourself. I’m real interested in ordinary people, so if I can get some sort of a following I’d like to do things like follow a substitute teacher around for a week and document it.

I did an interview with Kato Kaelin for WW that ended up in PDX Exposed, so I’ve got an hour long recording of me and him talking at home. You might wanna keep an eye out for that…

TJN: What you do, your specialty is to capture expressions, features, when you create a portrait. What draws you to faces, what qualities are interesting about people? Or do you more often draw from your imagination?

RAT: I kind of stumbled into portraiture. I remember applying to PNCA and seeing that I had to do 5 or 6 life drawings and being like, “Aw, man.” Up until that point I’d drawn almost exclusively from my imagination, and was entirely self-taught. I started doing assigned figure drawings and drawings of buildings and things like that in college, and I kind of begrudgingly warmed up to it. Eventually, I got really into drawing gesturally and intuitively, and the whole art of “seeing” and all that. I did a series of portraits, like 50 in 5 days, for an assignment just to see if I could do it and something clicked in my brain.

I think faces tell the story of people, which is something I really like to do. A person’s face is like a little map of their personality. I think everyone is really interesting if you’re willing to sit down and really listen to them, and drawing someone’s face is a way of investigating this. When I do someone’s portrait, I feel like I’m documenting our interaction as much as I’m recreating their likeness. The way they react to me has a huge bearing on how I interpret them, which is just something that happens naturally.

Based on the direction my work has taken in the last few years-documentation and interviews and all that shit-I really haven’t worked from my imagination for some time. When I did the large portrait of The Prisoner, I was creating a portrait of someone based on no reference, just drawing a person’s face as I saw it in my mind. This person’s likeness and expression had to hold up a whole narrative, and had to perfectly capture a tone I really wanted to convey. I sort of let the thing draw itself, although I had to start over from scratch something like 4 times. In the end I though it was a nice marriage of my older and newer interests.

TJN: When you say, “let it draw itself” is that more like conceptual drawing, or are you being possessed?

RAT: I’m just looking and measuring and trying to get my hand to copy the lines my eyes are following. I’m documenting what I’m seeing as intuitively and automatically as possible. I’m certainly not possessed, but it’s definitely a stimulating feeling.

TJN: You said something to me about intellectual comics, care to elaborate?

RAT: There are a lot of really smart comics out there, which is something that isn’t paid enough attention in my opinion. I guess I should give you some examples…well, Dave Mazzuchelli’s adaptation of Paul Auster’s novel City of Glass is a really smart, complex work. Daniel Clowes has shown a real interest in psychology and literature in parts of his series “Eightball,” particularly the storyline David Boring. What else…? Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell is a speculative but meticulously researched telling of the story of Jack the Ripper which becomes a sort of an ominous metaphor for the coming changes of the twentieth century. Um…Tomer Hanuka’s made some pretty heavy stuff…I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head…there’s a lot…you should just go to the graphic novel section of the library and dig around. I talk to so many people all the time who are “uninitiated” about the merits of comics and ultimately I think they should just go read some!

TJN: Though I am about town, I think I am still somewhat uninitiated. After Dürer I sorta gave up on seeking draughtsmen, in a certain sense. I’m terribly old school to a degree. Though, of course, I do see the line come alive in contemporary work, illustration and even in the broad field of comics.

Showing at Sequential Art Gallery, was this your first solo gallery show? How was it received…what do you think of the audience reaction?

RAT: I think it had a pretty mixed reaction, which I guess I was shooting for. Anyone who thought the work was factual must’ve walked out of there thinking I was the biggest asshole in the universe! I guess that’s why I didn’t hold out very long on the hoax. A handful of people came up to me and asked me if it was real, at which point I would fess up. I few people totally saw through it and seemed to like it a lot. The best reaction I got was a guy who came up to me and sort of demanded answers to certain questions. “Are you sharing the profits with this guy? Are you still in contact with him?” He was pretty angry and confrontational. I told him it was all fiction and then he did a complete turnaround. He totally loved the show! He bought a book and asked me to sign it and everything. If that guy had been the only person who came in the whole night it would’ve been totally worth it.

By the way, I totally love Dürer! Have you ever gone to the Gilkey Center in the Portland Art Museum? They’ve got a bunch of great Dürer prints. That whole collection’s amazing! I really geeked out on the Piranesi prints…

TJN: (grin) Let’s go there together sometime this Fall. Who are some of your all-time favorite cartoonists?

RAT: I feel like a kid in a candy store! Let’s see…I literally learned to read from Matt Groening and Lynda Barry’s old books, and I can’t even imagine what kind of effect they’ve had on me as a person. Bill Watterson’s work totally inspires me while making me feel inferior at the same time. Peter Bagge’s Hate is probably my favorite series of all time. Joe Matt’s autobiographical comics, especially his collection “The Poor Bastard,” is really fantastic stuff. I think Joe Matt and Chester Brown are the only guys who’ve made autobiographical stuff that I can really appreciate. Parts of The Prisoner satirize the autobiographical comics genre and how wimpy and self-gratifying it is, and I think those two guys are some of the only ones transcend that.

More recently I’ve gotten really into Dave Cooper and the Hernandez Brothers. I’ve been studying the old EC artists and I think I love Jack Davis the most… …I could go on all day…have you heard of these guys? Use this as a reference list if you end up making that trip to the library.

TJN: OK, damn it, you’ve convinced me. Actually I know Davis’ work from my childhood flipping through MAD, plus I have a heap of old 60s and 70s comics somewhere in my basement.

With the whole Superflat movement, skateboarder and slacker culture in full tilt boogie mode, Portland seems to be a town open to comic-like endeavors. What’s your take?

RAT: Well, I really like all that stuff, but I think it only relates to comics in terms of line weight and iconic imagery and stuff like that. Comics are really grounded in narrative and narrative compositions, so I think closer relations would be Jack Portland’s paintings or any number of photographer’s who use a series of photos to create a narrative.

Anyway, yeah, I think Portland is pretty big into comics. There are more comics artist here than anywhere else I know of. I think the low cost of living has a lot to do with it. It certainly means a lot to my broke ass.

By the way, lemme know if you ever wanna unload those comics in your basement…

TJN: Ditto on the broke ass part — but as far as the comics are concerned, you know I’m just waiting for th old Swamp Thing to be worth bocu bucks (I could use savings for a new camera and some studio equipment). Comic books are supposed to assist the suspension of our imagination, right? How seriously should we take comics?

RAT: As seriously as you want. I think that comics (and this was a big point of The Prisoner) give what they get, so if you wanna get really into them you’ll find a lot of really smart, interesting stuff. A lot of my all-time favorite stuff operates successfully on two different levels. Calvin and Hobbes is a good example of this. The drawings are really nice, and it’s always funny and clever and easy to take in, but if you want you can really think about it and find all these ideas about private worlds and complex friendships and even smaller focuses on death and environmentalism and things like that.

I gotta say, though, that I realize that being a great comics artist is kind of like being a great banjo player or something. It’s a complex craft that’s difficult to master, but you really can’t complain if you’re not gonna reach everybody with it. There are always gonna be people, a LOT of people, who just aren’t ever gonna give a shit about comics no matter what, and I’m finally starting to accept that.

TJN: Can you say some about Daniel Duford? Wasn’t he one of your teachers at PNCA?

RAT: I didn’t meet Duford until the second semester of my Junior year. He mostly operates in the #D building and I try to stay away from there as much as possible. You know, I’m worse at 3D art than people who don’t make any art at all. I’m worse than little kids, even. Also, they’ve got this table saw in there…I had to make a box one time and when I used the table saw I was so afraid of it that I kept thinking about grabbing it. This turned into this overwhelming urge to thrust my whole face onto it. I kept imagining it cutting my face open and ripping my teeth apart and stuff…so I try to avoid that whole building now…

What were we talking about…? Oh, right! So I was trying to figure out who should be my thesis mentor after 3 1/2 years of critiques that started with “I don’t know anything about comics, but…” I talked to David Eckard about it because at least he and I had a pretty good rapport, and he said I should meet up with Duford, who was making a comic book. I emailed him and we met up. I showed him my stuff and he started talking to me about the Hernandez Brothers and 1970’s Marvel Comics and my jaw hit the floor. I was like, “baby, where you been all my life!??!”

So I think he’s a great resource to any art school kids who are interested in comics. He’s become the go-to guy for kids like me. He was a pretty good mentor. I mean, he shows up drunk a lot, and he’s always trying to borrow money or sell you a broken stereo for 3$, but at least he speaks the language…I guess I’ll take what I can get, you know?

TJN: I’m not sure if I have ever even seen Daniel drink anything. Did you just try to “Punk” me!

The big, bad world of publishing. I know you have had some experience, and have some thoughts about ‘zines and the like. Care to share?

RAT: I never really give much thought to ‘zines. If people wanna make ‘zines, then I say hooray for them! I’m not really a part of this whole DIY culture but I think it’s fine as long as people aren’t always trying to out each other as being “less indy” than them or some such bullshit.

TJN: (lol)

RAT: I printed the PDX Exposed and The Prisoner collections myself at the IPRC because it was the quickest, most economical way to do it. I think that place is pretty great, but if I’d had more time and money I probably would’ve gotten them printed at Minuteman or something, and they’d have been nicer looking books. There’s definitely a certain pride in doing everything yourself, but I sure did mess up my hand forcing staples down on a hundred lengthy books, and I’d have preferred it if I didn’t have to.

In terms of major publishing, like the fact the comics distribution is entirely owned and run by AOL/Time Warner, well, that’s a whole other can of worms…

TJN: I think it’s worth saying something here. Can you take a can opener to it for a briefing?

RAT: I think it was in the ‘90’s that Diamond Distributions, which is owned by DC Comics, which is owned by AOL/Time Warner, bought out the only other major distributor and created this monopoly. So now, unless you wanna take orders and mail everything yourself you’ve gotta get into Previews, which is their order catalogue, which means you’ve gotta sell x amount of comics or your up shit creek with a turd for a paddle. I’ve been watching my buddy Alex Cahill deal with this for about a year now. He’s been self-publishing his own comics, which are really great comics, and he has to spend a ton of time calling stores and sending out promo stuff so he can make his Previews minimum or his whole operations dead in the water. You can really get into all the other problems with this, like what kind of stuff they’re willing to promote and the kinds of business and distribution people you have to deal with, but like I said, it’s a whole can of worms…

TJN: Blech…and I’ve never even been fishing! When did you start drawing and what do you want to do when you grow up?

RAT: I started drawing a lot when I was four years old. My Mom enrolled at UCLA and used to take me to all these feminist studies classes and she’d give me paper and pencils to keep me quiet. The first stuff I remember drawing were the Ghostbusters, who I guess I liked because they rid the world of scary ghosts. I guess this was the start of many years of not paying attention in school while drawing.

When I grow up I wanna draw comic books! When I was in high school I used to work at this comic book store in Berkeley and Dan Clowes, Richard Sala and Adrien Tomine used to come in together every week. We weren’t supposed to bug them, but sometimes I’d ask the questions about how they made a living and stuff like that. They all agreed that there’s no money in comics, but you can make it a pretty good chunk of change as an illustrator to support your comics habit. I’m working on this now. As a matter of fact, while I was making The Prisoner I was hired by ex-convict Dave Dahl of Dave’s Killer Bread to do his new logo and bread bag designs. He was a blast to work with, and also a major source of information about prison. He told me what prison cell interiors look like now, what they eat in prison and what kind of jobs you do, and gave me all kinds of prison slang to use in the correspondence. He proof read the whole correspondence and gave me all kinds of helpful notes. I really think that the whole project would have sucked if he hadn’t been involved.

Anyway, if I don’t make it as a comics artist, I’d like to be an astronaut.

SKETCHY

TJN: (broadtoothed) There sounds like some great collaborative storytelling going on here. Maybe there is something to doing court room sketches perhaps?

RAT: Yeah, I think I could be pretty good at that. How do you get a job like that? I could do that, or do those police identification sketches…remember that drawing of the unabomber? He had like a jerry curl and he looked kind of Hispanic, and then they caught him and he was like this crazy backwoods white guy…I’d be better than whoever drew that. Man, I could revolutionize the whole crime fighting industry…

TJN: It gets all my late night dna CourtTV juices flowing. What do you do with your daytime hours and in your spare time, any unusual pastimes that are rated for all audiences?

RAT: I really don’t know what the hell I do with all my time. I’m trying to be more multifaceted. A lot of the time I day-job it all day and then I go home and work on my projects all night. I’m big into food…. making food and going out to eat. I like movies a lot. I just watched “The Razor’s Edge” and I liked it a lot. I watch “Harold and Maude” pretty often…I ride my bike a lot. I don’t know. I’m actually very boring and have a very limited range of interests. Maybe I should learn to play the banjo.

TJN: OK. I think sometimes it’s the basics that make us as eccentric and creative as we are. What’s on your radar?

RAT: I’m gonna make a comic book! I did a lot of work that tried to bring comics to “the people” and I think I’d like to get more experienced and familiar to MY people before I try to transcend that again. I think that The Prisoner is kind of a bridge between my old interests and my newer ones. I’m really interested in this overabundance of storytelling and dubious “facts” that we’re constantly bombarded with, and what that does to our perceptions and abilities to accept the “real world.” I myself am probably as close to the cast of characters on “The Sopranos” as I am to most people. There’s a lot of bad shit going on right now and we’re all avoiding our roles in it by investing ourselves in these readily available fantasy worlds and I think creating a series of stories that touch on this is a good way to subtly confront it. You know, fight the media with media…So look for that in early 2007. I’m not sure if I’m gonna do the whole thing myself or collaborate…I’m still writing it right now…

TJN: I’ve got toothpicks firmly implanted. I really appreciate the opportunity to meet you and chat some, let’s have coffee again sometime. Any parting words for the world wide web audience?

RAT: I’m really enjoying the crook of your nose. It’s a really good shape. I had to struggle with the top of your head because your hair’s so short, but your little beard more than makes up for it. Whenever anyone has facial hair, I’m like “score!”

7/21/06
EVA LAKE TAKES OFF

TJ Norris: Well, here we are again. In the heart of the dialogue of what it is that we do best, make art! It’s a pleasure that you are taking the time to chat for a bit, thanks for this.

Eva Lake: I appreciate you giving me this time and consideration - as I know you are a busy guy looking at interesting art all day long.

TJN: Well, there’s also the day job! You will be opening a new show of paintings at Augen Gallery called Take Off at the end of July. Is this a departure of sorts for you? Talk about the titillating title some…

EL: When I had my last show at Augen, featuring the square, I had a lot of people coming to me at the reception, asking: “So what are you going to do next?” It was a little distressing as I felt no space to bask in that moment of the Now. And lets’ be frank: plenty of artists milk a brainstorm for years and I felt that if they could do it, I could at least take my time.

But meanwhile I did have a certain idea in mind: I took that boat ride from the Modern Zoo one night. I was in a jet boat placed in near blackness, a Prussian blue which had no real horizon line, no perceptible difference between sky and water. Then the boat took off and the city lights maniacally danced in the union between water and sky. This lasted about 20 minutes and it was no landscape - it was like music or a drug experience. It was just the kind of thing I wanted to put across in painting. That Take Off stayed in mind.

But I had to think about it a long time (3 years?). And when I came back to my square, it was not the perfect vehicle for shooting lights and a rough ride. So I grew my form. After all that defense of the square, I still left it behind and that actually felt really good.

Of course it produced new challenges; the perfect square was easy to make by hand compared to these rectangles. They are irregular like a hand woven rug. But maybe that was part of the growth: to surrender to the hand made process, let go of a certain amount of perfection. The more I paint in this way, the better it feels.

TJN: That’s a vivid trip. But you’ve obviously taken the needed time to actually breathe.

Slowly, and steadily, you have amassed a whole new body of works that range from 24” square to about double that size. I’m interested in your pace, how you see your studio ethic.

Early Evening

EL: I paint nearly everyday now but it isn’t always like that. I think you are an artist 24/7 (unlike many other professions) but it manifests in different guises. You have times when seeing other people’s art or going to a great museum is the right thing for that day. The actual making of the art is not the sum total of living as an artist. But when I came across Take Off, I just had to work everyday; even with Chambers going and Artstar, whatever, I found the time.

I never did spend 8 hours a day in the studio. I watched that kind of practice before and it seemed to involve a lot of phone calls, smoke breaks and standing back to examine one stroke. There’s nothing wrong with this but it isn’t me: all I do is paint. Plus dance sometimes to loud music just reduce the strain on both my body and eyes. That helps a lot! And the reduction of the size of my canvas is basically an exploration of how much punch I can pack into a smaller size.

TJN: Well, I totally appreciate that, the intimate. It’s not always in the colossal that gems are made. Often the contrary. In what time period have you created this new body of work, or is it a series? With the fresh factor these days - will some still be only partially dry?

EL: I paint thin and in many layers, so the dry down is nothing compared to impasto painting. One coat of Gamvar Varnish will allow a painting to keep on drying. Having said that, all of the works were finished by end of June. I started Day One of this year and kicked out the jams. I am already on to the next body of work.

TJN: The square. Formally a frame, a box. Basic geometry, sacred space????

EL: Ok, after my Ogle show in 2002, I took a break and opened Lovelake. While doing all of that, I thought about what I wanted to paint but also, what I didn’t want. When I returned to painting after a few months break, I actually asked myself: “Well, what would you like to see?” … and it was like the curtain went up in my mind. I saw nothing, the void, and a place for me in infinity. I saw the sky and I saw it many times and that’s how the grid of squares was born.

Mind you, this is coming from someone who loved Josef Albers since childhood, who found Malevich in the 70s and held on tight, yet all the while not painting in the abstract for a very long time. I had to figure out my own way to contribute. I learned to draw, to render, got the foundation and came to it in my own way and time. I had to sweat it.

Someone has suggested a square as a boundary I might wish to break through, but it was actually the opposite for me; it was liberating. Because now I could finally get to what I really wanted to do: paint space, investigate and paint life, paint the full and the empty and do it in the full spectrum. And when you think of it in those terms, there is an endless path ahead.

I wanted to be free of the whole composition thing (inspired by Klein) and dove into what I loved most: an instigation of how paintings can stake a claim in this world as living objects, an insistence on life as opposed to death and a continued exploration of infinity.

When I see people look at one corner of my work and continue to analyze it from corner to corner, I wonder if they have lost the idea of what an experience a painting can be - like what a melody can do to you. They are still looking for a specific composition or narration.

Deeper Dive

TJN: Oh man, “what a melody can do to me!”…..On another “note” - some have called your work “post-op” or what have you. I know you have your opinions around this because of your ability to allow for the hand in the work, room for difference, change. In essence, the work is not calculatetedly machine-made repetition that is only meant to trick the eye. But I am interested in the spectrum of optics you play with, both in color choice and in the sense of shapes in regards to tonality and rhythm. Can you share your thoughts around this…

EL: I have loved color all of my life (and movement). If we are addressing the optical, then I think you can consider the haptical too. The optical is what we see and the haptic, what we ‘know.’ I’m interested in stretching the interpretation of nature, in what we see as opposed to what we know - within a system that allows for exploration but also allows for the imperfection that nature is. I also understand that the eye itself can mix color, which means that I can provide a changing experience where the viewer is truly engaged with what they are seeing.

So, color in nature can soothe, it can incite, color can move but it can also still your heart. I want the work to be independent of what we literally see or know and function like a living thing. Because I paint it all by hand, it would be hard to call it post-anything. It’s feeling more like a high-gloss blanket or a rug (in this particular show anyway).

TJN: That’s interesting, perhaps like Anni Albers. Recently you were selected for the current issue of Portland Modern. Being a larger survey than they have presented in the past, how did you feel about your participation in this project from both a purely curatorial perspective– and about the plight of the publication itself. Will it help to pose Portland artists in some type of national perspective, say, like New American Paintings for instance?

EL: I am very supportive of everything Mark Brandau has laid his hands on. It’s an honor to show with some of the artists of Saturation. He’s a hard working guy, but it’s going to take ten of him (and people like you and me actually) to get Portland up there. And it takes even more than that! Someone has got to stop filling all these new homes with Thomas Kinkade and get a real art market here.

As to a curatorial perspective, the hard part here is focus – having one at all. We are in a huge glut period, where everywhere you turn is an artist with work you have never seen.

TJN: We were recently discussing artists in the regional scene who dually moonlight as writers, curators, even radio personalities. You have quite a toolbelt when it comes to juggling the range of cultural perspectives here in town. Care to impart some of your wisdom about levels of commitment and/or how a critical eye/voice can be honed through this practice?

EL: When I first started Lovelake and Artstar, it was actually my younger self I used as a role model. I looked at the girl who during her Punk days, just organized her own things, didn’t look for handouts and made her own opportunities happen. She was happy too. When artists come to me now, asking how to get a show, I ask them back: Ever thought about arranging all of that yourself? I can guarantee a certain amount of satisfaction. I applaud all start-ups, especially when they help others and not just themselves.

But where you take it all is another thing. I just kept taking it along – because I could, you might say, even though sometimes I could not sleep at night and that’s no exaggeration. The learning curve, like that jet boat experience, has been a wild ride.

But I owe some remarkable illumination from James Lavadour when he came on Artstar Radio. He told me that we as artists are not just here to make our art. We are communicators and we have an important function in this society. Having a ‘vision’ can be defined in an endless amount of ways and the art object is just part of that. I am convinced that all of the work Lavadour did when he created a non-profit organization (Crow’s Shadow) went hand-in-glove with his own painting practice. To me he is the greatest painter in the Pacific Northwest, but everything grew and transformed together.

Royal Nebeker also had some really wise words: “How do you become a better artist? You work on your self. You work on the artist, not the art work. There’s no doubt that the value and power of the work resides within the person who made it and not so much in an artifact of a process.”

So you see I look at all of those various aspects of the ‘toolbelt’ as part of being an artist. I do hear from time to time that artists should be just artists, but I think that might be a little Old School. Steven Vroom (of Vroom Journal) told me: “Nobody does just one thing these days.”

TJN: Amen, sister! (and brother)

You are admittedly super busy, given all you do. How do you balance everything and make time to face canvas?

Take Off

EL: Well, like I said: everyday that I can paint I do, but not necessarily all day. I sort of learned this through the practice of photomontage. You cut a bit and then spend time looking and moving around– and then voila! The art practice happens everywhere for me, not just in the studio, because it is first and foremost a thing in my mind. An art practice which happens exclusively in the studio never was real for me. Back to the Punk days: the fanzines and posters we made - all of that was art to us and we had no studios. A zillion people are on to that stuff now, so I don’t discount it.

TJN: Those were the days, the nit gritty down and dirty of it all. The era of punk laid its path in more ways than one, and we’ve learned to pave it ourselves, backwards and blindfolded.

I remember when you started in your role at Chambers you found some frustration around finding time to get into the studio. In many ways commandeering shows for others probably made it a more visceral reminder of this fact. How did you smooth out the edges and find the time?

EL: Ah TJ, you of all people know that I am not always smooth! And maybe indeed it is not my job to be. Not just as an artist, but as a curator too. We hired some help and that freed me greatly. Basically, I present special projects by special artists which I think this town needs to see. A certain amount of combustion is not only possible, but maybe necessary. But it could be a reason why I really kicked my ass and painted like the blazes once Take Off came to me: no time like the present, ya know?

TJN: (nods) What is your vision for Chambers as you approach year two? Any surprises ahead? How do you and Wid work together? Discoveries….

EL: It is still a learning curve. Never really stops. We pass ideas by each other and agree to agree. When we disagree, this is usually a project which cannot happen.

TJN: How small of a town is PDX when it comes to the arts scene?

EL: Small but not too small. I find it heartening when people say: ‘Forget NYC, this is the place’ - but having lived in NYC for 11 years, I don’t buy it. The marketplace is what I am talking about. Most artists here are undervalued, some ridiculously so.

But there is a big boom in everything to do with art, with music, with theatre and with good food and wine (essential!). I have no idea if anyone is making a dime off it, but I embrace the influx.

TJN: I’m just in from Noble Rot myself where the house pinot is divine. It does all feed into the overall cultural tapestry for me. And the market, well, that’s up for grabs as you know. I think one less trinket shoppe, could possibly facilitate the passage of mapping the new art collector. After all, there are so many new loft and luxury condo walls to fill downtown!

Community. It’s an interesting thing, and how it takes shape. Makes me think of regular social practices. Thoughts about 1st Thursday, Friday, etc.?

EL: I’m glad it all happens. One is never out of things to check out. But the word ‘community’ is not all that dear to my heart really. I do things with individuals; that’s how I see it.

TJN: Now that the Portland Art Museum has Jennifer Gately, whom many warmly welcome to the area for her copious eye which will be exciting to see as the Oregon Biennial opens next week. Her role is to in some way govern, extrude and compartmentalize, to some degree a vision of what could be defined as art of the Northwest. Does this seem insurmountable to you…I mean, do you have an idea of what that might mean as a genre, a movement, splinter movements, styles associative to the region, et al?

EL: Oh TJ, I do have some ideas of trends here. It began with the whole blue state thing and my own ideas of succession and Cascadia and many other factors. I see patterns (as in nature — but also technology) and I see politics. I see the connection to the Pacific Rim and the invasion of artists from all over the world who seem engaged within this milieu. Having said that, I have probably seen a fraction of what Gately saw in the Biennial submissions and heck, people are doing all kinds of wild things here that I have no clue about.

TJN: When I look at your work if I were to think of physical location I think of hot spots like LA, and tropical resorts. They give me a pop life impact. Not pop art, but parts haute coutoure, flashy singles bars, theater, all wrapped up in this sorta Bauhausian shell that’s filtered minimally. In subtle ways the work harkens to album covers of the early 80s, you know, Peter Saville, etc. mostly for hard lines and colors. Does this have resonance for you?

EL: Thank you! I have written extensively of Peter Saville on my own site: an original who saw how the contemporary could be combined with the classical (as in the Greeks, for starters). I used to work in a record store, you know, and was the import buyer. Long before hits could be projected, as long as the seller said to me: “A Peter Saville cover,” - that was enough for me, I bought it. I worked in archaeology in the UK (the York Archaeological Trust) and time spent in the British Museum, combined with my own experience at Carnaby Street and Kings Road. I like the idea of combining the new with the old.

You are right in that I do not directly address “Pop Culture’ (a beaten horse; please release us!), but I do love Pop Life, as in Prince’s great song.

TJN: (struts in funky air guitar) Jeesh, I miss London! What’s next for you?

EL: I am working on a painting installation called Richter Scale, all down to brass tacks, the measurement of upheaval. It will take a year at least. I will keep Artstar Radio as long as I can. The same goes for curating.

And there’s this other thing on my mind, daily: how to have an unstolen election. Often I think of having a radio show (or something) more involved in politics. There are a lot of people doing amazing things out there, people who make a difference and I feel a pull to address them somehow.

Lavender Field

TJN: Well, it’s wonderful to have this open dialogue with a general public, but there are the few, the proud and even the vulnerable but still going for it among us that keep their neck out. I want to wish you a grand opening next week! Any parting words?

EL: Just thank you for this time. Thank you for doing all you do.

———-

Eva Lake opens Take Off at Augen Gallery (817 SW 2nd) on July 29.

7/20/06
HEARTS ON FIRE

As I round up my final features for Is It Art? over the next six weeks I will be presenting four interviews, a few short reviews, and other miscellaneous. Before I go off into the studio to posture myself in front of a blank canvas, er, MacBook screen, I will also bring you a second installment of the earlier feature called ARTISTS + ARTISTS. This piece is about artists who choose other artists to be involved with romantically. If you’re dating another artist, married to, loving, sharing/caring, collaborating through the thick and thin of the creative process you will want to contribute to this piece. This is a final call for your story (use email TJ link above to right), please go right ahead and email me your thoughts. I would like to run this on July 30 or 31. Write on….

7/19/06
PDX POP NOW!

2006 FESTIVAL KICK-OFF
PDX POP NOW!

TONIGHT: 5:30-8:30pm (Free, all ages)
w/Quasi, The Minders & Pseudosix

Intro by Portland Mayor Tom Potter & Commissioner Sam Adams
Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4th Ave, outdoors)

PDX Pop Now! — an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to championing its city’s vibrant music community. The Third Annual PDX Pop Now! Music Festival — a FREE, ALL AGES, three-day event featuring nearly Portland 50 bands — will be held July 28-30, 2006, at Loveland.

7/18/06
IT CAME FROM?…..

the axis of outer space….the vortex of inner space….

What happens when you mix the indie sounds of the Dandy Warhols, the lulling melodies of Small Sails, cutting edge video by Pipilotti Rist and the saavy of curator Jeff Jahn, and bring it to a live audience at the Wonder Ballroom? Something of an Organism one would only imagine.

07/27/2006: 8PM
Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell Street

Tickets are fifteen bucks for the event - OR - if you’re a big spender, art supporter type and want to ogle from above, toasting with complementary vodka drinks, lay down forty big ones and head upstairs to the VIP Lounge (for details contact info@artorganism.org).

Details to emerge slowly…….but rumour has it that this just may be the kick-off party to celebrate the emergence of a brand-new arts organization.

7/16/06
WAS IT ART?

With a celebrated nod (and wave) to creative local culture, fellow artists, the venues, curatorial/gallerist folk and wonderful readership of this column, it is with a tinge of mixed emotions that as of September I bid fair adieu (acknowledging the completion of my year committment to this column). Is It Art? has offered a great platform to dialogue about some off-the-beaten-track offerings. I will continue to focus on studio work, as well as presenting sporadic curatorial ventures.

In this transition Oregonlive will be seeking my replacement for which I will play a key role. So, if you are as motivated about local culture as I am, and have a critical eye/voice, why not contact me with a few brief samples of your writing? Simply email it to me (see Email TJ link above to the right) and we will review what you have to say. There is no need to send your fat resume, etc. This is a non-paying position and you set your own timeframe/schedule. Bloggers are encouraged to write three or more entries weekly, daily contributions are really welcomed. In the near future, the column will have a functional blog-style reader feedback mechanism built in.

I am not ready to say goodbye YET (there are a few juicy bits ahead for the heat of Summer)….but this is my fair warning.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

7/15/06
FLOWING MYSTIQUE

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

The mighty Willamette flows for 240 long miles. As an extension of its sister the Columbia, it runs clear from the Coastal Range to the Cascades. And how better to celebrate (and bring awareness of its current imbalanced state due to local industries) than to offer the arts as a conduit. The majesty of such a beautifully snaking body is captured through multimedia works, performances, happenings and panel discussions starting tonight alongside the banks of the Downtown Esplanade. Bringing this citywide event to our fair city are the folks of Gallery Homeland (see site for calendar listings and project descriptions).

THE WILLAMETTE RIVER ARTS FESTIVAL

Catch David Eckard’s Widow’s Walk, an illuminated being in mourning, floating alongside the solid banks of the riverside (Saturday, July 22, 9PM), Shira Loa’s Cocoon #2 (runs for the festival duration under the Burnside Bridge) and Troy Briggs’ Tommorrow’s Too Late (successive Saturdays @ 6PM) on the Esplanade. Over 40 local and national artists (including Tim duRoche, Paige Saez, Christopher Buckingham, Gabriel Liston, Lisa Radon, and many more) combine talents to raise the sail through July 30 including Gallery Homeland co-Director Paul Middendorf who presents his One With The River project this evening as well. See a listing of where and when as posted in yesterday’s Portland Tribune.

You will certainly want to pick up an official map/directions to the entire event festivities at Festival Plaza. A topical calendar of events is posted online, but the map will give you a fuller scope of the entire goings-on, clues if you will, to get you out and about and enjoying an artful evening stroll along the River.

7/13/06
> CORNERED <

An Interview with Avantika Bawa

TJ Norris: It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you about your project at the Tilt Gallery & Project Space. How did that come about and what was it like working with Tilt?

Avantika Bawa: Thank you TJ, it’s been a pleasure being here.
As for how I got here- back in December I was looking for new spaces to work with and alternative venues to show my work at. I glanced through the CAA website and noticed the call for entries from Tilt Gallery & Project Space. It caught my attention immediately and was drawn first off by the name of the gallery (which is the same as an installation I had done at Saltworks in Atlanta in 2005). Additionally, the galleries interest in exhibiting experimental and ‘difficult to install work’ was refreshing and attractive. This prompted my initial contact with directors Jenene Nagy and Josh Smith. What resulted was a series of pleasant, stimulating dialogues, emails and conversations. Working with them has been a blast and very encouraging. This is a hot gallery that will be in demand very soon. I believe it already is.

TJN: The work has an air of openness, though it seemed to wrap around the periphery of the space and let an audience in without boundaries, though once in the space you are somewhat surrounded (or gated). Can you say something about the architectural aspects and site specificity of your piece cut corners?

AB: I am interested in contradictions, in oppositional forces and the subtle, yet graceful tension that arises when these contrasts confront one another. And to quote directly from my statement:

I am interested in putting the act of drawing into the service of sculptural design so that handmade gestures intimately connect to architectural supports. This emerges due, in part, to my relationship to the legacy of Minimalism and its emphasis upon reductive form, modularity and literal scale. The act of freely combining the second and third dimension means drawing on the wall and extending the drawn lines onto real forms. My approach explores the balance (or imbalances) between wholeness and fragmentation, gravity and suspension, or containment and dispersal. The works initially allude to logic and function, but in essence defy both.

With cut corners, I made a serious effort to read into the architecture of Tilt Gallery and Project Space through the images and dimensions that were emailed to me. This informed to a large extent the layout of my installation. Of course decisions were fine-tuned once I was physically in the space, experiencing its ambiance and that of its surroundings.

TJN: Can you talk about the title of the work?

AB: I was intrigued by how square and contained the space was, but really was not. Hence I created a piece that had corners and was very contained and square and then literally cut them, since the space was not-square or completely contained.

TJN: I’m curious about your choice of colors, they speak to the essence of contemporary coolness, less than industrial. What was your schema here?

AB: My recurring attraction to a cooler palette began as a simple analogous reference to water. In time it has become the chromatic anchor from which I begin my formal decision-making. So in essence I have been stuck to blues and greens for a very long time. Refreshing, as the colors seem this prolonged use of the same palette was not. So, beside the architecture I looked at the exterior colors of Everett Street Lofts for a new and exciting challenge. I saw muted pink and teal and more pink and teal all around Portland once I started looking. I have rarely, if at all, worked with these colors together. The idea of indulging in something mildly tacky and reminiscent of Floridian colors sounded crazy, but I took the plunge, used this new palette and am pretty happy with the result.

TJN: The 2×6’s, the drawings and angles, all seemed to reference a mechanism, something about motion, kinetic, perhaps?

AB: Again, I believe it has to do with that idea of a connected device being disconnected and cornered fields that are now cut. These sort of reversed moves add a sense of motion. Additionally I constantly mess with linear perspective, which results in creating depth and dodging it at the same time.

TJN: Upon entering the space I had this immediate sense of my own fragile levity. The gravity of my immediate space dropped some. Is there something intentional and subconscious going on here?

AB: What were you on…? Just kidding!

I think it may have to do with my play on the traditional ‘eye level’. I like when things are hung higher or lower than normal. Usually lower is better for the not so vertically gifted. Plus looking down (not figuratively) at something adds a strange and uneasy enigma to the experience of looking that I enjoy. This low install along with the muted colors and fragmenting of the piece possibly contributed to the free fall experience.

And yes, I am always interested in support structures-hinges, screws, stretchers, etc. Sometimes they serve a functional purpose and often they appear merely as formal embellishments. There was a play with part of the supports in the collage in cut corners that sort of challenged gravity.

TJN: So, I’m not crazy!

You are Atlanta-based, presenting nearly 3K miles from home base. Were there any immediate cultural differences in the environment here? Can you say something about the arts scene in Atlanta?

AB: Compared to Atlanta there is way less traffic and people walking about, which opens up space, literally and metaphorically. This is good. After my week in Portland I felt there was a unique sort of sincerity in the art scene. It’s very tight and close. As for the art scene in Atlanta, it is happening, but there is a need for more risky buyers so that younger and more adventurous galleries can do better and take even more risks. Saltworks, Solomon Projects, Kiang, Marcia Woods to name a few, all these spaces have had an important influence on the scene. With Art Papers Magazine and the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center around, we do not have a lack of good venues or platforms for discussion. Perhaps more super young artist-run spaces would be good. Get This is one such space that’s been doing some fun shows.

TJN: I’ll have to visit sometime. But in reverse, how were you received in Portland? And how does this experience relate to other places you have presented in the past (Chicago, India…) in terms of responding to ‘place’ or otherwise?

AB: I’d like to think I was received well, or at least my work was! First Thursday was slightly crazy, but that’s the scene with any big collective opening and it’s a good way of generating enthusiasm. As a city Portland was always a bit of a mystery and fascination for me. It’s probably a combination of the ‘green’, and the fact that a very influential mentor of mine is from here (Richard Rezac).

Hence when I saw an opportunity to apply for a show in this city, I jumped on it. Formally the biggest influence was probably the colors of the exterior and the physicality of the interior. As far as comparing this experience to other spaces I have explored, I’d say that working with and accessing indigenous building materials is important. Hence working in the USA vs. India is a completely different experience. Here in the US, Home Depot succeeds in making the process of soliciting indigenous materials rather consistent, no matter where one is. Is that good or bad(?), I’m not sure! I will say that I felt a tad silly bringing lumber to Oregon (I brought a few treated pieces, to get the work started as soon as I set foot in the gallery and it worked well as a catalyst). Oddly though, the Oregon Home Depot 4×6’s are very moist and heavy compared to the Georgia ones.

TJN: LOL! Well, consistency is in the sense of the maker. You teach at Savannah College of Art & Design?

AB: Yes I do, I’ve been there since ‘99. I enjoy teaching there and the energy that my freshmen (I teach primarily foundations classes) radiate is contagious. I like it. It is also refreshing to teach the basics and it’s amazing how much one can draw from the pure simplicity of design and drawing (something we focus a lot on in these classes) into their own work. Recently my college opened a branch in Atlanta and that’s where I’ve been for the past year. It’s a different kind of environment, very challenging and I learn from it everyday.

TJN: Sitting on the managerial board for Drain Magazine, what do you enjoy writing about, or reading?

AB: The whole process of working with my team to develop an issue excites me - from deciding the concept of each issue (each member proposes a concept and we rotate our ideas), launching the call, selecting and editing work, uploading (not so fun and something I do very little of now) and finally publicizing it.

In each issue, we propose a concept such as ‘Play’, and invite visual and theoretical responses. In this sense, Drain was conceived of in a hybrid fashion, attempting to move beyond the theory/practice divides. Each issue is also supported and paralleled with a show at aquaspace- a venue for experimental multimedia art. So Drain and aquaspace works as symbiotic forces. This collaborative force I like allows me to exercise my editorial and curatorial interests constantly. More than anything, I enjoy the bridge between theory and praxis that Drain creates. Additionally I have learned a lot from my team, Dr. Adrian Parr, Celina Jeffery, Greg Minssale and Michelle Barczak.

TJN: As a curator and artist how might you describe the general aesthetics of 2006? Where are we…are we?

AB: That’s a hard one. Honestly, I think anything is possible as long as it is good, either visually or conceptually. I believe we have moved beyond a time where it was easy to pigeonhole artist as male/female, colored/not, etc. Although there is a still a lot of categorized and identity driven art out there (some of which is good and some that ironically simply flashes the culture card). You see more and more artists creating work that moves beyond these boundaries and expectations. Are we there yet.. Getting there!

—-

Avantika Bawa’s cut corners is on view at Tilt Gallery & Project Space (625 NW Everett Street) through July 29.

7/12/06
IN WITH THE OLD

threesome

It was just the other day, wasn’t it, that I reported on new work by thirty-five year old Brooklyn-based artist Corin Hewitt currently on view at Small A Projects. And it was just today that I stumbled upon a review of the literary debut by Jason Roberts, A Sense of the World and you just have to check out the cover art. The use and re-use of the eerie 1818 painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich seems oddly coincidental. With his back to us, the surveyor could be on the Oregon coast, but its Mother Nature that coveys the message, not the man. The responsive connections between artists and Kunsthalle, Hamburg are clear. This is what you might call fuzzy math, when you put two and two together it can easily make three.

7/12/06
SPAM SPAM SPAM

Like dada poetry, “so are the days of our lives”…..No, actually folks. I am sure there are more than a few creatives out there who have considered or already worked on this subject in their ouevre, and I know I have seen examples in the past (though nothing that comes to mind freely), however……As everyone with an email account does, just this morning I received this lil’ jewel:

over my head.
It’s never been any other way.
Where is all this gunk coming
an abandoned construction site,
yawned before them.
It was covered with
been
very powerful,
for there hadn’t even been a real fire,
and the Royal

It’s like decoding a Rolling Stones record!

7/11/06
((( SOUND-O-RAMA )))

PLUGGED: OK, I’m helpless, I admit it. When it comes to the sound of music that is (and we’re not talkin’ Julie Andrews here). It’s the center of everything I do, sound, noise, music, vibration, tonality, ambience…or however its delivered. Part sensory overload (exhaustive), part meditation (envigorating) - always omnipresent. For whatever reason I started amassing a list of all of the concerts I have attended over my 40 years. Why?: to show off, to take account, just for the fun of it!? The cruise down memory lane was, in and of itself, worth it. I guess it could also be considered a test of ye olde fine motor skills? This was within memory’s reach….

For the RECORD!: Prince, Bjorn Again, Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Sisters of Mercy (x2), Public Enemy, Gang of Four, Pizzicato Five, Millimetrik, Saint Etienne (x3), Loretta Lynn & Crystal Gayle, Abby Lincoln (x4), Betty Carter, Nina Hagen (x2), Laurie Anderson, k.d. lang (x2), Echo & the Bunnymen (x3), Tortoise (x2), Trans Am, Isotope 217, Stereo Total, Stereolab (x2), Dean & the Weenies, Dead or Alive, Arab Strap (x2), Company B, Mark Bell, Portable (x2), Sketch Show, Pau Torres, Sonic Youth, Telefon Tel Aviv, Jesus & Mary Chain, Bow Wow Wow, Adam & the Ants, Tina Turner, Liza Minnelli (x2), NomIg, Eartha Kitt (x2), Pet Shop Boys (x4), Alexei Borisov (x2), Sonny Rollins, Charlie Kohlhase Quintet (many times), Matmos, David Kristian (x2), Mouse on Mars, the Joe Perry Project, Vitamins for You, Jimmy Edgar, His Name Is Alive, The Police, Lene Lovich, Bjork (x2), Underworld, Orbital, Martin Tétreault, The Crystal Method, Jessica Rylan, Spiritualized (x2), Howie Stelzer (x3), The Waitresses, Boy George (x2), Culture Club (x2), Coil, Illusion of Safety, Twine, Funkstorung, Jamie Lidell (x2), Tracy Chapman, Jeff Mills, Sinead O’Connor, Ladytron, A Whispher In The Noise, Philip Jeck, kptmichigan, Szkieve, Dumb Type, Egg, Isolee, Human League, Matthew Dear/Audion, Magda, Bette Midler, Kid 606, Plaid, Deadbeat (x2), John Hudak, Plaid, Thomas Dolby, ABC, Mira Calix, Pita (x2), The Soft Pink Truth, Brendan Murray, Sigur Ros, Tujiko Noriko (x2), Tim Hecker, Heaven 17, Martin Ng, Dead Voices on Air, Legendary Pink Dots, Kevin Drumm, Stray Cats, Junior Boys, Ron Lessard, Siouxie & the Banshees, Pure/Dekam, Flock of Seagulls, Neotropic, Errorsmith, Donna Parker, The Rip Off Artist, Joseph Suchy/Burnt Friedman/Jaki Liebezeit, Thinkbox Collective, Pulseprogramming, Pole (x3), Duran Duran, Scandal, Nudge, Noto, Byetone, Frank Bretschneider, Taylor Deupree, T. Raumschmiere, Hecker, Cecil Taylor, Nobukazu Takemura (x2), Richard Chartier and Ivan Pavlov, Richard Chartier, Martux_M, fm3, Jamie Drouin, Joe Colley, Staalplaat Soundsystem, Morceaux de Machines, Christoph Migone (x2), Nancy Tobin, Thomas Koner, Clinker, Asmus Tietchens, Skoltz_Kolgen (x2), Plastikman, Ilpo Väisänen, Vic Rawlings and Mike Bulloch, vidnaObmana, Andrew Weatherall, Gary Numan (x2), Erasure, Fax, Depeche Mode, Hrvatski, Fat Truckers, Monolake (x2), donnasummer, Seth Nehil (x2), kmh, j.frede, Loscil, Eso Steel, Jason Lescaleet, Godspeed You Black Emperor (x2), William Basinski, Sandra Bernhard (x2), Bronski Beat, Phranc, Sylvester, Howard Jones, Fennesz (x2), Francisco Lopez, Pan Sonic, Senor Coconut, Atom Heart, Angel, I8U, John Cale, Brendan Perry, Add N to X, Schneider TM, Miss Kittin, Chicks on Speed, Peaches, Angels of Light, Meat Beat Manifesto, The Freeze, tINYLITTLEeLEMENTS, 808 State, Labradford, Danny Tenaglia, K.K. Null, Stars of the Lid, The B-52s (x2), X, Charlie Hunter, Joan Armatrading, The Jazz Passengers w/Debbie Harry, Young Guns, The Drift, Clean Wipe, The Art of Noise, Negativland, James Carter, Jane Ira Bloom, Antony & the Johnsons, Marcus Schmickler, Beck, Amina, Iva Bitova, Magnetic Fields, The London Suede, donnasummer, Kristin Hersch, Illinois Jacquet, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Gal, nAnalog, Biosphere (x2), Philip Glass, Polmo Polpo, Mogwai (x2), Kapital Band I, Radian, Minibloc, Des cailloux et du carbone, Robert Henke, Pablo Reche, Pomassl, John Duncan (x2), Galerie Stratique, Dafluke, Luci, Direwires, Diane Labrosse, Stephen Stapleton (DJ), Gunter Muller, Klimek and Tim Hecker (x2), Danieto, Emisor, Mathew Jonson, Luciano, Si-Cut.DB, Akufen…..

Though I was too young to see the original lineup, it is with a moment of silence, among the cacophony, that we acknowledge the passing of one of the true greats of contemporary rock n’ roll, Syd Barrett at 60 years old.

may the music play forever….

7/10/06
CINEMATIC RAYS

WILLIAM WEGMAN IN MOTION
Having had the privilege of working with Tracy Storer (now in the Bay Area) in the same massive 20×24 Polaroid Studio (which are now housed in NY and San Francisco) that Wegman has used extensively (back when there was still black and white film in existence for it!), I have always been drawn, in particular, to the video work of fellow MassArt alumnus William Wegman. For whatever reason, the moving pictures he makes are funny without being stupid, light without being fluff - especially in the earlier work, which has been painstakenly fashioned into a lovely 2xDVD anthology of work.

San Francisco, CA – Microcinema International has inked a three-picture deal with renowned artist and photographer, William Wegman. The deal includes the family-friendly art videos, “Alphabet Soup,” “Fay’s 12 Days of Christmas,” and the film “The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold,” and feature Wegman’s now famous Weimaraner dogs. The titles are scheduled for wide home video DVD release in October of this year, with a limited release starting in early July to support Wegman’s retrospective exhibit currently exhibiting at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Microcinema International plans to also release the films via a variety of digital platforms such as VOD, mobile phone, and Podcast, as well as through traditional broadcast.

Wegman adds, “Microcinema International has a good reputation for understanding how to release art films into the commercial marketplace; their attentiveness to the art and artist has given me the confidence to put these titles in their hands.” In addition to these three films, Microcinema International has been distributing William Wegman: Video Works 1970 – 1999 through a special arrangement with Houston-based label, ARTPIX.

Wegman was born December 2, 1943 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He received a BFA in painting from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston in 1965. He now lives in New York (and in Maine) where he continues to make videos, take photographs and make drawings and paintings.

7/8/06
EAST SIDE SHUFFLE

WHAT’S IN A DAY?:
The First Friday goings-on have a nice, spread-out (SE Division to NE Russell), more laid back feel than either First or Last Thursday. But what seems to work best about this day in the week (month) is that people come out in support of local (and not so) culture. And last night it was a veritable who’s who of Portland pounding the pavement for the wide stretch in the Central Eastside Arts District, which seems to continue growing in sophistication. People were out in droves, most probably due to the fact that there were so many group shows opening. But again, there was just a sweet feeling in the air, call it community.

The evening started at 12×16 Gallery (1216 SE Division) where I showed two new pieces as part of Eighteen, a themeless group show of both gallery members and outsiders. My favorite pieces in the show are the minute work by Baby Smith, a sort of two-tone collage on panel that greets you at the door, Israel Hughes‘ minimal collages and Cary Doucette’s black and white digital collage which twists signage and landscape. Paintings by Char Fitzpatrick seemed a bit out of place somehow, but I think newcomer Connor J. McDonnell is a gallery find and is on to something in his digital explorations, erasing parts of the urban scape. Also, Brendan Thwing’s work is notable as his painterly surfaces are roughly worked and used-looking, topped with a layer of calligraphic gesture. Consistent gallery members Maureen Herndon, Luke Dolkas and Lee Ann Slawson all held their own while synergistically opening up the small space to new artists. In the show I have two new pieces, the tall and rectanglular composite Black Power and ripe + gilded which is a two-part oval diptych. Though there are thirty-four pieces in this small space, the layout is rather ingenious, not feeling in any way cramped, giving the show a touch of class. With a pricelist ranging from $125 to 1K+, the gallery hosts work that is within the realm of purchase for smart collectors. The opening boasted visits from Cullen Hoback (Hyrax Films), David Eckard (thanks for the iris’), Justin Oswald (watch for him In Clover, August 5), Leah Emkin (formerly of Haze and Woolley galleries), James Boulton (see his current show at Pulliam-Deffenbaugh), Laura Fritz (great sunglasses), Troy Briggs (cut his mane), Jeff Jahn (super cool t-shirt) and many more wonderful friends and fellow artists.

From here it was on to Newspace where on view is the 2nd Annual National Juried Competition (by Christopher Rauschenberg and Jennifer Stoots). Striking standouts were work by Texan Don Tremain whose shimmering, super-saturated color palette dramatizes otherwise completely desolate environments, Portland’s Kirby Jones whose organic oddities are softly lit and full of quirks, and New York’s Cara Fuller whose Digital Carbon Prints (Jennifer Stoots noted these will outlast most human life expectancy for archival quality) deal in the quirks of rural environments through aged iconography. I really liked one of the two pieces by Brooklyn’s Joseph Holmes where a silhoutted man in a hat (depicted) is caught from behind staring into a diorama of yaks and other wildlife, as he stares into this painterly faux world we view a solid black void figure. The shape is as iconic as a Dick Tracy cartoon. With the hour growing thin, and my friend Jason (who writes for Oregon.com) in tow our next visits were a bit more truncated quick peaks into larger group shows before heading off to the savory finish to the evening.

First we popped by Small A Projects hosting a bevy of (nameless) hipsters in the crowd. We seemed to be on a mission to see art and move on, but Laurel Gitlin, as usual, is able to present work very pertly and precisely in her fine space. The work in Atlas of the Unknown by Graham Anderson, Sarah Braman & Phil Grauer, Corin Hewitt, Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Asha Schechter was curated by Tina Kukielski and had a similar aesthetic to what we’ve grown accustmed to at this space that provides a venue for emerging and mid-career artists. The press release references writer Victor Hugo and some form of journey into nature, albeit a stretch for the actual physical outcome. The works were neither labeled or numbered, so unless you were familiar with this crop of mostly out-of-towners work, or asked, you might not associate works with the roster on view. In a way, it personifies the ultimate in exhibition as installation so to speak, keeping the author ambigious. Yes, there was a reference list, but in all the experience was more visual than categorized, breaching something about the commerial pontification of such spaces. I was able to ascertain Corin Hewitt’s heroic photographic work from the rest, as man’s (or some reasonable facsimile thereof) conquest of the end of the world. The images are, in fact, documents of the floor sculpture sitting in the same space, which is, in fact, a recreation of an oil painting titled Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by the early 19th century romantic German artist Caspar David Friedrich. In the rear gallery though roughly t-pinned askew, there was a lovely melting lunar piece in a deep oceanic blue with striated lines dissecting space. I didn’t much care for the styrofoam meets colorful still lives (spelled randomness), photos mounted to plex in the same space. The show went a bit against the grain of ecology rather than being one with it for me. It was more about the post-conquest and now what do we do? How do we deal with space, the land? Do we apply glitter and call it good? I appreciate that the openness of the statement nipped the self-conscious factor of nature’s rapture in our time as having a vulgar after taste. How would Bierstadt (another man with a great beard) paint our fragile and contemporary world? It was nice to see Paul Middendorf and the folks of Gallery Homeland (as they are in the final stretch prepping Scratching the Surface) as well as Sean Healy who was also headed to our next stop, Hall Gallery in the house.

The Hall Gallery’s (630 SE Third, 971-570-2290 by appointment) Portrait Show seemed to come in outta the blue. Curated by twenty-somethin’ and current Portland Modern artist Levi Hanes the show boasted some of the area’s best known talent, primarily in 2D, save for a single video piece and a few minor sculptural endeavors. I found the pricelist interesting with most prices under $500 though most pieces listed as “Inquire” and “NFS”. The show-stealer, by far, was Storm Tharp’s brilliant Einstein. The colors in rich orange’s and wild pinks have a flourish of Victorian quills and everything rococo. I was like a deer in headlights, almost disabled from looking at anything else. I can only hope that while showing in the dank basement that is this space, the work on paper survives the uneven humidity of this sweeping underground. Honorable mentions certainly go to Midori Hirose for her wonderful Goat Song of Nietzche and my favorite The Goat Singers where figures fly and frolic, singing in hirsuit gawkiness. I found Sean Healy’s small The Eyes of Y.A. Tittle devilishly eye-popping and quite coy in it’s flamey orange diameter. Another strong piece was jeweler Caitlin Troutman’s Untitled (a self portrait?) with it’s oddly bad handmade frame that somehow pulled the whole piece together. Included are 30+ artists, the show suffers from being uneven in its approach to the subject, some works questionably portraits at all, but that’s all quite subjective. Pleasantly, it offered a preview of what to expect in our next stop!

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST:

Timothy Scott Dalbow presents his tightest, most fully conceived show yet. I’ve been watching this artist closely since ‘02 and his style has become increasingly sophisticated and his expressionistic brush stroke more fully resolved than ever. The New American Art Union hosts The Waltz all month in their wonderful space on SE Ankeny. These dozen new works in oil, as Dalbow mentioned to me, all created within the last ten months, are an epiphany for this super talented, classically pure painter. Four of the works on view were rightfully already sold by the time I entered the gallery last night (underpriced if you asked me) including show-stopper Cindy, a gorgeously gestural portrait in stark b/w, and slightly evasive posturing of the subject. Across from this masterwork was the mysterious Diana #1 where a nude female figure (as in several others on view) is seemingly suspended into a cloud-like mass of graffittiesque bold strokes by a using the balancing act of neutral tonality in his lush brush work. This approach backfires slightly in Diana #2 which has more of an inflexible rigidity about it. The figure appears a bit too much of a character on the canvas rather than a part of the overall mass of paint, for which Dalbow has become celebrated. His impasto has an ease about it, never lazy, but a bit elusive, evoking a sense of confident improv. In his brief statement, the artist mentions the secrecy of the process and the decoding should basically be left to the viewer. I fully endorse this ethic, in fact, it becomes tiresome seeing self-infused diatribes about concept and perameters without fully embracing the object on its own terms first and foremost.

Works like Volcano tightly embrace its four foot structure. This containment offers the tension of an ambiguous action of a birdlike figure atop a heap of construction, like a b-movie monster taking over a tiny town, toppling the innards of urban bridges in its wake. Dalbow’s use of color and raw style less loosely reference that of deKooning as seen in earlier work, but there are still hints as seen in his nautical homage pieces, Untitled and The Beach. Aside from the level of chance of shape as thing, Dalbow seems to allot his primary risk taking gesture to be less about synthetics of the haphazard. This is done via an approach of communicating more exclusively through the cross pollination between assumed objects and the abstraction. through July 30

7/7/06
SIZZLE + FIZZLE

Hhhhrrrmmmmppphhhh! I’m not sure if you are like me (I hope not, exactly), but carbon copy aside, when one goes out for 1st Thursday festivities there are often great expectations which occasionally get left empty handed. I love browsing galleries much more than circling around drunk hipsters and smiling a mile all the while, shaking hands and nodding heads at every corner from Flanders to Broadway. It’s like trippy Butoh. So, why do I do it? It’s a repect thing I guess. Though, it makes you think, in terms of the general public, its understanding, and the same circular crowd month to month. Is anyone looking to buy or write about work that moves them, or are the same faces out there to just find intricate pissing contests to compete in? Mind you, I love seeing so many of my fellow artists, gallerists, writers and friends out and dashing about. It’s the pace, the electricity of it all that is unmatched during the rest of the month, a preview of what’s hot and not in the city.

The whole rigamarole begs more questions than answers it offers. Maybe galleries need to host private openings, or more intimate affairs, not to be exclusive, per se, but to host dialogue, encourage real critique, engage the viewer/artist relationship less peripherally. Maybe it’s a natural fallout of the Disneyesque virtues built into something like First Thursday. It gives a clearer understanding of why Jane Beebe rationalizes the importance of opening her doors for such an event and why Rod Pulliam promptly dims the lights at closing time. These are basic business principles and respectable positions. The late night revellers will find the wherewithall to be in the know as they continue the after hours parties. Now, last evening I tried to take in as many shows as endurable in a short run-around, which ended up being about three hours worth. To my surprise there was a lot less solid work than anticipated out there from Old Town to the Pearl.

Curated by Justin Hawthorne, Communication through Mechanical Discourse boasted one very powerful piece, a singular di-bond image by Joshua Kim, mounted on aluminum and titled Delta Dart #2 at the back of Rake Gallery/Sedition. A diorama-bound flight machine becomes a museum goers still life fantasy in chrome and sleek shape. I also made a quick double-take of Jenny Konopinski’s three sizable c-prints. For whatever reason my eye was drawn back to a simple elastic band on a hard wood floor in these domestic, yet human-free spaces.

At Tilt is Avantika Bawa’s new installation cut corners. One of the three most notable shows in the city last night. The work made me feel instantly encased within its corners, not as trapped as surrounded. The work would be best viewed voyeuristically, like many great works by Ann Hamilton and Walter De Maria. It’s a commanding presence that makes you feel physically one with it. In fact, I had the urge to just sit right down inside the floor of the space that is contained by 2×6’s and opaque house paints in poppy Miami coloration (cool greens, purples, blues). It’s part machine suggesting kinetic movements, yet flat and still. cut corners makes reference to the innards of architectural drawing through geometries set in lines and rectangles, painted on cardboard, and reversed out on its backsides in detail. A corral for moderns. A game. A trap?

Making a few quick stops including Zeitgeist to learn that his current show of work by Mike and Roxanne McGovern boasts Mike’s farewell show before he leaves for grad school in the Midwest. Other stops into Genuine Imitation to see some (literally) scary works by HEDCHEQ, and around the corner to Sequential to chat a bit with Ryan Alexander-Tanner. His show, The Prisoner details his new series, working directly with an actual prisoner. Through correspondence (which are on sale), and strikingly bold illustration, he tells a tale of isolation and modest banality. Small booklets of the works on view are available for a reasonable five bucks (he signed mine by request) as is a pocket-sized version of the complete PDX Exposed, a series that Alexander-Tanner published for the Willamette Week.

Next was a quick dash into the Pearl to stop into see James Boulton’s new paintings at Pulliam Deffenbaugh. Upon entry the work had an immediate freshness, in the splendor of a serendipitously wild color palette. They actually made me smile (so what if I’m a bit of a closet geek). While I didn’t really find the connection with cars and punk rock, or whatever, I was drawn to his larger canvases by way of falling into psychedelic patterning. I like that it was anything but yin/yang. At first put off by the addition of pure color via spray paint streaking as in The Font but as I looked beyond the top layer felt a coy Grinch-like smile surfacing from the vernacular of the surface. Least resolved seems to be the postcard piece Utopian Architecture, while cleverly titled seems a bit too muted like a bad late night motion photograph. However, it does capture the feeling of being buzzed after closing time. The formidable scale of the main pieces in the show, larger than most viewers, begs to be contended with to a degree. While I miss some of his earlier monogrammatic shapes, his masters program seems to be shaking his tree. The smaller works in the back are tautly colorful and a bit wry, so make sure you round the bend.

Making a re-visit back to see Seattle-based Cris Bruch’s Remains to be Seen work at Elizabeth Leach I find myself a bit mesmerized by the materiality and disfunction of these grand objects. They also sort of quiet me in their superbly crafted use of materials, and there seem to be so many of them. Though most often he is using metal, wood and its by-products (namely paper) by transforming them into cones and tunnels, open vessels and targets. If someone was completely unfamilar, they may easily peg his work for a group show as the diversity in approach is that dramatic. But there is no skimping on the fabrication of objects of spectacle (the ceiling work, Harbinger, is my favorite). These are beautifully lyrical and their simplicity.

At PDX I didn’t quite make the connection with the new works by Joe Macca who was noticeably absent. The finished sheen is there, the ever-present silky smooth and super sleek attention to detail, but the tattoo-like grooviness of these new works deal in an immediacy I am not used to. In these Oxygen Paintings gone is the haunting feel of a levitating void, any reference (er homage) to Rothko, and the bare subtleties of his last two exhibitions (circa Y2K-04). These have a range of gestural patterns, like macro close-ups of those in hankies that steal from a dusty retro closet somehow. Maybe they could grow on me in time? But they lack the sense of timelessness, and awe-inspiring physicality of his past work.

Last stop last evening (though I realize there is yet still a handful of supposedly strong shows ’round town) was up to Mark Woolley where a whole slew of new mixed media works by Michael Hensley are on view. First off, the gallery gets big points for toning down to a clearer non group show aesthetic in all corners this month. Hensley’s work is animated with shapes and figures, tonal ranges within similar colors per piece, and various assemblage elements that blend and pop from the work, depending on your distance to it. His direction is becoming more focused in his use of cutesy Crumb-like pop references strewn over the surface, now finding better hiding spots, allowing the viewer to get closer and more intimate with the work. He’s grappled a seemingly more serious approach to the overall symbiotics of his surface unlike his comical approach in 2004’s Bob and Weave and others from that era that seemed to depend a bit more on the caricatures to drive the work. Here, the payoff is when Hensley has clearly taken charge of his various lil’ players. And it works best when he considers all edges of the work to contain the patterns made by various playful shapes and their associated voids. This is clearly his best show to date.

I also got a quick sneak peak of works at the Woolley@Wonder space by James B. Thompson, and as Mark noted, and I concur, it’s a clear, clean departure for the venue, with fancifully abstract etched works on paper….I’m not so sure about the images of rats, but works like Vanishing Landscape: Immersion are lovely. This show opens tonight from 6-10PM.

7/5/06
JULY: HEATED PERSPECTIVES

HOT AS BLAZES: Even though we are only a week into July, ye olde adage of Summer exhibitions often assume the worst. Coastal and tourist-based venues present their most colorful sunsets and sandy dunes depicted in oils, trinkets and candid pixels. Many galleries either close or show easy-on-the-eye fluff. Gallerists flow with the masses, leaving town for the coast, tanning their hydes. But not in Portland as this Summer there is a great shift and here are a few examples:

Newspace Center for Photography presents their 2nd Annual National Juried Exhibition curated by Christopher Rauschenberg and Jennifer Stoots. Themes range from questionable still lives and situational desolation to landscape as wry metaphor and other traditional documentary poetics. (Don Tremain, photo) through the end of August

12×16 Gallery (1216 SE Division) offers its first-ever Summer group show of non-member artists meeting members exhibition in Eighteen. Challenging new multimedia considerations, the group has gathered a powerful crop of new work to cram into the pert space. Running into August a revolving set of work will be changed out at month end. through the end of August

Joe Macca has left us breathless before, but in his new oil/acrylic Oxygen Paintings at PDX he has actually spent the last 2.5 years taking his own, paired with curvy forms and worked it all up into a fine lustre (talk about circular breathing!). Minimal and obtuse. through July 29

New American Art Union offers the latest work by the ever-emerging and talented painter Timothy Scott Dalbow. His solo show, The Waltz deals in bodies and beaches. He’s harnessed a spirit of expressionism, balancing between varied colors and gray tonal values. through July 30

In residence at Portland’s Tilt Gallery & Project Space is Atlanta-based installation artist Avantika Bawa whose show Cut Corners will be a site-specific work for the space at the Everett Station Lofts. Bawa, who is also one of the editors of Drain Magazine has been in PDX all week long to take in the local culture (watch for an upcoming interview with the artist next week!) through July 29

Michael T. Hensley unleashes Lead Free a new body of work at Mark Woolley Gallery (120 NW 9th). Hensley often opts for aspects of scratchy cartoonish graffitti and puzzling shaped dimensions with the look of hidden messages, aged chalkboards, or multi-layered notebooks. What’s he up to now? through July 29

The Portland Modern Window Project (1715 NW Lovejoy) offers a peak into the world of Brenda Mallory’s new installation Emergent Properties (excerpted/transcribed from her larger body of work, biophilia). Cloth, metal and beeswax come together behind glass. Open 24 hours, July 6-29.

Before closing shop for a month-long Summer break in August, Atlas of the Unknown (love that title), organized by Whitney Museum curatorial assistant Tina Kukielski, is coming up at Small A Projects (1430 SE Third). The vulgarity and splendor of nature are explored in this group show including seven out-of-towners. July 8-August 19.

James Boulton will showcase his new work Traffication at Pulliam Deffenbaugh. His new oils look to be more graphic than ever, taking from the friction of technology/electronica and maybe even video games. He’s layered wildly offbeat pop colors with a gestural finesse that seems more contained than in his work of the past. Fresh and focused. July 5-29

By popular demand grey|area is extended into July at Guestroom Gallery who have just fully renovated their website to include images, installation views and biographical information on the presenting artists and curators. Curated by yours truly. through July 29

Gallery Homeland presents Scratching the Surface: The Willamette River Arts Festival. This city-endorsed first year event celebrates the river that divides the city with performances and installations by a host of regional and national artists. You’ll catch some artists floating, a widow walking, shipbuilding, maybe even some messages in a bottle. Sure to be a spectacle, get my drift. For more information call (503) 819-9656. July 14-30

Man about town John Brodie will show a variety of new work at the Hillsboro Cultural Arts Center including paintings, books and sculpture. Curated by Carl Annala, an opening reception takes place Tuesday, July 11, 6-8PM, and why not have a nightcap at house fave Le Happy where they have just added fresh cocktails (scroll over) into the mix for Summer! July 3-August 25

This month the co-op space Gallery 114 presents the eagerly anticipated new work by Kimber Shiroma in Attached. The examples look a bit distant, ghostly, worked. through July 29

RACC’s ongoing installation series at the Portland Building (hail, Portlandia!) brings to light a new sculptural installation (or invented space) by Tilt’s Jenene Nagy (also an Artist-In-Residence at PNCA). Saturated Pasture deals (in)/directly with a somewhat reconstructed landscape through common materials as styrofoam and housepaint. My prediction, “other-worldly”. July 17–August 11

Sequential (328 NW Broadway #113) opens a new exhibition of comic work and correspondence by Ryan Alexander-Tanner called The Prisoner. This body of work by the former Willamette Week illustrator, offers a glimpse into a slightly more investigatory approach to his subject who he has recently, ala Capote, met face-to-face. Gallery Hours are 11AM-5PM on Saturdays. through July 29

A 30+ artist giantic Portrait Show opens at the mysterious basement space, the Hall Gallery (630 SE Third) this First Friday (6-10PM) including luminaries Kristan Kennedy (see her new work in the latest Plazm), Storm Tharp, Paige Saez, Midori Hirose, Isaac Peterson, Cynthia D. Lahti and so many others. Gallery Hours are Fridays 3:30-6:30PM and by appointment (971-570-2290). through July 27

East coast newcomer to the scene, Michael Paulus seeminlgly has the best intentions of seriously taking on Stumptown (the 3356 SE Belmont location to be exact). The work, simply titled, 10 Commemorative Plaques of Prototypes from the Millenium Bioengineering Conference in Hartford, Ct. just may cause a bit of a “stir” so to speak. Pass the soy! through August 1

Of course, the much anticipated motherlode, the pièce de résistance of Summer opens on July 29th. Yes, that would be the Portland Art Museum’s Oregon Biennial, curated by welcome newcomer Jennifer Gately. With Ty Ennis, Mark Hooper, Shawn Records, Pat Boas, Matthew Picton, David Eckard, Anna Fidler, Jesse Hayward, Chandra Bocci and others how could you go wrong? With so much excruciatingly solid talent of note under the roof, many for the very first time, this is what Biennial’s are made of! This is how you spell fresh. Don’t forget to watch for the interview with Gately in the July issue of Portland Monthly (On newstands now, page 181). July 29–October 8

As Superman Returns hits the big screen this season, check out our local superheroes (and those who love them) on the small one, TV that is. This month repeated on OPB’s Art Beat experience the world of artist Daniel Duford. The show focuses on his past and current work. See his Naked Boy at Guestroom all month as well. Watch local listings.

7/4/06
I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T

Sounds like the soulful call letters of an Aretha Franklin song, but what does the word mean? Can one actually be an indendent these days? What we once called indie films and music are now quite the norm, in fact bands like Radiohead, The White Stripes and even Sigur Rós play to sold out midsize to stadium venues regularly. But they also have a support structure that is often all constructed out of bits of marketing, et al. Mind you, that doesn’t steal from their actual talent, au contraire, but it does often have an associated army of designers, producers and others involved in the seamlessly invisible background, packaging the whole thing nicely.

Is the term passé? Can the word be applied honestly? And I guess, in many ways, it still heavily works within the visual arts. If you are unrepresented you may be considered as such, but you still may have a supportive patron(s) who believe in what you do. Or maybe like myself, you may see the ultimate exposure being through the guise of an academic eye, whether that be through cultural media or the university and museum circuit.

The true independent comes in so many shapes and forms (I call them flavors). The often questioned “outsider” (er, naive) artist, those who show primarily in cafes and other alternative venues, and artists who simply refuse to fit into any structured format (what I call the James Dean Complex). But there are, of course, the chameleons among us, who weave in and out of developing work that is at once considered multimedia/hybrid (difficult and/or challenging) and can as easily shape a gallery’s worth of solid, saleable images or objects. Independents are oft quite skilled in their craft, and even moreover have a conceptual bent that isn’t always about the bottom line. Of course, any comment like this can be seen as a generalization of the scope of all artists, but, in my experience, these things ring true time and time again.

So, does independent mean thinker? Well, to some extent. Though, I believe it’s more about an attitude and how referencial experience takes shape through ones work. Independence is based on sheer committment to seeing a project through, no matter what the cost, with many often emptying their own pockets bare. Aside from the associated financial risks, as an independent your sense of true freedom remains intact, you create however and whenever you want. Of course, that circles back to attitude, and many artists can easily either procrastinate or just burn out without some form of discourse or stability.

This past week I saw Terry Zwigoff’s film Art School Confidential (now playing at the Bagdad Theater). The film is totally formulaic basic entertainment, however, it touches upon every possible art school cliché imaginable. But, as a working independent, it makes you think. When John Malkovich (who also produced the film), playing an art teacher, says to his new students “Only one out of 100 of you will ever make a living as an artist” it’s flash reality. It’s my belief that the true independent doesn’t live through this way of thinking. A vocation is never seen the same way as is the occupation, and in many cases artists use their talents in the commercial realm to support their “habit” for making what they really care about. There are always those who would never even cross that line.

So, as the bombs burst in air, this is how I celebrate independence day.

7/4/06
IN [ DEPENDENCE ]

The Oregonian’s headline story about the Portland Art Museum’s financial hiccups, in regards to its recent renovation, are real. When an institution takes on an architectural feat of this sort of magnitude, the patrons who flash the cash need to pony up sooner than expected in many cases. It’s a karma thing. Though, like the Portland Aerial Tram, the PAM also experienced unknowns that led to cost overruns ($12M), which these days is a given. Inflation and materials costs are hard to predict, though the project met all its timelines. The soft costs. Behind the facade of a beautiful structure are issues of the shifting Board and mismanagement of the two construction companies involved (one firm fired midway…and keep in mind that Eric Hoffman, Sr. is actually on the Museum Board). This feels like long drawn out (and probably quite necessary) growing pains for a directorless museum of this scale, however, the shoes left behind by the Buchanans will be sizeable for the forthcoming leadership to squeeze into.

7/3/06
GOINGS + CUMMINGS

LINK OF THE MONTH:
Celebrating their ten-year anniversary, a heavenly tip from a friend in Los Angeles reminded me how I may spend the remainder of any spare holiday weekend moments. Kenneth Goldsmith’s Ubuweb, if you are not yet indoctrinated, is a dreamy library of sounds, films, writings and other biographical information that catalogues artists from Duchamp to Scanner; from ee cummings to Carolee Schneemann…just check out this index!

Catch documentary film clips, downloadable sound compositions and the (ed. well) written word, both contemporary and historical, and a whole lot more, are explored in this site of scope and discourse. And it’s all FREE!

———–

All weekend-long The Waterfront Blues Fest kicks into high gear with performances by world faves Irma Thomas, Dr. John, John Hiatt, Curtis Salgado and Buckwheat Zydeco (for starters). Sponsored by Safeway, this event will also include film screenings and tasty options from celebrity chefs of New Orleans. Admission is a very reasonable $8 per day along with two cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank. Nice touch. June 30-July 4th!

6/30/06
ARTISTS + ARTISTS (PT I)

The real live “L” word! Love. Or something like it. A many splendored thing, a delicate dance, to many, the epicenter of inspiration. Let’s say I was inspired to write about the connection between artists for reasons twofold: first because of the presumed unlikelihood of finding a pairing where both parties didn’t cancel each other out by way of exhaustive practice or super-ego. Though this would seem a fine line to navigate, it’s also a bright seed for heavenly dialogue (and then some). There are so many strata of subconscious edges to our delicate autonomy as creatives. Secondly, when I recently flexed my prerogative and broke a fifteen year old promise to not date another artist I wanted to, perhaps through osmosis, or like a fly on the wall, open my ears vicariously to what others have gone through.

HEARTS TAKE CHARGE: It was a learning to hear some folks’ ultimate tone of privacy, and others’ very forthcoming personal experiences. Both quite valid, as in my own current vow of silence. This will be a mini series for which I truly encourage artists who may read this to contribute their own stories over the next few months. Without adieu, here’s what they had to say:

David Corbett:
I have found Melia’s (Donovan) studio problems to be very different from my own, but I often use her problem solving skills as inspiration for my own practice. I have seen her work go through unexpected change and I admire her willingness to adapt to her vision in ways that always surprise me. Problem solving is an extremely private experience. I feel very lucky to be so close to someone who is challenging and dedicated to her art.

Melia Donovan:
It’s difficult to explain without cliche but David (Corbett) has been my constant, side-by-side companion, critic, conspirator, friend and entertainment for 12 years. Our work is completely different - he’s prolific, painting every chance he gets - I’m slower, more methodical and reluctant to be in the studio - but we are tied by conversations and goading which can be frustrating and profound.

Ellen George:
Jerry Mayer and I knew of each other’s work a year before we met in person. He bought a piece from my first show at PDX in 2002. We met a year later and… we have been growing stronger stronger stronger ever since….three years. He is most important to me – I had told myself “no artists” for mates…I cannot explain why I let go of the onion to grab hold the apple…but I can say he continues to be the most supportive other artist/companion ever in my life. I trust him with my work, my son, my emotions.

Scott Wayne Indiana:
Harvest and I met on a Greyhound Bus in 1998 while stopped at 5 in the morning in Fargo, North Dakota, en route to Seattle. She was writing in her journal and I was feeling confident. Harvest is careful, thoughtful and calculate while I am an arrogant old buzzard. Isn’t the balance in this relationship obvious? Harvest and I rarely want to create the same things, but simultaneously we like almost all the same things.

Harvest Henderson:
I suppose what keeps it together is that we laugh a lot. In between the heated debates; the swellings of ego, insecurity, envy and pride; the parceling out of just how much of which idea was really whose, we laugh our asses off. But we’re terrible collaborators. I’m slow and fastidious; he’s a “first thought, best thought” sort of guy. We met on a bus, or rather at a bus stop, on a curb, sometime near dawn and across from a porn shop. We were both traveling alone. Now we travel together.

Jeff Jahn:
We (Laura Fritz) met for the first time in the art books section of Powell’s on Hawthorne in 2000 (She was looking over a Richard Long book) but we blew each other off until Spring 2004. What keeps it together? Long walks, challenging rapport. We collaborate only in an advisory function on both sides. We are direct in challenging each other and aren’t afraid to critique the hell out of one another. There is a lot of banter, logic (both absurd and serious) with lots of sarcasm. We are both consistent and methodical practitioners but we hit the afterburners when the impossible time crunch needs a little redefining.

Brenda Mallory:
Artists love to hang out with other artists so it just makes most sense to marry one. Bruce (Barrow) and I have been hanging out for 25 years now. I know each of us secretly wishes the other were an investment banker sometimes, but I think neither of us can imagine life without the creative intercourse - oops!…I mean discourse that fills our lives. From a practical sense, I probably have the better deal. Bruce is an honest critic, he is my biggest fan, he edits the dreaded artist statement for me, he photographs my work, and he brings me coffee in the morning. What do I do for him? I try to be quiet in the morning when he gets up to write for two hours before he goes off to be a film editor/producer. I hide the rejection letters he gets when he’s just sent out a barrage of short stories. I clap the loudest at his readings. I listen to him rail against George f*cking Bush every day. And everyday we revel in the most successful collaboration ever, the bundle of creative energy that is our daughter Emma.

Tiffany Lee Brown:
Josh (Berger) and I share an obsession with independent media, the beauty of publishing, and the sociopolitical role of art and culture. We both curate and edit other artists and writers. We complement, compliment, and support each other artistically and emotionally; we work on projects together. But the really interesting stuff — the stuff that makes you grow and deepen as an artist, as a partner, as a human — lies in our differences. Whereas I work primarily with words, actions, and music, he works primarily in the visual realm. When we met, we led very different lifestyles and hung out in different social and artistic circles. Some of our aesthetic and critical tendencies overlap; others are quite dissimilar. We’ve each got our own world views, our own ideas about how to effect change in the world, and nearly polar opposite working processes.

Strong people who cause me to challenge my beliefs rock my world and keep me from being complacent, static. I want to see change in my art, my life, my relationship to the world, my political engagement–everything. I like that our relationship encourages us to change without putting us in lockstep with each other. For some couples, a more joined-at-the-hip collaboration is the right thing. For me, I think it would spell romantic and artistic doom. We met at Satyricon, of course. We figured out that many years earlier, a photo of me had appeared in the magazine he co-founded, Plazm. Then I asked him to design something for Signum Press, and here we are, five and a half years later, collaborating on publications, a house, and a family life while keeping space for our private creative practices.

+ Plus I think he’s hot.

Tim duRoche/Lisa Radon:
TdR: I was looking for a poet/spoken word artist to work with on a performance as part of a cabaret bill. I’d met Lisa briefly and Sam Gould suggested I asked her if she might be interested in collaboration. We met and talked, for what turned into hour after glorious hour, without breaking gaze about the frontiers of performance, sound, abstraction, the visual and expanded arts, and above all Possibility. . . the most compelling creative/conceptual how-do-you-dos I’d ever experienced.

Lisa: It was immediately apparent that not only had I found the perfect collaborative partner, but that the perfectness extended far beyond the realm of making. Never have I met another maker whom I trusted so completely, both in process and on the stage. I trust his instincts so completely and am grateful to him for helping me to take my work in new directions.

TdR: What’s exciting is the surface has barely been scratched. We’ve created conceptual pieces using found texts, collaborated on words, melded voice and sound as a symbiotic unit for a sound installation, performed at avant-garde jazz festivals, made visual work together, and performed via tape (and in absentia) for each other’s performances.

Lisa: We’ve a hundred years’ work of experimentation and collaboration to fit into the next forty or so. Here, everything is folded in together, from our love of Frank O’Hara, FLUXUS and food/wine to parenting and lively debate and writing about the visual and live arts to the discovery of the next new conceptual directions in our own making. All this is re-enforced in our non-collaborative work—where we are each other’s best ally, staunchest supporter, motivator, and most loving editor, critic and nurturing drill sergeant.

Mike Barber:
Art (dance) brought us (Daniel Addy) together and provides some of our easiest moments of connection…. I think much like any shared passion between a couple….tennis, sailing, baking? We have made a practice of not collaborating which avoids the ego issue. We have very different styles of creating work…and it works for us to allow them completely and separately. This also gives us the sweet experience of supporting each other…a bit more objectively. This support comes from a place of understanding our shared craft and each other’s diverse style (which we know fairly well after 8 years together). That knowing support feels good.

——-
Lyrics to Somebody (Martin Gore, 1984)

Contributions for part two now accepted, please email me with your “artist/artist” story.

6/28/06
CIAO MILANO

An interview with Andrea Marutti of Afe Records.

6/27/06
BZZZZ

That’s the sound of a summer garden, and the feeling you get from a big ole cuppa roast from the empire of Starbucks.

Speaking of which, both seem to come together in the production of the first-ever feature film from said corporate giant. The film, Akeelah and the Bee, is a wonderful story about an eleven year old African-American girl from South LA, who just happens to be a budding word-a-holic. While the overall resonance of the story is everything you have come to expect from an ABC Afterschool Special, twelve year old newcomer Keke Palmer (Akeelah Anderson) is priceless in this survival of the fittest mind role. And when paired with a supporting cast including the stunning Angela Bassett (as Akeelah’s working mom) and Laurence Fishburne (as the astutely determined Dr. Larabee) the girl stands her own (and then some).

Can I buy a vowel?
Fishburne’s performance is particularly notable for his sensitive, yet stodgily well-spoken ivy leaguer type with a past. He begrudgingly coaches Akeelah through her struggle with the process of not only rote memorization but also through the understanding of words from a cultural perspective. She’s gained a chance to compete at the national Scripps Spelling Bee. This is a feel-good flick about the youthful power of knowledge and how it can be easily swayed by the eggshells left behind in the wake of their environment (here, spelled ‘hood). Though, it’s more of a working class story that anyone can attempt to relate to, it just tries a little hard at times, becoming a bit sappy and predictable. Still, I found it a happy-go-lucky jaunt from the projects to the (Beverly) Hills and back again.

logorrhea: excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness
[ Etymology: New Latin; Pronunciation: "lo-g&-'rE-&, "lä- ]

$3 ADMISSION: Playing at the Laurelhurst Theater at 7:10PM nightly and also at 1PM on the weekends. I suggest a slice and a pint and let the film take you there.

B-

6/26/06
Bridgs Echo

This was a weekend for taking it slow and indulging in the vestiges of cheap eats. Thanks to my new steady (who, by the way, recently prepared a most divine spinach lasagna!), I have suddenly discovered Northeast Portland and in doing so I have crossed more than just a line (Burnside). There is a wider ethnic and counter-culture population dotting the core and periphery from Killingsworth and Alberta to Freemont and Interstate. But for this son of a gourmet chef (I love you mom!) it was all about walking in the line of MLK, or so to speak.

Bridges Cafe (2716 MLK) is a great alternative neighborhoody spot, especially for breakfast and brunch. Our waiter, Lee (a high priestess of drag by eve, slender and bald with a Texan gate by day), was timely and casually friendly. I got a most delicious tofu scamble with creamy cheese, spinach and other perfectly cooked veggies alongside pan fried taters and some amazing hunks of poppied challah with a dark blueberry compote on the side. The OJ tasted just-squeezed, and the roasty coffee was on, so I indulged in three cups of joe. The blazing sun was strong as we sat alongside Russell Street under an awning which covered everything but my neck, but the company I was keeping was so kind as to switch seats with me to share the wealth of UVA. This joint is best known for its eggy omelettes and benedicts (being the forever finicky eater, it was a treat to find an alternative). So, three thumbs up for this perennial favorite, a find for me.

Just two blocks away is Echo (2225 NE MLK) who specialize in dessert treats, a few specialty vintage drinks like the Dark & Stormy (fresh ginger muddled with lime, sugar, then shaken with Mount Gay rum served on the rocks with a splash of spicy ginger ale) and a regularly changing menu of contemporary cuisine. The prices range, the place has a romantic flare, and they offer a sweet candle-lit outdoor courtyard with a water feature, and late night dining (a rarity in these parts). Since it was a scintillatingly heated evening I went for a simple dessert choice and the richly chocolate brown bittersweet essence in a pint of their house porter. This accompanied the buttery tart peach shortcake cobbler with cardamom ice cream. As I came to the conclusion of this delectable treat that was truly an indulgence, the silver-haired waiter/bartender wryly asked if I would like another dessert selection, which made me cough in giggles, but, I almost said yes. Rest assured that this will be a place you will return often to try something new. And it just happens to be round the bend from the Wonder Ballroom, Guestroom Gallery and the Goldrush Coffee Shop (good coffee + free wi-fi) as well! You can’t go wrong here.

6/25/06
PLAZMism

OK, it’s just too damn hot! This weekend was filled with an overall sense of lax and bake as temps shot into three digits. Sticky, sultry, hot and bothered - no matter how you slice/dice, like it or not, for Portlanders, Summer is here a touch early.

Kicking it off was Plazm Magazine’s 15th Anniversary and release party for Issue #28 on Saturday night. Held at the still quite raw and cavernous Templeton Building, you can slowly see Disjecta making a new home for offbeat, large-scale events and parties like this and the recent Little White Dress Show. The space and acoustics are a bit rough and tumble, but many art folk gathered to pledge support in the spirit of pluralistic Portland retro culture and other assorted hijinks. Sweet mini cupcakes, 70’s music/dance kitsch from 10 Tiny Dances, a cordoned off freight elevator with impromptu butoh, a Queen tribute band decked in makeup and neon feather boas, the towering Splendora (of Sissyboy) with a fright wig a mile high, and E*Rock all attempted to entertain and provoke something. Though an otherwise overly talkative and distracted crowd simply cavorted from the main floor to a nearly desolate upper deck that was too dark and full of slintery wood planks, rust, but an amazing view of the local skatepark and a partial Portland skyline through ten-foot windows.

TO BE SCENE, THAT IS THE ?: It was great to see curators, artists, creative folk and interested bystanders mixing it up, mostly ending up on the smoking freight dock where a light breeze attempted to cool the dense indoor air. The crowd shone with the white heat of the scene including Jennifer Gately (see this month’s piece in Portland Monthly on the upcoming Biennial), David Eckard, Stephanie Snyder, Troy Briggs, AC Dickson (he’s tall!), Mark Brandau and Jessica Bromer (of Portland Modern), Llewyn Máire and Lisa Newman of 2 Gyrlz, Joe Thurston, Ty Ennis, Storm Tharp, Eric Gard, Pete McCracken, Tiffany Lee Brown and many more revelers. But, the heat really did a number on the energy of the evening, becoming more of a collective mirage rather than an evening of challenging happenings.

Oddly, the highlight of the night was entering the Dim Sum Puppet Theater’s confessional. After entering into a blackened booth with my date, we were surrounded by a curtain and greeted by a snappy priest puppet with an affected Italian accent. He’s quick-witted and the exchange is friendly and sarchastic at the same time. After admitting to general nautiness, to our surprise, he asked if we were lovers, snaps our picture (can you imagine my coy expression of shock). I shook the puppet’s hand for good measure as we exited.

BOUND TO CHANGE: Later, I flipped through the new issue of Plazm, which should sate the converted in its ever-shifting (dis)guise. This time around including a short piece on some of the more focal area-based performance artists, drawings by the celebrated 90s artist Raymond Pettibon, a spread on Kristan Kennedy’s new paintings, elongated anti-war visualizations, Patrick Long’s (not Tom of Finland) Cop Love, all wrapped inside very cute (spelled here kitty kitty) Milton Glaser coverart - then topped off with a “phat” interview with who else but proto prophetic/prophanic eurotrashy Peaches! This zine-cum-typographers fantasy drips in pop-slacker design for all those graphics fetischistas out there, slick and pointed, but like Vice and even Adbusters, the meaty content gets lost amid the stylization of the printed page. Yes, it’s about attitude - but give me some altitude to go with that fresh ink. While it has a spine, it’s like an honorary Portland standing-oh!, there’s something missing that seems outdated. It could be that ever-popular retro thing (again) or this could be the start of something, something. Is it a great big déjà vu or time travel personified?

Speaking of Glaser’s contribution, like a cat on a hot tin roof, I’d blame it on the rain…er, the heat!

6/24/06
GOTHIC VISIONS

When I was in college I won’t forget one of my first collaborative projects. It was for an exhibition at the Somerville Public Library with Becky Sharpe. We went to the very old, very traditionally “haunted type” Mount Auburn Cemetery. I’ll never forget talking with one of the gravediggers about my not wanting to be either buried or cremated, to his response, which was spot-on when he said “so you want to be fed to the fishes.” Oddly, he knew. And Becky and I, like so many before and since, went about our business photographing 19th century headstones and burial grounds, and each other.

This brings me to Spirit of the Cemetery of the Recoleta, the current exhibition of photography shot in Buenos Aires by Randy L. Rasmussen on view through July 21. These b/w archival inkjet prints deal heavily in light and shadow, bringing the inanimate to life. This is seen especially in standout Recoleta V where he’s captured the glowing, steamed cast of a bald man from behind, inside a small, mostly glass mausoleum. The effect is eerie and disembodied as the light wraps around the mysterious floating head. Rasmussen finds varied, intimate and wonderfully gestural details in and outside of these statues, structures and religious icons, scattered in a place of infinite rest. Though is this in peace? See for yourself at:

Camerawork Gallery (Peterson Hall, lower level, 2255 NW Northrup St); Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 9-5, Sat 1-5

6/22/06
TRUMPED

Who woulda thunk I would ever, in my charmed life, pick up a huge, fat boy stoagie and light up? That remained virgin territory until last night when at the suggestion of a party of one (with whom you may say I am a tad smitten) I was chomping at da bit. Mind you, I have never condoned smoking, au contraire, it’s somewhat filthy and nasty, but at forty you might as well try something new. So, there, I did it at McMenamin’s Greater Trumps, and I kinda found myself rapt in the whole romance of the billowing smoke rings (and the company), the deep rusty-orange flamed tip, earthen smokeyness, and the whole decompression process that became something of an adult recess. Wrapped in sweet cedar A. Fuente’s Gran Reserva was the draw. The smooth flavors of frankinscence, wheat and mysterious musky sweetness unveiled an unspoken curiosity for a personal taboo. The house dark, rich and frothy stout made a perfect compliment to my tempered palette in what can only be described as a wonderfully cozy room (something of a grande parlour) bathed in hues of organic earth tones. It was a boys night out, but rest assured there were a larger heaping of girls in the haus to balance the cadence for everyone. This brings to mind that I once created a daunting list of things I have never done, so one item to cross from my checklist - and in a truly memorable way.

6/21/06
white|area

There are many things that draw us to colorlessness, neutrality and luminosity, but when it rips from the skins of the local neighborhoods the word gets out far and wide. Hey, when I moved out of Boston in 2001 the city experienced its first-ever balance of more people of color than caucasians in its history. When I first walked the streets of Portland back in Y2K I wondered about “simple things” like where I might find food of any ethnic origin at all, or a market like Uwajimaya to shop in. Where would I find the spice of life? Just what is this climate we are in? How does the nation see the Pacific Northwest in terms of its multiculturalism? Has gentrification gone too far? This just in from Sunday’s Washington Post (via MSNBC). Blaine Harden reports….

6/21/06
OH, THE ADJECTIVES!

This is a bit more bloggish than usual, so please bear with me. Where to start? Yes, how about with the poison pen…..

After six years of consistently writing music criticism/journalism for such elusive, underground and some known mags, rags and zines (on and offline) I have officially decided to retire the effort. During my tenure I wrote hundreds of record reviews, interviews and spotlight pieces, freelance, for notables Grooves Magazine, Paris Transatlantic, e|i Magazine, Signal to Noise, Brainwashed.com, Repellent Magazine, Dusted, Just Out and the defunct Record Camp and Instrumental Weekly among several others.

This stint gave me the opportunity to meet and/or communicate with so many wonderful musicians, composers and performers from here to Tokyo, Austria to Iceland and back again. Some of these folks have become friends, collaborators and the creative exchanges (installations, CD/DVD projects, essays) will most certainly continue for many years to come. I wrote my very final review for the Dutch-based Vital Weekly #530 (appropriately writing a review of The Hafler Trio’s Seven Hours Sleep - I did an in-depth interview with Andrew Mackenzie late last year, published in Repellent). Founded by Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek, Beequeen, Shifts) this publication has been around since 1987, covering sounds of the avant garde and difficult sound/music, and recently moving to its own autonomous site. Simultaneously I am stepping down as Contributing Editor to the sunny California-based Igloo Magazine which has been a role I have relished for many years. Two spotlights on the labels Afe and ~scape (Stephan Betke/Pole’s label) are still forthcoming. So, I would like to acknowledge my pleasure of having worked with editors-in-arms Frans de Waard (Vital) and Pietro Da Sacco (Igloo). Hats off, it was an honor serving their broad audiences. A compilation of my scrawling is available online.

As I look back at the past half-dozen years I realize that I also have had the opportunity to work directly with artists who are moreso a dream team. Including such noteworthy creatives as: Terre Thaemlitz, Scanner, Janek Schaefer, Brandon Labelle, Rothko, M.Behrens, Seth Nehil, j.frede, Olaf Bender, and countless others. This has also afforded me the ability to travel to music festivals in Spain (Sonar), Canada (Mutek) as well as being given the opportunity to be a featured speaker/lecturer during the Intransitive (Boston) and Decibel (Seattle) festivals. Next up will include visits to Transmediale (Germany) and Avanto (Finland)….In the interim, between developing photographic objects (and other work) for a series of upcoming group shows and curating (by the way, grey|area has been extended through July 28th at Guestroom Gallery) I have been busy at work on a few other writing projects of note:

- Firstly is an essay for a forthcoming catalogue on the sculptural/installation work of Brenda Mallory produced, in part, by Tilt Gallery & Project Space.

- Secondly, I have completed a full statement on my ongoing Tribryd series of collaborative installations. This will accompany a CD/DVD project entitled triMIX (Innova Recordings) which is a collection of tracks that deconstruct the original soundtracks released three years ago on Beta-lactam Ring Records (I still have a handful of copies if you are interested). This project is sponsored in part by the American Composers Forum and will include bonus material, videos and a slide show documenting the last several years of the project, which comes to a close in 2007 with an exhibition at Neon Gallery (Brosarp, Sweden).

Though the body is absorbed in so much else, the quivering extensions of self cannot seem to avoid the tactility of the keyboard, even at less than 40WPM.

PS: NEW FUNCTIONALITY: As a pre-liminary (er, cautionary) notice, YOU, the reader, will soon be able to respond with your own comments to this column, making it into the dialogue initially intended. Watch for this soon…..

6/19/06
MANGIA ROMANTICO

If you haven’t been to Il Piatto (2348 SE Ankeny) since it opened a dozen years ago, what might you be waiting for? Highly recommended for its cozy ambience with a contemporary spin on old world Italian classics, sans any thickness and formality you may experience at Genoa and the like. For starters you might consider the decadent Fritelle di Formaggio di Capra, which are two hazelnut-encrusted, palm-sized discs of goat cheese atop citrus glazed greens and dates that is creamy, sweet and seems to melt in your mouth and disappear rather quickly. Or Bruschetta alla Verdure, a non-traditional griddled bread with a generous helping of sautéed spinach, some bright tomatoes and a smooth and subtle white bean spread. For the main course always ask for the catch of the day specials, last night was a winning combo of grilled halibut, spices and a whole lotta deee-lish.

Try the gnocci. I went for a variation with raisins and wilted spinach, which had the essence of Autumn and spiced pies. It was warming and slightly unusual, and normally served with pancetta, which as a vegequarian I held off on. So, sans the tint of saltyness, I sorta concocted my own tasty version of something quite uniquely blended. Recommended is the deep, ripe red Barbera d’ Asti (2003, Piedmont, Italy, $36). With a powerful woody nose, it had the noted hints of spicy licorice after decanting for just a couple minutes. Zero cloying sting whatsoever, just a smoothly bold wine ’til the very last drop. The shared finale composed of a multi-tiered pound cake wafting with delightful hints of bitter citrus, then layered with a milk chocolate ganache and a heaping dollop of super fresh whipped cream to balance - the palate was beyond sated. A special place to treat someone on their forty-second birthday (or any occasion, really) in its mix of flavors, textures and perfetto completare.

6/15/06
WHAT’S GOIN’ ON?

ONE YEAR OLD:
PORT’s Eurotrash Bash @ Apotheke
June 15, 8PM

FILM PREMIERE:
SAY UNCLE w/Peter Paige (present)
@ Hollywood Theater
June 16, 7PM, $10

SOUNDS FROM ABOVE:
HEXASION II (Loscil/Daniel Menche)
@ Portland Art Center
June 17, 8:30PM

SOUNDS FROM BELOW:
STAPLETON/LILES/POTTER @ Sabala’s/Mt. Tabor
June 20, 8PM, $13 (advance)

15 YEARS:
PLAZM PARTY @ Disjecta
June 24, 8PM, $5

6/14/06
NEW PHOTOGRAPHY 2006

Coming In July!

Twenty-one diverse photographers, spanning twelve states, co-curated by regional photo buffs Christopher Rauschenberg and Jennifer Stoots (who chose work from 470 entries). It’s great to see an exhibition of work that fuses five regionally based photographers with many from outside the area, bringing a broader creedence to its title claim. The themes range from questionable still lives and situational desolation to landscape as wry metaphor and other traditional documentary poetics. The curators have taken great care in selecting specific works which will range in process and concept greatly, though one common thread seems to be light and life (captured and emerging, imagined). New Photography 2006 will be on view at Portland’s Newspace Center for Photography during the Summer with an opening reception on July 7 (7-10PM). Go here to get a teaser for what’s in store.

6/13/06
INTIMATE ANIMATION

Showing her Etchings, Sheryl Funkhouser lays a new foundation at the 12×16 Gallery (1216 SE Division). In her work, she touches on the macro world of several polarized characters, where the balance of human to nature reverses its scale. While keeping most of the actual groundwork, in deep black and white contrast, Funkhouser adds areas of color for florals and vegetation. In what could be something of a delicate merger between Edward Gorey-esque starkness and the maze of merriment in a Hieronymus Bosch she has hewn a craft for dealing with the topsy-turvy. Her charcters are villagers from another era, with a serious Victorian (er, Venetian) flare, ala Gorey. Their mission as workers, mysterions, onlookers provides an atmosphere where the flourish is paramount. By pairing architectural elements with shells and lilies her view of the world lifts and turns its own axis. The use of shadow is sensitive in its depth of light and her negative space as void balances many of the compositions here. The show includes several quality prints (mostly in series of under 30 per) dating back to the early 90s. This show may require a few viewings as her attention to detail is high, and the eight main works here will have you reading into these details for a while. - through July 2

6/13/06
SPIRIT HAVING FLOWN

Another passing of greatness. This one from the wires…

VIENNA, Austria – “Composer György Sándor Ligeti, who fled Hungary after the 1956 revolution and gained fame for his opera “Le Grand Macabre” and his work on the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” died Monday. He was 83. Ligeti, celebrated as one of the world’s leading 20th century musical pioneers, died in Vienna after a long illness, said Christian Krauscheid, a spokesman for his publisher, Schott Music in Germany. Ligeti (pronounced lig’-ih-tee) was born in 1923 to Hungarian parents in the predominantly ethnic Hungarian part of Romania’s Transylvania region. His father and brother later were murdered by the Nazis. He took Austrian citizenship after fleeing his ex-communist homeland and became known for “Macabre,” which he wrote in 1978. He began studying music under Ferenc Farkas at the conservatory in Cluj, Romania, in 1941, and continued his studies in Budapest. But in 1943, he was arrested as a Jew and sentenced to forced labor for the rest of World War II.”

A solemn nod, a breath, and a moment of silence in his honor.

6/12/06
BITTER/SWEET

There is nothing at all sweet about Hard Candy. This new independent film by music video director David Slade, about the coming together of Jeff (Patrick Wilson), a pro-photog and an underage teenage honors student named Hayley (Ellen Page), is awkwardly creepy. From the instant messages in the scene opener to the startling conclusion, this movie may have you either squirming, ducking or in a state of shock. After three weeks of Internet chat, the two characters casually meet up in a local coffee house. Jo Williams’ photography is luminous and eerie, has a jagged sense of cryptic movement that is highly stylized, as seen in early Steven Soderbergh. The colors are both saturated and blurry, adding a super physical sense to each scene. The 14 year old Hayley (the actress is actually 19) is porcelain and freckled, Jeff, at thirtysomething, is smartly dressed and bespecaled. The camera pans over her face sensually as she eats chocolate cake, while he is hewn in ambers and darker hues. It’s all very noir.

This is not a date movie (unless you “want” to end up in your compadres lap), and not for the squeamish (spelled, me). Though it is a super, visceral psychological thriller with a twist on a difficult theme with a provocative role-reversal of sorts. As in the “giving away” of details, this is one of those films that is hard to simply wrap-around. Its topics without spilling the beans, so to speak, just hint at the sinister goings-on without truly being full frontal graphic - it’s a mind tease. Let’s just say the film is quite insular and hyper-claustrophobic, mostly taking place in the photographer’s live/work space. The drawn-out central synergy in the film is excruciatingly unnerving. The acting is smart and saavy, and ultimately a wild, sensory ride - but caution is advised in the delicacy of issues surrounding pedophilia here. And unlike the oddity of films like Todd Solondz’s Happiness which also dealt in this topic, there is very little humour here. Though, it is not what you would expect, the encore ending, while it could easily be seen through a trite filter, leaves too many questions that twist the power of young women to the nth degree.

Afterwards, the cone at Staccato Gelato managed to sweeten the night along with the company (the only hint to share about this balmy evening on the town)!

6/8/06
SPECIATION

In a show that fields the luminousity of light and is bathed in the delicacies of sumptious color, Ellen George offers brand-new objects that are instantly curious and comical. Many of the new pieces, which she calls “inchings” move in mysterious ways. They are, in fact, tiny travelogues built from yards and yards of polymer clay which meander, twist, stack, cone, and otherwise animate their platforms and shelves. In many ways they reference anything from a great white’s remains to a child’s game of hide-n-seek to the hard-wired ambiguity of the Internet. Telling stories without words they are amusingly clever in their fluidity of visual lingualism. The work, overall has a quirky elegance. George sees the object as both vessel and repetitive shape as gesturally poetic, floating in the sheer beauty of space.

Pucker, in fact, is one such work that repeats itself like the tonal scale of a song. Its horizontal movement and placement of objects while extremely subtle, create a great contrast for the richly saturated reds and purples. The small olive-shaped pieces are reminiscent of thumbprint cookies, making the magic of the gesture very human and time-based. Pulse is another gestural work made up of a dozen pod-like tiny parts placed like a bright yellow, bent highway dividing line, forming something of a zipper. Depending on how one views the work, it may also be a constellation of sorts, or perhaps a tribe of snail-like creatures following the leader. This brings up George’s brilliant take on humor, within the more minimal realm of good ole Dr. Seuss and even Keith Haring to a lesser degree. The shapes she uses are blatant and only vaguely organic, they appeal on a more Kubrickian level, spelled “the future”. This new body of work has its own inherent mineral-meets-minimal quality that takes into account both colors found in nature and those from Max Factor. It’s a revelation.

The new bent Blowy pieces dance in undulated bliss. They are so free, above water, only imagined to be coral sea treasures that have a life of their own. These lil’ guys are physically placed in such a specific way to create an instant rapport between its parts, they are shy lovers, dealing in the art of balance. Her new Valley Fold pieces, like fetally-positioned fortune cookie ears look like something quite tribal, emblematic. The individual components make up a horizonline of yak or buffalo. There’s something here about memory, a lost history, a cave painting. With a simple pinch, George has manipulated something flat into a bunched herd.

This exhibition is not without some of George’s signature “danglers” (my term) which are simply lovely in a range from the transluscent neutral to the popping pastel, some look like partial spinal columns while others are elongated limbs with floral-like finales. Meanwhile, other pieces seep from the sides of the gallery walls in deep, bloody red, as if they want out, and other’s like pert mini vases are sheerly colored in drenched Tiffany-glass radiance.

Ellen George, Speciation
PDX Contemporary Art (through July 1)

A must-see, again….

You can also catch her work at Guestroom (through July 29).

6/5/06
MANIFESTATIONS

EXTRA, EXTRA!!!
Some absolutely brilliant chap modified my week by compiling a superbly, near comprehensive list of the more obscure and hair-centric music videos of the 80s! The vault’s been kicked open wide and it’s free and just a few clicks away from “living in oblivion”. With hosting by the growing You Tube, I know how I will be spending my free time (check out the wonders of Klaus Nomi, Martha & the Muffins, Heaven 17 and so many others…).

* A special shout out to The Oregonian for the humbling piece in the paper today.

6/4/06
PERPETUAL WEEKEND

Art has no real end, no clear beginning, we’re “caught in the crossfire” wherever we are.

In the past week I have had the opportunity to meet, dialogue and otherwise be another creative among so many wonderful folks in and around our city. Among them were Michael Hensley, Kristen Miller, Brigitte Dortmund, Horia Boboia, Caleb Freese, Jennifer Gately (Pacific Northwest Curator at PAM), Joshua Berger (of Plazm) and gallerist Charles Froelick. The range of work being produced by artists of all ages and backgrounds kind of astounds me, and even with the matriculation rate, it seems, while other businesses come and go, many of the artists stay and incubate. So, we are quite a melting pot of ideas, and experiments. I so appreciate the spirit in this patchwork of people that tie it all together. We are a creative capital, growing and emerging, it feels quite alive right now.

With that growth comes some form of mapping, and in many ways this seems to occur organically in Portland, at least that’s the way I have seen it happen over the past five years. My first “vision” of Portland was a gallery like Savage, though it’s come and gone, gave me the chills. Being a tried-n-true New Englander, I saw this place as fresh, very “West Coast”. I remember the flashy art wars of the 80s between NY and LA - and somehow, this type of space managed to retain the air of openness, dealing in color, scale and price tags that were higher than average, yet didn’t seem to scare off all the right buyers. As this growth has occured it goes without saying that the influence of creative imports can only be good. And we will continue to view art in Portland in a state of continuous change, keeping us all engaged in critical dialogue. Though some curatorial and artwise business folk are really starting to hone a professional attitude for making this place a respectable art center, rather than a backyard where anything goes - without harnessing/choking the soul of expression.

NAMING NAMES: Having an opening (grey|area), aside from its inherent labor (of love), does wonders for your social life. In the last week I have engaged with a number of folks who I see on occasion, but in passing too often, including Pat Boas, Jane Beebe, Tiffany Lee Brown, Liz Leach, Cullen Hoback, Rod Pulliam and Maryanne Deffenbaugh, damali ayo, Eva Lake, Matthew Cosby and Jesse Hayward. These genuine moments with people in the same field keep you on your toes, alert to what is going on in the scene here. And it is a scene, in development, making huger strides than ever. Not only new galleries (at last count there are over 180 of them…is that true?), but refurbished spaces (some architecturally as beautiful as any in Chelsea), new art centers (PAC, Daisy Kingdom buildout, Disjecta, and predictably others) and an influx of good writers joining forces with The Oregonian, the weeklies, Port, Matthew Stadler, Boas and Sue Taylor. So good change is afoot. So, start walking your own path!

——-

BESTIARY: That said, the galleries overfloweth this month with interesting work. As a vegequarian (ask me) I particularly enjoyed walking through Bestiary at Froelick. And while in the context of this juried show (or any group show for that matter, which is selected via slide submissions) has its slight hiccups - overall the flow is smooth. And from 400+ entries (in all media), just over 30 were included here. Standouts include work by Sally Finch, Pat Boas, Brenda Mallory, Kris Hargis, Eric Rhein, Tamara Lischka, and Stephen O’Donnell - though there are lots of other interesting work here. Some “cute” but most addressing the subject literally.

In the title work for the show, an etching (1989, courtesy of Augen) by art notable Francesco Clemente, species are seen in octagonal cubes as toys. Marne Lucas’ Elk, Motel Shower makes a comeback from a solo show she had late last year - and looks larger and more colorful in this rendition - its a bit spooky in an early David Levinthal way. This is, by far is one of her best works to date, saturated, rich in color, churning with regional symbolism. Brenda Mallory’s waxed cloth wall sculpture Colonization is something of a quilted nest. It has a quality that can attract and repel simultaneously, especially if you are a fan of Animal Planet. After just having seen a special on killer ants, this was creepy to me, as if it were a living organism that may eat you alive. Though the intricate use of hardware (nuts and bolts) meets software (cloth) actually create a wonderfully cascading wave pattern along the wall. Between the meticulous handwork, and at about six feet across Mallory continues to be an artist to contend with.

Michael Brown’s Neopolitan are three stacked bunnies balancing atop each other in profile. This acrylic work on canvas is expertly painted in cartoonish kitsch meets the classic still-life in detail. He illuminates an eerie uncertainty about what’s going on under the fuzzy-wuzzyness of your average bunny rabbit. There is something awkwardly disturbing in the untrusting gaze of the three full frontal eyes that stare at you. So, while colorful, to some these cuddlies may require more breathing room in this forum. House artist Kris Hargis’ Silverback is an ape/man in mid-transformation. The gestural intonation in his lines harken to classic horror films and some works of Francis Bacon meets Willem deKooning. The baby alligators and octopus in pieces by Tamara Lischka are coiled in comfort (or fear), and become more increasingly and exquisitely strange everytime I see them. Dealing with mini creatures in macro, those that often instill fear in the wild, showcases them in a docile, human scale (between fingers). This, in turn, creates an immediate illusion while setting up a relationship between animal/human. Sally Finch creates collages like book pages, super detailed using alliteration as a guide. Her subjects play on stem cell research and mad science of invented mice and glow in the dark pigs. The pieces are playful and illustrative like a children’s book, until you actually read into it. These could be those paper placemats you see at your local Chinese restaurant that describe “Year of the Snake” (etc). but they are far from it. They are something more along the lines of documents of unusual lab experimentation. These are so subtle, yet indullable.

Thicket by Daniel Fagereng was too thick for me to see much inside this box of birch and brush, though I did like the way it fed into my highly voyeuristic side. Rachel Denny’s Tempest could have easily fit into my current exhibition, why hadn’t I heard of her before? The worked surface, in burnished circular motions play with the honing call of the contrasting black and white birds spotting the dense grey sky. A silkscreened eastern city patterns the bottom edge from end to end. In a way it’s like taking a very cool t-shirt and stretching it over a large panel, but the nemesis of an impending storm is just a bit too subtle to be something you’d wear into a dark nightclub. Impending doom is balanced by the harmony of the birds’ territorialsm.

——-

IN OTHER NEWS: Holocene celebrated their 3 Year Anniversary this weekend. And last night the music was absolutely free, and what a set of performers! As I sat back and enjoyed my super Summery Piaf (vodka muddled with cucumbers and mint, with a splash of pineapple, up) the chopped and finely woven textures of Sutekh made for a perfect elixir. Followed by the tribal percussion meets electro of Portable (as Bodycode) the night had many on their feet mixing it up. That wasn’t all, as the super bass boom of Brian Foote (of Nudge) clonked on through after local DJ Suppoz did an awesome job of warming up the joint at the beginning of the night with his fun set that had some inspiring moments. It was a great way to celebrate all the continued work this club has done in the community, and with this caliber of folks playing international music festivals, to offer three free clubnights in succession was a terrific nod back to their fans. Here’s to the next three years!!!

6/1/06
grey | area

The past few months have been spent conducting studio visits, writing a lengthy essay, addressing absence and ambiguity as subthemes, and basically constructing an exhibition for Guestroom Gallery (128 NE Russell Street).

Please join us to celebrate this exhibition on view through June 30.

RECEPTION: First Friday, June 2, 6-9PM

ARTIST TALK: Saturday, June 10, 1PM
Tone, shade + other in-betweens…
w/Abi Spring, David Eckard, Troy Briggs

Curating is a full-time role. With thirteen artists from Los Angeles to British Columbia (eight from Portland), twenty-two works of art and gauging chance we are now on view. The gallery, if you haven’t already visited, is a lovely 1000 square foot space that lay just under the Wonder Ballroom and is adjacent to Mark Woolley’s Annex Gallery. This exhibition gave me the opportunity to work and exhibit with some of my favorite artists on the West Coast, both established and independent. The dialogue focused around issues of abstract transluscence, atonal minimalism and the psychology of the surface.

GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday through Saturday 11AM-6PM

A related interview appears in today’s edition of PDX’s online fashion central hotspot Ultra!

6/1/06
IT’S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH

Yes, 1st Thursday is once again upon us. And there are a few must-see shows including a much planned stop for a Nordic specialty as you step-up to Apotheke (1314 NW Glisan) for an exhibition of sculptural light boxes by Kari Merkl (a collaborator of Ryan Jeffery) called Through this Lens.

Also, as you move around and about, through the city this evening, as Grace Jones would say “walking in the rain” (I like the way she says it, too)….watch for other ethereal glints in the work of Ellen George at PDX (this is quite a collection!), as well as Bestiary over at Froelick which includes the dynamic work of Brenda Mallory, Pat Boas, Tamara Lischka and Marne Lucas (girls gone WILD!). OK - I know, I know…..

There are lots of other interesting goings-on and I encourage you to visit the Everett Station Lofts as they will have been shape-shifting for the last few months and now with Sugar in-residence (taking two lots) between Tilt and Genuine Imitation and Zeitgeist. Sugar is featuring the collaborative work by Caleb Freese & Justin Gorman.

Don’t miss the opening of the Portland Art Center. The space looks exponentially better than ever with new galleries, five shows (count em!) and a general community spirit in the making in its 10,000 square footprint. Their new website is expected to go live soon as well, so updates will hopefully balance with what you see on view (I’m a nit-picky webber ya see). Though, both work by Jeff Fontaine and, in particular the Comutatus installation by Barry Johnson are spectacular alongside a smattering of art work from various Portland galleries (check out the sumptious James Lavadour). And don’t be shy to climb the stairs to see the exhibition of work by folks from Oregon College of Art and Craft and the new Light & Sound Gallery.

5/31/06
SIGHT + SOUND

If you do just one (or two) things with your evening you may want to set your coordinates as follows:

ELLEN GEORGE Speciation @ PDX Contemporary (925 NW Flanders)
Artist Reception, 5:30-7:30PM, runs through July 1

So much could be said about the artist’s new work, though its voice speaks in both silences and musing tonalities, there’s always something slightly mysterious and yet fanciful in her gestural application of materials. Also, as part of this exhibition opening, Jeff Jahn will present an artist talk on Ellen’s work tomorrow at 7PM at the gallery (he will present an excerpt from a catalogue essay on the artist’s work to be released later this year).

JAN JELINEK w/Nudge @ Holocene (1001 SE Morrison)
9PM, $8

It’s hard to imagine that it was just five years ago that Jelinek broke out with his Loop Finding Jazz Records on the ~scape imprint (watch for an interview that I conducted a few months ago with label boss Stefan Betke aka Pole very soon). Jelinek’s sound stretches from the obtuse clicks and scratches of minimal techno to the full-on ensemble of out jazz with a twist. Supporting his new release Kosmischer Pitch he’s up to something new in a hybrid form that taps a bit more into the edge of rock.

5/26/06
ART CHATTER

OK. I said I was taking a short break, but I lied just so I could bring you these quick updates. After this, I promise to take at least a week-long break.

Flashback: One thing in my NY posts for which I was remiss about was mentioning that I popped into Mary Boone Gallery to see work by the eternally enigmatic minimalist James Lee Byars. I just happened to be flipping through the latest Art News (w/Matthew Barney adorning the cover) and there it was a big two page spread (lil’ d’oh!). These pieces, made between his late fifties and sixties were some of his last dating back to the 1980s/90s. I was completely taken by the subtle bent and scale of his Greek marble work Concave Figure (1994) which spread through the whole space like distant dominoes. The gallery was whisper quiet, and so pristine that an instant, meditative solace was widely cast.

This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Abi Spring to see her work-in-progress (actually, pretty much done) for grey|area. We discussed the show, Agnes Martin, the influence of drugs on artists (et al), Joan Mitchell, cops, Jackson Pollock, therapy/mania, the East Village (circa 1980-86) locals and other artists. While walking her pup Rocket through Mt. Scott Park we negotiated a possible collaboration for a public art event in early August to be held in that spot. If our idea comes together it would be the first such artist/artist collaboration I have completed in a long time, and truly my first-ever public art piece in the first place. Let’s hope for sun.

Last night was a quick visit to see Mogwai at the Wonder Ballroom. They were Loud. Having not seen them in over a half dozen years I was curious how they withstood time, and they passed the test, but will I? I mean they definitely “rocked” and with the spirit of like bands from the same era, kept a cap on the collected chaos, pretty much jammed within their context, and just unleashed themselves freely. They play these catchy hooks without sentimentalism - you won’t find someone yelling out to them between tracks to play “Freebird” as most of their songs are memorable, but few would know the actual titles. The powerhouse lighting would have sent any epileptic toward seizure, in purples, greens and blues, at least it would have been a colorful ambulance ride. The night was about guitars and percussion without any props to the audience - they came to play, and the roof shook. It was one of the better nights for acoustics in the space to date. The Scots are now off to Barcelona and other European locales after playing the Filmore tomorrow night.

Today, after a solid gym workout I trotted down to see what all the talk was revolving around the exhibition at Chambers Gallery. I walked into a quiet gallery and a series of small paintings by Horia Boboia and paintings on paper by Guy Martelet greeted me. Both artists originating from foreign countries (Romania and France, repectively) and both using a skillful sense of drawing, color-sense and hefty allusion. By using sparse text and costuming his characters, Boboia creates lost heroes and martyrs. These figures and idols have been repeated throughout the history of the arts. His take on Picasso vaguely mocks the artists ‘color period’ work while growing his arm/hand as an organic club-like extention. I was fascinated by the way he drew the feet in this work, cartoonish, imbalanced, and somehow seems rooted to the colorfield it lies atop. Boboia’s work is dense and static, even as the figures are caught as acrobats or grim reapers, there is something innately whimsical at close range, that may be partly scale-based, but the figures are contained like statues, spreading fairy tales.

Martelet, on the other hand, wields the masterful brush of realism, as these paintings in saturated gouache and some mixed media appear more like appliques than straight paintings, even up close. Though he references some classic Dutch work, Rodin and folds in the birds and the bees, the work is a ready, lyrical feast. Each and every piece makes the eye wander up and down and even diagonally. His choice of turning crows into top hats and perfectly rendered beetles into a fashion accessory is a perfect foil to the poker-faced, slimline faces of yore. Painstakingly done, these works on paper are some of the best I have seen at the gallery since it opened in ‘05. Martelet plays with modernist ideals by blending in a daliance in the pastoral, aesthetics that come off less pretty than they do quirky.

Butters has paintings by Melinda Stickney-Gibson on view. Some quite colorful and expressionistic like the oil on paper show-stealer Girl View (the web pic does it zero justice) as well as Going Away with its sumptious lime green swirling space, and suggested landscape. In the back gallery was the ongoing work of famed photographer Jock Sturges, and while these are stunning in his use of light and color, and the continued foray of flawlessly unblemished young ladies, I am just kinda bored of looking as I am at William Wegman’s weimerimers. And while not a “cute” as Wegman’s never ending tribute to the velvety pootch, Sturges has lost a bit of his one time shocking edge. Most of these appear Cinemax-like, with a Hallmark glow. The strongest image in the collection, however (which is not depicted on their website), is a larger scale work with two teenage girls at dusk standing amidst the super tall trees, shadows cast ominously. It is quite spectacular balanced with all that silken blonde hair, eyes like tidepools and skinny-mini-ness.

Between shooting images from the streets, I popped by Tilt to give Jenene and Josh an invite to my upcoming show and to take a final peak at Horizon Line, (Mark Brandau as curator). The small show includes a few thought-provoking pieces by newcomers to the scene, and deals with the segregation of the land and (sub)consciousness of it. Works in plastics, metals, clay, video, letterpress and other media. The show closes on the morrow, and there are a few works that should most certainly sell (especially under $200 for some of the best work).

After re-adusting the wheel on my iPod it was a quick trip directly to Pulliam-Deffenbaugh where I stood and stared and became seduced by the ocean of wavy lines, like wind blown hair, so stark in the work of Linda Hutchins. There was this simple sense of quietude, a reverence in a space that so adequately contained this work; stoic, simple, bare. If you look long enough you can read/hear something quite ambient. In inks, these pieces on paper undulate their way into your subconscious, especially in the masterwork, Torrent (2005-06). The Part Catalogue works on view (circa 2001) are centered, reserved and simply lovely. Believe what you may have read or heard about this show, it is the best thing in town.

Finally, I stepped in to see the show by Malia Jensen at Elizabeth Leach Gallery. The gallery has some new, very friendly staff who engaged my entry and conversation about the work. This, I appreciate. I did not activate the conversation, but it was refreshing. And whatever they did to the Fresh show truly shape-shifted the entire thing. The show seemed quite solid in a unified space.

Jensen’s work, which has made me often hot and cold in the past didn’t really change my viewpoint at all in this somewhat overage of media. The photographs, while quirky and fun, laid pretty flat. I find the Coney Island bear and the “hoodie Haystacks” to be a bit trite. Her take on pigeons is something I can dig (or “flying rats” as they are often lovingly referred as a known in most cities). We stare at them, their behavior, but wonder why they are so abundant and what natural purpose they serve in their scavenger urban lifestyle. Her fly mobiles were neat to watch, but a bit too nervily faddish. Not to say that it is not a good thing to make a mobile that isn’t all just plain whimsical - but this is not grotesque enough to work for me. Unlike the phemomenal bronze (w/enamel) Stalagmite which is just a heaping stockpile of bird poo. And while scat-art is not usually in my best taste (ew), the piece, alongside works like Pigeon Totem, and its large study on paper make for a great trio of works that stand out (and interestingly enough) in a triangle, displayed away from each other among the room. And though I think Portland has been “for the birds” for too long - since Malia’s parting the area for New York, she can take these on the road and send back more in a few years. All I ask is - what was up with the guina pig with the wench around it anyway?

5/24/06
BECKvsBEND

While he has probably proven he’s not quite a loser in the ensuing dozen plus years, Beck is pretty much a household name. His first album, 1994’s classic Mellow Gold was made for a mere $200 and boy, did it put the man on the map. This Memorial Day weekend he’s on the Oregon map, in Bend to be exact. The 34-year old funky (recently professed) Scientologist has produced nine official albums and a half-dozen others prior to 1994. His idiosyncratic songwriting has ventured into areas of rap, folk-rock and rootsy soul layered with funky beats, quirky lyrics and culturalisms.

One of the more exciting things about his history is his relation to Fluxus artist Al Hansen, his grandad. I find this particular fact quite fascinating given that Beck’s collage work really is quite interesting - maybe even, to some extent, “outsider art” as recently discussed herein. Al Hansen’s spoken word, performance and texts have always been a staple (pardon the practical) of the elusive 60’s, and his legacy will live on.

Our regional promoter friends at Monqui are presenting this phenomenal evening under the stars which also includes The Decemberists and M. Ward. This event held at the Les Schwab Ampitheater is part of the Wells Fargo Summer Concert Series and is general admission ($35), so after your scenic ride, try and get there a slight bit early. The continuing series includes The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse and others.

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PS: With an installation, a holiday weekend and all, I am planning to take a lil’ time off from writing this column. I will be back to discuss my excitement around the continued curatorial process of grey|area (opens 6/2) as well as Ellen George’s solo show at PDX. Ahhhh, can you feel the zen?

5/22/06
WEEKEND ART BLITZ

This past weekend had a host of arts opportunities in between thundercracks and all the wet stuff, and that includes drying paint! (read on for that)

Kicking off the weekend I went to a party for an emerging bastion of folks calling themselves the Queer Art Collective who are having an exhibition/opening at Commish Sam Adams office sometime next week (watch for details). A lot of young energy and mixed media in the works including collage/assemblage, paint and commemorative pins made-on-the-spot.

The party ran so late that the last revellers ended up at the infamous late night hot spot Voodoo Doughnut. It was my first-ever visit to this legendary hole in the wall and boy-o-boy was I ever pleased (and teased) by the outlandish offerings of shortening and saturated badness dripping in sauces and cereal and other goo. The tang powdered delight bit me back - can you imagine how that feels in those wee hours when the haze of the party is becoming memory? Yeee-owwww.

Saturday had me up early and out the door with artist Abi Spring. We were on a mission to deliver her work (not the one depicted at left) to the Portland Art Center for their upcoming NOW series of exhibitions (five in all!). Her piece represents Guestroom Gallery and the upcoming grey|area exhibition (opening June 2, 6-9PM) in PAC’s Gallery Guide show that will showcase a dozen citywide galleries. Her small 10″x10″ piece will certainly float and sing on the newly painted walls of the space heavily in physical development. They have come a long way in their current space in just a short few months, and this will be, what I might consider, their true housewarming as the several galleries, upstairs, downstairs and in the back are all going to be active for this event. The space is really shaping up and now has a more readily accessible look-and-feel of an actual art center.

It also seems that the PAC will continue to use the now de-carpeted (hallelujah!) former temporary space and in it have developed what director Gavin Shettler referred to as a “gallery kit” meaning it is moveable, flexible and can even be stored and switched out. Very innovative - and this will certainly help to house the work of both Barry Johnson’s Comutatus and Jeff Fontaine’s new paintings on steel (pictured) among many others in style. And with the volunteer power behind their efforts it looks like mostly smooth sailing, but I am sure they can use a few more hands, so if you have free time phone them up straight away at 503-236-3322 - you can tell ‘em I sent ya.

Later that day I managed to rummage my way through both of Mark Woolley’s spaces, now showing “outsider art” in every material imaginable. Outsider is certainly one of those questionable art terms, but suffice to say that though many of these works seem quite “gallery-ready” the days of Rev. Finster may be quickly evaporating given the state of instant access to all media. Suffice to say that these artists are mostly self-taught. But even Woolley’s own gallery artists like Alison O’Donoghue and Anne Grgich (also co-curator here, along with Colin Rhodes) have a highly developed style that slices myths in half, while at the same time, like in Grgich’s case, uses impractical or otherwise surprise elements and found objects. Both shows explore the depth and range of artistic psychologies, some very dark and nearly gothic. Others embedded with scrawling texts and other simplicities on skateboard shards and by way of products made from semolina, bringing new light to macaroni art for sure. There’s quite a bit to look at, so if you are planning to make a visit to this dual show certainly make a time committment of at least 1/2 hour per show or more.

Upon Saturday evening I accompanied my friend Jason to The Savoy Bistro (2500 SE Clinton). How decadently tasty are those Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds (um, VERY!…more elegant than the picture). They came with a sweet mustardy dipping sauce, served up in a conical container lined with brown paper. We also shared a wonderful Waldorf with grapes and apples and walnuts all drizzled upon with a sweet and tangy dressing. The place is comfy and on a nice day like Saturday had loads of natural light pouring into this retro diner. The service was speedy (without the buzz) and friendly (without the shadow). We’ll be back.

I’m happy to announce that I will be included in a July Group show at the budding 12×16 Gallery (1216 SE Division). The exhibition will include their base group along with new folks that they chose to join them for future exhibition opportunities. One of their goals is to branch out from their wonderful collage/assemblage exhibitions to include more artists focused on sculpture, photography and painting. Check out the current show which features digital collage by gallery director Cary Doucette and Faulkner Short’s photography.

Finally, Sunday I held court at the Portland Art Museum joining Scott Wayne Indiana (I almost didn’t recognize him behind his huge bobbly black shades) and Harvest Henderson for a lecture by art scholar/curator Anne Rorimer on Installation Art of the 60s and 70s. The talk itself was just slightly dry, with bits of wry levity to keep people from “falling asleep” as the speaker noted. Most of the talk was based on a scripted paper written for a slide presentation three years old, but the artists discussed were, and have been long quite interesting and influential. Discussed were projects by innovators: Lawrence Weiner, Gordon Matta-Clark, Sol LeWitt, Marcel Broodthaers, Dan Flavin, Daniel Buren, Marcel Duchamp, Michael Asher, and others. Though the brief question/answer ending left some to be desired, there is a whole new breed of artists that have gleaned from these and other masters of the field of installation art. Making equivalents between conceptual art and installation art, though needed more discussion to define both segues and vast differences respectively. I found the subject matter and slides of work, some not seen very often if at all, quite refreshing. The curator/author encompassed a body of work that is in and outside of the museum construct, playing on public perceptions and the nature of art in space. (beam me up).

We then quickly ascended the stairs to see Roxy Paine’s PMU (1999-2000) which closes on May 28. The aluminum framed machine filled with a vat of acrylic that sprays paint on to the surface of stretched linen at intervals is certainly a spectacle, having produced less than a half-dozen canvases since it took residency at PAM in February (as prolific as my own practice - but we call it “methodical”). The works are similar but programmed separately for subtle changes in paint depth, etc. The stark white paint on the more raw, wheat brown linen is in lovely contrast, and the completed works are on view in the gallery. You have the rest of the week to get down to see this inventive work do its thing. I really appreciated the knowledge of the security guard monitoring the space, big nods to that.

Later we all indulged in the sweet treats of Pix Patisserie (3402 SE Division). Our tastes led us to sharing macaroons (also called luxembourgers elsewhere) which are small burger-looking cookie treats made with meringue and flavors like chocolate-cinnamon, pistachio and our favorite, passion fruit. We topped this off with sorbets and ice cream from coconut chip to basil to mango. Ahem.

The day was complete with an imending rainstorm and all that thunderclap as I surveyed Mt. Scott Park for an in situ piece all my own, as part of Indiana’s In Clover outdoor exhibition in August. The trees are lovely, I hope I can do them as much justice as they do me.

PS: I was the monthly contest winner of the bag-o-food from the Southeast Trader Joe’s (1-800-Shop TJs) for bringing my own bag! They even took my picture and hung it in the store That also means my cupboards have more protein bars, mochi ice cream, veggi pad thai and lots of other intuitive edibles.

5/22/06