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Hot Little Hands
Ill-Starred
@ IFCC (through 11/14)
Jim Lommasson @ NAAU
+
Powell’s (w/Inara Verzemnieks)
11/16 @ 7:30PM (reading)
Performance Works Northwest presents
BANDAGE A KNIFE
Linda Austin/Seth Nehil
Through 11/22 (tickets)
Michael Paulus‘
The Preoccupied Occupant (short film)
NW Film & Video Festival
Through 11/14
My Fall Arts Preview is Just Out today.
After two years under the representation of the New American Art Union (NAAU) we’ve parted ways. In my two decade art career this was my first foray into trusting someone with my reputation, a high task at hand, especially with an artist like me. At stake are value, aesthetics, professionalism, critical perspective, id/ego and well, you can fill in the blanks. As I negotiate with a few very reputable dealers to find a new base, a tip of my hat to provocateur Ruth Ann Brown who will undoubtedly continue to shapeshift the lines of the local, traditional gallery scene. We learned a lot from each other and though it’s a completed chapter, the pages will be referred back to in kind.
This past weekend I did a few extra-curricular cultural stretching exercises in different quadrants of the city. First indulging in the latest production at Teatro Milagro (The Miracle Theater) on SE Stark (now in their 25th season). The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa by Luis Valdez was the third and best production I’ve seen to date. Celebrating the Chicano family in America, Valdez manages to take a farse that makes you think and laugh simultaneously. The story is based around a claustrophobic Mexican migrant family, now California-based, living in poverty. The quirks come from each characters’ integral part in this dysfunctional mix: the ‘wino’ father, the haughty daughter, the Marine brother and the theif. My favorite character was the rock of the family unit, the mother (played by Bunnie Rivera) who not only surprises the audience in the end scene, but along the way proves she has a lovely vocal talent to swoon the blues away. They cram every possible ism of the contemporary Latino experience with brevity and levity. The stage sets are well done and lit and the ’shrunken head’ (Vincente Guzman-Orozco) is a cross between Jimi Hendrix and a latin version of Richard Pryor. Hysterical and worth its nearly two hours of theatrical indulgence. (thru May 30)
In the fifth quadrant (St. Johns) I got to see my pal Bryan’s new digs and we cavorted around his growing neck of the woods and the 47th Annual St. Johns Parade. From unicyclists and equestrians to good ole marching bands and vintage automobiles - there was eye candy for everyone on the sidelines. The crowd was as interesting as what was parting it, interesting hairdos and don’ts, lots of random midday ‘half-baked’ types, bruisers and beauties. It was good to see a few new organic cafes (Ladybug) and eateries having popped up in between the fencing emporium, an impromptu farmer’s market and an array of fuzzy pets meandering about. This was what I would call a quintessential “Portland Moment” (those who know me can probably hear the cadence in my sentiment). It was a beautiful day and we had a few laughs people watching and probably verse vica.
Lastly, I manged to get over to see Stephen Slappe’s Shelter in Place at NAAU. Another doozie for the incomparable video artist who makes synched multi-channel look like chicken scratch…the ease not the outcome. I walked into the room to the familiar echoes of a favorite anthem, X-Ray Spex’s Identity w/PolyStyrene’s whaling reverberating throughout the space. Floating heads, punk rock, teenage angst and its flashbacks…very trippy and ironic given the literal (political) echoes we are facing these days. Walking into a room with only a boombox lit upon a pedestal somehow made sense. It’s as if his commentary on the silent treatment towards a certain redundancy of plasticity gave way to the balancing act of image overload in the next room. Tasteful.
CHOMP: When Spring comes around as it does there’s always this awkward sense of renewal for me. Perhaps I was once a tall birch tree? This year is no different. As the world turns about the whole concept of ‘$timulus’, I have found myself wandering some to derive what’s in my own creative cache. And of course, what’s out there in the streets. So, that’s where I’ve been (well, I still have a roof for now). What got my juices flowing this week on the internet was a very candid 1966 interview with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester (in two parts). Amazing.
BITE: The other night after returning from a wake-up call of mediocrity, in the form of a concert by Lil’ Wayne, it dawned once again that life doesn’t have to be this way. Given that the house was less than 1/4 full defines the state of many things in transition that I’m not going to contemplate here and I realize that you do your own math. My choice to more often surround myself with high culture is conscious, as connoisseurship. Though one may be considered a snob for their personal bias and taste, I neither take no prisoners or hold any regrets against the PBR crowd (sorry, easy analogy).
NIBBLE: That said, I guess when popularity is filtered into the categories of what the people want, manhandling a sandwich that big is an act of will. You know, everything oozes out the sides, spills everywhere. As life flows, and ebbs, and overflows sometimes…choice remains key. And what I’m getting at is more intimate with yourself, your tendencies and creative consciousness. Not to mention, giving something back to community in the process. This can take so many shapes and should include high brow, low-fi and popular thinking. Breath.
SAVOR: Last night Rob and I indulged in the animated film Monsters vs. Aliens at the super cool vintage Roseway Theater. I could say plenty about the value of theaters like this in Portland and the importance of supporting them, and the quality and price (movie and treats), but suffice to say, we are lucky in this town. The film is very funny, appealing to all ages on many levels. The Pixar animation is so incredible in every scene. And a major motion picture of sci-fi in animation, I’m there! Plus before or after the movie you can try one of the many Asian restaurants nearby, oogle the original pink Coca Cola sign across the street or stop in Annie’s Donut Shop (mmmaple!) which is surely a flashback, and glad to see it hasn’t become just another hipster hotspot (hipsters get such a bad wrap, I know).
Talk about monsters…don’t miss this trailer (below) for one of my absolute favorite childhood stories, Where The Wild Things Are. It stars a great ensemble of actors: Catherine Keener, Forest Whitaker and Benecio Del Torro - but features local Max Records (playing Max!), who also happens to be the son of Shawn Records - one of the folks responsible for heading up much of what is going on with Photolucida later this month. You will have to wait until October to see it in theaters….
MANGIA: Earlier yesterday my pal Diedrich and I did our now regular art walk across town (more like an art ride). I recalled having prior done similar with Hilary Pfeifer and even earlier with Abi Spring. We started at the somewhat new Jazzkats Coffee Bar in the Hollywood District. Call me nostalgic, call me old-fashioned, but I just prefer a place with an atmosphere of big comfy seats, full-sized red ceramic mugs and friendly service over the generic white paper cups and anything with “accino” as a suffix and a side of specialty foam.
EYE-CANDY: Next we headed down the eastside to NAAU for the latest Couture exhibition by filmmaker Vanessa Renwick called The House of Sound. It was wonderful entering into a space that was a virtual living room, sofas, lamps, throw pillows, votives and records! Diedrich put on some classic soul and the film began. Renwick has re-oriented the viewer to the front of the gallery with a silver screen, and small hints of the outdoor light and cars passing could be seen through the blackout curtain, which actually just made you feel more at home. Across is a big marquee/sign from the original North Portland record store from which the soundtrack was also based upon. Renwick’s film mediates between the relative nil of the empty lot upon which the foundation for the shop was built and now long closed, and a radio interview with several of the folks who either worked at or were familiar with the place.
In fact, it’s all about place and though I had never been there as it was gone before my arrival in the northwest, I felt at home. You see, I used to work in a very similar shop in Cambridge, MA called Stereo Jacks, I also worked at places called Cheapo Records and Record Hog…many have vanished, but were once fine independent purveyors of out there sounds in jazz, soul, blues and rock n’ roll. Being a record buyer was very special indeed, and having “regulars” come by every week was great - the long chats about style, rarieties, and all. Hints of nostalgia everywhere, though beyond homage it’s a stern commentary on gentrification and the changing scape of America in general. And what’s left these days often is simply an empty lot rather than a dusty window to the wonderment of yesteryear.
IT’S PHOTO MONTH IN PDX: From there we trekked into the Pearl for a first stop at the DeSoto Building. Charles Hartmann was out so we went into Blue Sky for a strong exhibition of Alexis Pike’s work in the front room. When I first saw something from this series a few years back I knew she was on to something and now it’s become a full blown series of wry comments on the Northwest. She’s got a great sense of humor, though the work is no joke at all as she has a pretty exciting and offbeat way with composition and color. I loved three or four of the late Terry Toedtemeier’s very personal black and white work from the mid 70’s. Odd perspectives with a hint of the psychedelic, really captures the mood of the era with intriguing results. If he were with us I would have told him how a few of these were the best I’ve seen - here’s hoping that means there’s more of the past to see in the future! I feel quite remiss for not knowing their was a room of work by my former professor and the auteur of the camera obscura, Abelardo Morell, who will be lecturing at PAM on April 27 (don’t miss that!). I will make a special trip.
Upon approach it would have seemed that Sally Cleveland’s work was a suite of photographs until I stepped into Augen and found these amazing small paintings the size of 5×7. They reminisce with elements of candid photography and hint at the whole “photo-real” painting genre but escape both in a very clever and painterly way. In the back gallery are some fantastic repetitive photo collages by Amy Archer, and they do just the opposite but panning the viewer’s eye - they are exquisite examples of how to perceive the photographic as something far more painterly.
The show of Kim McKenna’s work at Beppu Wiarda is quite an overview of what she has been up to as of late. The work canonizes the synergy between the mundane of modernity with a twist of the allegories of Turner. We stopped in at Chambers 916 to see the large and colorful mural works by James Pustorino (which will be changed out four times over two months) and darted across the street to see the final exhibition at Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery prior to its change to simply Pulliam Gallery. The show is a bit of a ‘retrospective’ of sorts of some of their standout artists, missing were
Over to PDX there are new small sculptures by Cynthia Lahti, standouts were Ball Of Cats - which could be described as “ballofcats” (like yarn) and The Dalles. I like the barren presentation on pedestals and nothing else, very clean, and hit me as if I were walking into a puppet show. The work is full of oddity and broken-ness. Take the corner to spy new work by Richard Schemmerer appearing in the PDX Window Project this month with Never Good Enough. Elizabeth Leach has Chris Rauschenberg’s Wanderings II. I was drawn mostly to the all-seeing eye and spare part of Tomar, Portugal (2007). There are a few gems in this collection from his many travels including images shot in El Paso, Marrakesh, and Lisbon among others. He employs many visual puns and captures what’s right there with an air of the human hand that’s come and gone. They also have a sense of quiet that I like very much and don’t overstate what’s obvious. His Wanderings I was stronger as a edited body of work, however, I think we will engage again in his footsteps down the road a piece.
We finished this part of the run with a stop through of the 30 Year Anniversary Show for Blackfish Gallery. Happy Anniversary! It’s great to see a cooperative making it through the trenches of the tough times and there were some interesting works this month. Jim Neidhardt’s Signature Piece harkened to some of the best work by Yoko Ono, with its barren frame and plexi face with only the artist’s animated signature and its reflection. In its understated Duchampian quip it made me nod and smile. Once again, I couldn’t help but stop and stare at the beguiling kinetics of Stephan Soihl. Just as I queried the gallery sitter about this piece I realized from the very informed response that I was talking with the artist himself. That, plus I managed to overlook he was wearing a nametag - it was pleasant to meet an artist I’ve long admired. We briefly discussed the properties of motor oil, and he demonstrated some of the inner workings and mechanisms that make the work tick.
Finally, we ended our tour at the other artists coop in town, Gallery 114, for Paul Dahlquist at 80. My, and to imagine I met him when he was only 74 or 75! He’s been called Portland’s “Walt Whitman figure” but he really does resemble Santa, oh. It was so pleasant to have him present at the gallery, his familiar face often gallery sitting at Blue Sky. And the show is quite extensive and covers his entire career, including the first photo he took in China, to some more recent nudes and a great shot of an old woman tucked amid brownstones. He calls himself a “picture giver” (rather than a taker) and its so true. I felt a special honor when he shot me a handful of years back, and loved having an opportunity to oogle his personal photo collection, which is also extensive. You will want to see this show if you like portraiture. Dahlquist captures a lilt in people’s personality, an openness which is surely emitted through his sense of generosity. Black and white all over, with a signed, limited edition book available that chronicles 80 images on view. This is the third exhibtion of his I’ve seen and by far the very best.
PS: On the way back to Milepost 5 we stopped on Broadway and into what is now known as Plan B (formerly B. Rogers Gallery). It was nice to meet Bradley Rogers, its purveyor of this gift/gallery type shop with lots of fun lamps and other clever crafts. I perused the portfolio of William Jamison on this, my very first visit.
A just-released single by Land Sound with a mix by Safety Scissors is out on Untitled & After. For this new recording I was asked to provide the cover art which is a ‘remixed’ version of my ‘07 work Complex (a unique archival print). The original is available through NAAU.
My double-diptych piece titled ‘Signs’ (2006) was featured by Regina Hackett in The Seattle Post Intelligencer’s Art to Go yesterday! The piece is one of the very first in my ongoing Double|Exposure series. It seems that she has almost virtually curated an exhibition of likely work noting other signs here, here and here, here and here. The piece, by the way, remains available as a unique, archival photographic work at NAAU, museum-framed and ready to be taken from the streets to a new home….
F**K IN THE ROAD: I glanced outside my studio just a moment and witnessed a vague cast of the full moon through a candy colored cloud. Given what I’m doing in the studio, it brought a sense of reckoning to what I’m doing, and a smile. Today is just an odd day. Earlier I was on a mission to take a test for a government-type part-time job but they provided me incorrect information about the time, so a re-appointment was scheduled. I took bus #72 up and down 82nd Street which I noticed seems sadly more littered than usual with bottles, cans, and other misc. You ever feel like you are walking on “skid row”? Well, if it weren’t The Avenue of the Roses I may not mention it, but in an eco-sense things just seemed a bit seedier than ever.
SILVER LINING: Well, the silver lining here included a special trip to pick up a small surprise for Rob’s 40th tomorrow, heading towards Hood River. Before making this longer trek I did stop into NAAU to see Laura Fritz’s spare use of the gallery for her Couture exhibition, Evident. The work is so subtle. Similar to my own work in the same series and venue, Fritz uses light in a way as to prompt the viewer to take time to both adjust their perception and then potentially wait…Well, not like waiting on a train platform, perhaps moreso to witness her very sparse way of orchestrating natural elements, species, creepers. In the past Fritz has worked with imperceptible specimens, light and mirrors and also with video, and again she is staying within the realm of such artistic conventions. Where this work differs is her use of projection of light outwardly rather than having the viewer peer inside of boxes, around corners, above head and into voids. Here, offering a delicate touch of cinematic light cast throughout the room almost like a stage without a performer. Part of the cascading light reminds me of a flashback to what it must have felt once they stopped the mirrorball spinning for the last dance at Studio 54. Is that the same thing as a deer caught in headlights?
FLY ON THE WALL: In any case, in the dappled spotlight one witnesses a bit of incidental movement made by an insect or three. These fleeting glimpses have the “tease-factor” to keep anyone without ADD contained for as long as they can stabilize themselves in a darkened room to ogle intently. The room offers an elegant sense of quietude, with only three physical elements positioned roughly within a triangular format on the floor. A projection box that casts peepholes of light across three walls, a table with a top just ajar to peer into a very dark mirror-lined interior filled with two objects: a snail-like form and something a bit bulbous. Finally a tall closet-like self-standing box, completely unlit with a door again, slightly ajar. This coffin-like box is probably the biggest mystery here and perhaps acts as something of a time capsule/transporter, without dials, motors or flashing lights. What could be an aerial view of a tale once told by Lewis Carroll, is a journey by a fellow minimalist who has finally found a balance of many elements she’s been juggling for years. Aside from some curiously underlit focal points, this work resonates well with Fritz’s past ouevre, and shows a certain maturity, especially in the fashioning of furniture-like objet d’art to help emphasise the twitching anxious call into light.
SMOKE SCREEN: Speaking of the dark. While strolling in my new neighborhood today I stopped and spoke with an inspector for Tri-met and asked about the lack of no smoking signs on the Max platform, and how the public would know they cannot actually smoke there without warning. She asked if I wrote or called Tri-met about it, and I said I had a few times. She suggested to call again, and that once they get enough complaints they will do something. But, the fact that she, as a representative of this system didn’t take action herself, and simply passed the buck, seemed quite slack and irresponsible to me. Tri-met officiated this rule a handful of years ago but hardly ever polices it. In a year when Oregon law requires that bars and restaurants now be smoke-free, I’m not sure who Tri-met is appeasing by simply having a law that they don’t enforce. Their ad campaigns on the actual lightrail mention watching out for trains as you cross streets, they mention paying your fare - but with health and safety concerns such as this never mentioned, who gets the message? Am I complaining upon deaf ears there? Probably.
HE LOVED LIKE DIAMOND: Oh, there he was upon the stage of the Rose Garden last night, “The Diamond Cutter” or as some have been known to call him, “The Jewish Elvis” (check yer local Wiki). The soon to be 68-year old singer-songwriter, Mr. Neil Diamond, took to the stage with a fiery pop act that had most of the 11K folks on their feet. It was a feat in and of itself, given that many of those in the arena were approximately his age. That said, for the very final date of a 37 city tour, the Jazz Singer himself was in excellent voice throughout the two-hour long performance. He did all his classics like Sweet Caroline, Red Red Wine, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers and I’m A Believer but it was the songs from 1980’s The Jazz Singer (Love On The Rocks and America) that had everyone on their feet. He was entertaining as was his band who provided all the rhythm and spice necessary. And he’s got great eyebrows.
A few single new images now available at NAAU. I’m fascinated by an inferred narrative when these are clustered. Perhaps that’s what makes Colorforms® so interesting to children (the selection, pairing process)?
TOP ROW:
LA_Sign I, LA_Sign II, unReal
MIDDLE ROW:
Me + My (#2/3 available), Snowblind, Lone
BOTTOM ROW:
(untitled) Pattern, As Above
Archival inkjet prints on Hahnemühle in editions of 3.
Outtakes from my new urban series Double|Exposure will be available starting this month at New American Art Union. These are singular images excerpted from the same body of source material (2003-present). A new book is in the works that includes a much larger series of relational images pairing architecture with nature, reflections, and the poker-faced everyday. You can get a sneak peak on Wooloo.
Speaking of NAAU, don’t miss Orbis Viridis Obscurus, the new camera obscura work by Ethan Jackson which opens this Wednesday (6-9PM)!
Yeah, it just blew by. But was filled with more than hot/thin air.
The weekend kicked off with a fantastic opening of the 4th Annual Juried Exhibition at Newspace Center for Photography. What made the evening particularly special for me was the artists in attendance, and especially those traveling distances to be there. Alia Malley came from Los Angeles, Jasper Sanidad came up from San Francisco, Joshua Kim (of the soon-to-be-closing Rake) was in town taking a break from his studies in London, and Oaklander Uri Korn who was in the first Newspace Annual in 2005 (curated by Terry Toedtemeier) stopped by after his opening with others in Universal Grammar, over at Gallery Homeland. Even Olympian (WA, that is) Daniel Baron and his family stopped by to join us from his own powerful solo show A Numb Hinge that was opening simultaneously blocks away at Pushdot.
BACKGROUND/PROCESS: Curating this survey-style group show was an extremely difficult process. First of all, I looked at over 320 electronic portfolios of work (practical, but far from my favorite way to look at work). Then having to cull down to what I anticipated to be only 25 works maximum seemed a bit daunting. Why? Well, there was a lot of really strong work submitted. There were several other layers of elements and reasons that made weeding out ‘the best’ psychically challenging. I will tell you this, my first pass was to remove anything that was overly Photoshopped…oh yes. Unless that seems the point. But I did turn away some powerful work. My own standards stopped me from ever looking at resumes or pedigree, unless I knew of the photographer by way of looking. Though I have to say I was only privy to about three photographers chosen in the end.
Secondarily, there are always portfolios which seem oddly suspect, lets say I get a sneaking suspicion that they are perhaps looking too much like a batch of stock imagery - so I weigh that and then wave some of those goodbye as well. In this batch, I actually received one that fit this description - perfect studio lighting, though with obscure subject matter - so this portfolio slipped to the next round, but didn’t make the final cut. But, honestly, one of the images in its contents still is emblazoned in my head. Critical thinking shuts down after a few hours running high speed, so intermittent breaks were factored in heavily over the course of a few weeks while I labored my decision. The final four rounds became more and more difficult, and rejecting portfolios by several colleagues who I know and respect is a hard process too - but I had to face that demon. And a handful of these folks are museum worthy. But I was searching for an overall sense of something that brought the whole thing together. Disparate images from many outlying places, stylistically spread thickly over cultures and cities in and outside my normal radar. Perhaps I sought something ‘new’…if there is some such. Perhaps I was looking for anything I have never seen..or that reminisces of something I’ve only seen in passing. A spirit of a moment I would have wanted to capture myself - but didn’t? The mind whirs.
After the fact, I realized I told many people that night that I had never curated a solely photo-based show before, but after some backtracking I realize that’s not true. I curated an exhibition called Stratum back in ‘03 at Soundvision that featured Julie Orser, Dan Burke (aka Illusion of Safety), Donald Jones (aka htur), Barbara Loomis, and Martina Verhoeven (who visited from Belgium with her partner Dirk, aka vidnaObmana, who played at the gallery). This show caught the attention of, among others, the curator of the Galveston Art Center and then director of LACMA who was in town for a conference (and sold quite well, btw). I dug further back into another few shows I curated and realized that in ‘02 I also put together disembodied.reconfigured with three photographers Bruce Eves (Toronto), Chris Komater (San Francisco) and Ira Tattleman (Washington, DC). I even assisted in curating a solo exhibition of work by photographer Kimba Kuzas called Dark Ages around that time. So, a dim light must have went off in my head.
Suffice to say, coming out of the process, having selected 37 photographers, was more than I thought we could chew within the modest confines of Newspace, but I think we pulled it off, and several folks have responded most favorably. So, there. And, phew!
Right now I do not have any curatorial projects in the works, but they become my babies, incubating warmly, until ready to be hatched. I have said many times in the past that curation is an art form in and of itself, and I stick by that statement. It’s as if you are able to use the work of others to form an installation, and most of this comes from looking, editing, re-arranging, making changes, placement, and making some form of statement - visual or literary. It’s very creative and fun, very frustrating and time-consuming, and in the end, as a curator, you are responsible for making many things ‘look good’ or sewing common threads, or drawing conclusions. I like the idea of ‘drawing’ in this context. Points of reference, all connected by some invisible line….
The remainder of the weekend included the usual escape from the heat, the cinema! I managed to head out to movies to balance for the lack of general cultural content as of late - making up for the b-movies mentioned last week. This time around we witnessed three very, very different documentaries (which we both seem to dig). These included: Gonzo, The Life & Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Derek, and the world premiere of Adam Cornelius’ People Who Do Noise (now available on DVD). The latter was made here in Portland, covering a range of regional folks working in the genre including better known (as far as the underground allows) Smegma and Daniel Menche. Newer practitioners like God and the Yellow Swans are also among those featured (many in the seats around me). It was a packed, near sold house at the Clinton last night. With decades of an international sound community out there, using sound as a medium of one’s personal madness, it was about time to see a film that captures the latest spirit of the apocalyptic (aptly described by several in the film as ‘punk’). The catharsis spent by many of the performers personifies a collective subconscious of how people simply make noise to be heard, with or without the need for the mainstream. The film drove its point in way deep.
The film about Hunter S. Thompson, who almost expectedly took his own life back in ‘05, is a solid and revealing piece about this man’s singular poetic (and calculatingly manipulative) vision of the state of the state. His gripping words often cut hard into the core of American politics with no one ever attempting to fill his shoes prior or to date. He was simultaneously unafraid, and comfortably numb. The film is a beautifully cast gem.
Lastly, I was disappointed to only see a dozen seats filled at PAM’s Whitsell Auditorium (the prior evening was slow as well) for the mostly untold story of one of the great filmmakers of the last century during the run of the series Of Angels and Apocalypse: The Cinema of Derek Jarman. After all, it was a hot Saturday night, and the cool theater offers much of a respite in these matters. However, I was far from disappointed at the loving ode of a film it is. The series runs through month’s end and includes most of Jarman’s must-see work, in particular, the graceful The Last of England (1987) and the rarely screened Wittgenstein (1993) and The Angelic Conversation (1985). The new film Derek by Isaac Julien (and starring the phenom & Academy Award Winner® Tilda Swinton who also wrote, narrated and produced the picture) is a great snapshot of a British artist and activist whose solitary vision was a testament to the times we are now living in.
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In conclusion, I have also been out and about to view some shows around town including luminous and eye-popping work by both Jaq Chartier (Elizabeth Leach) and slightly more optical and completely gorgeous John Dempcey (Augen), layered floral landscapes by Tamara English (Mark Woolley), and the group show about food (PDX Contemporary), and also the cryptically flowing stark pieces appearing in Brian Borrello’s Ars Brevis, Vita Longa (Pulliam Deffenbaugh) (these must be getting much more expensive to produce - double wink!). I also want to leave you with one thought I had as I emerged from a dream after seeing the current show at NAAU:
Jacqueline Ehlis’ Serenade can suitably be described as unpainting, that exists in the recesses between the fine lines of works by Koons to Duchamp. Her use of color emits light outside the confines of its format, making for a hybrid between the spatial relationship of the flat plane and the gallery itself.
And I also made it to see owner Wid Chambers’ exhibition at his epynomous Chambers Gallery, titled Urban Forest. With new director Martha Morgan now at the helm, this is the final show at its current location before they move to the Pearl District this Fall. Chambers has used the exhibition space as his ‘canvas’ to build out a completely enchanted digital forest from prefabricated plywood and projections of tree-lined green space. Here distancing (or making ‘convenient’ for) the viewer to avoid real time wilderness within the assumed safe setting of the white box, opting for the outside indoors. It’s smartly sarcastic, though would offer a better viewing experience in a more controlled, much darker space. Speaking of galleries moving on…in one month Portland is losing Small A, Rake and Tilt Gallery & Project Space (and tight lipped rumors run amok about a few others who may not see the light of the end of Summer). In the past several years many have come and gone (remember Alysia Duckler, Margo Jacobsen, S.K. Josefsberg, Field Gallery, Savage?). Would combining efforts and assets help? How does this speak of the future or of the longevity for the average gallery - and of the scene in Portland? Will attempts like the grassroots, interdisciplinary efforts of both galleryHomeland and the soon-to-be re-re-emerging Disjecta take the reigns and place for much of the exhibition venue needs in the area? Does quality prevail and quantity only divide a community? Is romancing the current cultural tourist model enough? So many questions, so lil’ time. Ommmmm……
Infinitus, my exhibition at [NAAU] concluded this weekend after six weeks on view. It’s been a wonderful run for this work, six years in gestation, and the finale of my Tribryd cycle. New installation shots are circulating (©Jim Lommasson) though the work is, of course, meant to be experienced to be understood by the body (think ‘happening’).
MOVING CITIES: Please read this blog passage by artist Hilary Pfiefer (and view her new site) in regards to my exhibition.
Stream the recent KBOO Interview about the show.
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VIRTUAL COMMENT BOOK:“I thought it was very well conceived and I thank you for providing a place to lie ones head for a nice cerebral exercise and simultaneously rest.” (S.T.)
“I stopped by to check out your show at NAAU yesterday and was impressed and enraptured. I thought I would stay for fifteen minutes, but wound up losing track of time (and space and identity) and stared up for somewhere in the neighborhood of an hour. I don’t know about anyone else, but I at first felt a strange sense of anticipation and dread that made my heart beat slightly faster, then gradually felt comfortable and comforted and found it hard to break away from the images and sounds. It’s a fascinating world you’ve created….I think I’ll come back for a second viewing before it closes.” (C.G.)
“I indulged for the full cycle (71-minutes) I believe. Felt it both somewhat repulsive and attractive at the same time. In the sense that it was somewhat attractively claustrophobic for me. A feeling like I’m a witness to past archaic goings on. Surveillance cameras abound. Not necessarily voyeuristic but more like documented artifacts. Also maybe due to the fact that the viewing was in the form of ‘68 era mod, perfectly pitched slabs. The audio sustained me while the visuals were fertile with imagery and attractively odd in their slow stutter. Again the feeling of documentation slowed down enough to pick at the most miniscule. I did find it interesting how basically it is a loop with both sides inverted and they seem to replay alternately on both sides flipping each time that each is autonomous to a degree - but then two images match up and one can’t help but make associations between the two at that moment. Relative. Or maybe it’s just my temperament that includes two images together at times more than others in the sequence. There was one combo where the cars were passing by the chainlink fence in the foreground with a static shot while the other was an ephemeral image of water somewhat mimicking the diagonal pattern but mostly just a solid mass of depth and dark. And natural. Against that other shot. The water seemed to be constructed of feathery dissolves between frames but I’m not sure. Looked possibly man-made in a sense. The clock image seemed to be moving faster than it was because I sensed the camera to be slowly moving up and down with the breathing like a pov shot. Well done with all the peripheral elements. Was nice to be immersed in something in a gallery for an hour and having the place to myself like I like it.” (M.P.)
“I was so pleased to finally spend some time in your installation yesterday afternoon. Infinitus was hypnotic, but not to the point of zoning out. It kept me in an interesting continuum between enjoying it for what it was (visually and aurally) and trying to “solve” for what I was seeing. You were wise to make the viewing platforms not too soft, or I would have been there until closing! As it was I think I was there for an hour or so…..Congratulations on a provocative installation” (S.F.)
“We talked about our reactions afterward, off and on all day. As you suggested we were silent in the show. A new experience for (us), normally we chat about details to one another and point out everything we think is interesting as we are looking. This was a great memory builder. I came away with a peaceful feeling of interaction with the cityscapes and found sculpture and (My partner) was very interested in how you addressed the audience and the sound track. (G.B.)
“I ran over to see your mesmerizing exhibition! I also admired the neon museum piece and the mysterious islands…Congratulations! (S.T.)
“I felt like the statement “reserve the right to remain silent” was an indictment for people remaining silent against global warming and the high price of gasoline. David thought that the fence was just a representation for how people look at the world from their own narrow windows on the world. So we both had different feelings about it, which I thought was fun.” (A.D.)
“…the installation was mind blowing. I am definitely still under the spell of your work.” (V.A.)
“I enjoyed your show at NAAU. I don’t think I’ve seen a show there that transformed the space so well — and felt so welcoming and so cold at the same time. Incidentally, I love that the ‘Mausoleum‘ piece you and Scott did a while back is visible in the office area. Whether or not that was intentional, lying down and watching the video piece felt somewhat like being part of a living sarcophagus so it seemed fitting to see the sign just outside the door.”
(V.C.)
THIS is exactly why I make art.
John Motley writes…
TJ NORRIS: INFINITUS
Sound by C. Renou
@ New American Art Union
922 SE Ankeny Street @ 10th
RECEPTION:
Saturday, May 10th, 6-9PM
May 7 - June 22, 2008
Thursday through Sunday, 12-6PM
We officially open tonight! The work is a 2-channel video lounge and because of the nature of this particular piece, I encourage people to come anytime that is most convenient during its six-week run, a staggered entry. The installation accomodates a limited audience at any given time, the programming itself is continuously non-linear, without a real time beginning or end.
This exhibition marks the final leg in the installation cycle Tribryd (started in 2002), shown prior as Genometrics (Soundvision, 2003) and Nucleo (Chambers, 2005). The original soundtrack (circa ‘02) couldn’t be a more apropos and timely piece titled ‘Land of Confusion’ and was created by French composer, Christian Renou, here greatly extended for the 2008 installation version. The original is still available from Beta-lactam Ring Records (as is the CD/DVD project Trimix, the deconstructed mixes). My related essay, disembodied meditation, was published in 2005 by MIT Press/Leonardo Magazine (Vol. 38, No. 2) as were related stills which appeared in Portland Modern (Issue #3). This is my first solo show in two years, my debut at NAAU, and my sole planned regional exhibition this year.
As always, your feedback is welcome + encouraged.
Be My Guest: Please join me for the reception on May 10 (6-9PM).
Infinitus is ready for its inhabitants. Come lose yourself. In/outside the city.
°°°°°
BLOGOSPHERE
Bunny With a Toolbelt; Once Upon A Fool;
Ultra; Shows of Note; Port; Brad Carlile
