April 3, 2007

invisible.other (by Joseph Gallivan)

TJ Norris is adept at finding interesting avant-garde music (see his blog at www.tjnorris.net), and he’s an excellent visual-arts curator, too. His new group show features artists from several countries under the title “invisible.other.” (Norris recommends pausing between the two words.) It’s not clear what the theme of the show really is, but the general idea seems to be obscure images. One wonderful white-on-white panel piece by Abi Spring consists of a series of horizontal lines that change in the light like solarized film or mother of pearl. The artist made the marks on the shiny white background with a belt sander.

Another, by Thomas Köner of Germany, consists of three video screens showing crowds moving in slow motion in Japan, the Czech Republic and India, accompanied by his own electronic soundscape, which fills the room. It’s refreshing to see local and international rubbing shoulders.

First Friday reception 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 6; regular hours noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, through April 29, New American Art Union, 922 S.E. Ankeny St., 503-231-8294

June 22, 2006

grey|area (by Joseph Gallivan)

Artist-curator-blogger-flack TJ Norris has curated grey|area, a West Coast show that is "themeless and non-narrative, peppered in shades of conceptual and abstract minimalism."

No, wait - it's good! With Portland artists Troy Briggs, Daniel Duford, David Eckard, Scott Wayne Indiana and Ellen George. - Joseph Gallivan

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-SATURDAY, through July 1, Guestroom Gallery, 128 N.E. Russell St., 503-284-8378, free

March 2004

'Disposable'

Wednesday, March 3, through Sunday, March 7, call for hours, Vollum Lounge, Reed College

The Modern Zoo participates in Reed College's Arts Week with a six-artist show. Each participant was given a roll of the kind of plastic sheeting typically used to line disposable diapers and asked to create work that involved the show's theme of "interaction." The participating artists include Bruce Conkle, Kaosmosis, Brenda Mallory, TJ Norris, Rob Off and L. Aili Schmeltz. 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd., 503-777-7708, free

December 13, 2002

Cry cry laugh laugh: Artist Cary Leibowitz offers equal opportunity for both (by Michaela Bancud)

Take a quick look 'round the show "Faggy Faggy Boom Boom" at the Soundvision gallery. Your uptight, serious side might well sigh and say, "The faggy pop art story has become tiresome."

Your upbeat, frivolous side will observe that New York painter Cary Leibowitz still has a few tricks up his sleeves.

The gallery's main room has 10 new latex-on-wood paintings in hard, bright colors. Each one is painted with the same words: "faggy faggy boom boom." Repetition and serial work are this artist's bag, you see. Seems childish, yes - but remember, the catchy little paintings sell for the very grown-up price tag of $1,600 to $2,400.

Give the work a bit of time, and the singsongy words start to bounce back and forth - like a four-square ball at recess. Their comic power dances over touchier themes: being gay; being Jewish; being your own, worst self-loathing, depressive enemy from hell.

Gallery curator TJ Norris found Leibowitz's efforts annoying - at first. When he saw the artist's work - so flip, so tossed off - at a show in Boston, with gushy declarations such as "I Love Andy Warhol" and "I Love Michael Jackson" scrawled on crumpled bits of paper stuffed inside Woolworth-type frames, Norris thought, "If this is where contemporary art is going, I don't know where I fit in." Then he got mad and thought: "How dare he? This is such junk."

When he cooled down, Norris saw a wallpaper series with cutting little sayings on them. Still later, there was an AIDS tribute piece that he bid on and purchased.

Art moves in mysterious ways, and Norris began to connect with Leibowitz. The artist he once hated he now adores.

Don't miss the gallery's downstairs "museum shop" area, where Leibowitz's nonslip socks hang, emblazoned with the slogan "I Can't Do This/I Can't Do That" ($75). A shopkeeper's sign ($125) has the hours filled in - "Monday: 'sad' a.m. to 'sad' p.m."

A "Sad Ain't Bad" plastic shopping bag elicits little more than a smile. In a world with so much real sad, it makes you wonder why you'd want to clutter it up with so much fake sad.

The Liza Minnelli for President rain poncho (edition of 36) is an absolute gem, though. It's for sale in hot pink and bright yellow ($65). It would be fun to see someone with the panache required to prance down the street in this.

The wastepaper basket ($75) stacked in the window with the words 'Gain! Weight! Now!' is emblazoned with a photo of Leibowitz as a lumpy, miserable kid at his bar mitzvah.

Leibowitz clearly has no trouble laughing at himself. So go ahead - laugh back.