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Portland art blog + news + exhibition reviews + galleries + contemporary northwest art
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Friday 11.30.07 Everyone's Talking About  Laura Fritz, "Case Works 13" (detail) Video and installation artist Laura Fritz is speaking at Reed College this weekend on Case Works 13. For the exhibition, Fritz inverted the Case Works vitrines in the Hauser Library, mirroring the interior to create a mysterious world of endless vanishing points and beautiful, yet uneasy organic forms. Fritz has exhibited throughout the country, and is one of the recipients of the NAAU Couture awards. Artist lecture: 4:30pm | Sunday, December 2 Reed College | 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. | Eliot 314  Ann Gale, "Gary with Dark Wall" Ann Gale will also be lecturing this weekend, in conjunction with her APEX exhibition at PAM. This Seattle-based figurative painter explores the psychology of her sitters through the fragmentation of her portraiture. Artist lecture: 2pm | Sunday, December 2 PAM | 1219 SW Park Ave Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 30, 2007 at 13:22 | Comments (0) PermalinkDave Time Ok you probably read the transcript last month but here's a
podcast of Dave Hickey's keynote address for the Frieze art fair. Good to
take in just before the massive Miami clusterf%#@ that will be happening next
week.
Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 30, 2007 at 12:05 | Comments (0) PermalinkFor your consideration Tyler
Green has been doing some great posts on one of my favorite artists Martin Puryear,
a sculptor who has done as much with a curved line as anyone in art history.
The O indicates the Portland Art Center might have found a way out of its current financial crisis if they can sell enough panels. Also, the word "restructuring" has been used... time will tell what that means but it's a time to really address some of the concerns already raised on PORT in the past. The Guardian has an intriguing review of Hans-Peter Feldman's latest show in Bristol. Portland Architecture takes on possible Sellwood bridge designs and the U of O's White Stag block in Oldtown Portland. Also, this organic extension of a building seems like something that might be great for Portland. The WWeek ran a story on Milepost 5, an innovative new creative colony for Portland's ambitions to take root in. Lastly, The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York has a new building and the New York Times takes a look. As always I found Ouroussoff's critique of culture in New York important and healthy but will the contents of the museum live up to the box? Roberta Smith has her say on that issue here too, it's a must read (partly for all of its paradoxes, which befits the show). Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 30, 2007 at 10:40 | Comments (0) PermalinkWednesday 11.28.07 Your Art: Olafur Eliasson's Take Your Time and Your Tempo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art  Olafur Eliasson One-Way Colour Tunnel, 2007 Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, installation view at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; (c) 2007 Olafur Eliasson; photo: Ian Reeves, courtesy SFMOMA The first thing that you notice when you get off of the elevator at Olafur Eliasson's Take Your Time at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is that you are entering a room that is saturated with a bright yellow light. The piece is called Room for One Colour and the room is saturated, or soaked if that is possible, with this bright yellow light. The light is so bright that the walls in the elevator lobby seem to dematerialize and the room seems much larger than it really is. It is a good introduction to the show because from now on nothing will be what it seems. Eliasson is the master of inverting your expectations. Anything that you think you know about a space or a material goes out the window. His strength as an artist is his ability to look at materials or phenomenonal effects with a fresh eye. He is able to isolate the raw potential of a material so that it can be used to transform the experience of the viewer. More... Posted by Arcy Douglass on November 28, 2007 at 22:09 | Comments (0) PermalinkAltered Landscapes  Robert Smithson, "Spiral Jetty" (1970) The Newspace Center for Photography is soliciting submissions for an exhibition exploring "altered landscapes." From architecture to horticulture to earthworks, human beings are constantly altering the world around them, and Newspace wants to know what that looks like to you. Any type of photographic process is admissible. You may submit as many images as you like, with a submission fee of $5 per image. The deadline is December 28, and the exhibition will open on February 8. Check out the full prospectus for more information. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 28, 2007 at 19:11 | Comments (0) PermalinkJason Traeger at PCC Cascade  Jason Traeger at PCC's Cascade Gallery Traeger is a young artist whose name keeps coming up in town and the work reminds me of a cross between Marsden Hartley and Tal R... which is a promising semiotic stew that looks quasi military. Also of note The Cascade Gallery is now being programmed by one of Portland's premier artists Jacqueline Ehlis (currently showing in Las Vegas Diasora), suddenly exhibitions in North Portland are becoming more serious. Portland Community College: Cascade | Nov 28-Jan 8 | Opening: Wednesday, November 28, 4-7pm 705 N Killingsworth | Terrell Hall 102 Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 28, 2007 at 10:35 | Comments (0) PermalinkTuesday 11.27.07 November in Portland: a glut of good shows  This November Portland was full of interesting shows that probably deserved more attention and if you want to walk off some of those Thanksgiving calories you can check out these shows that aren't by Kentridge, Campbell, Lulic/Kreider, Boberg and Von Rydingsvard…. Yes, those are still my top picks but here are some other vexing shows that collectively show just how varied and unpredictable Portland can be. Recently Jen Graves and Regina Hackett started a conversation in Seattle about the center of their scene... for contrast things are too varigated here in Portland to even consider a center these days. Sure we had a center or two back in 2002-2004 with Haze and the original Savage gallery but now each of the 100 or so factions is pretty much capable of getting 100-500 of their cohorts to show up to a big event… There just isn't a single room big enough to fit everyone and a lot of these groups have international connections that make trying to "be THE place" in Portland a bit of a waste of time. Instead we have lots of alt spaces and old haunts:  Bryson Gill's Atrium Surrealism in Grey Jace Gace is a great new altspace addition to the Portland art scene started by a couple of recent CCA grads...(more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 27, 2007 at 13:21 | Comments (6) PermalinkLast Thursday AFTA Benefit  Every winter, the Talisman Gallery members team up with a variety of regional artists for their annual juried exhibition, which launches with a benefit silent auction. This year, 40% of the proceeds go to AFTA, an organization supporting arts education in Portland schools. Opening Reception: 5:30-9pm | November 29 Talisman Gallery | 1476 NE Alberta St. | 503.284.8800 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 27, 2007 at 13:04 | Comments (0) PermalinkMonday 11.26.07 Avant Blog  Matthew Hurst, from "Visualizing the Blogosphere" Don't miss this art blogging event! In the November issue of Art in America, PORT's own Jeff Jahn participated in a round table discussion lead by Peter Plagens exploring the world of art blogging. This week, PORT is organizing Avant Blog, a panel discussion to follow up on the article, and expand upon the issues raised in Plagens' conversation. Panelists include: Erin Langner, Communications Assistant at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and a regular contributor to Hankblog, Carolyn Zick, of "Dangerous Chunky". Amy Bernstein of PORT and Jeff Jahn, co-founder of PORT. Bruce Guenther, Chief Curator Portland Art Museum, will serve as moderator and provide further historical perspective on art publishing. It's an important revolution in cultural writing and we'd like to encourage all bloggers to come and participate in the extensive Q&A that will follow the panel. Help us break ground in cultural communications! Hosted by PNCA | Thursday, November 29,7-9pm 1241 NW Johnson St., Swigert Commons | jeff At portlandart.net Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 26, 2007 at 13:16 | Comments (0) PermalinkFriday 11.23.07 WW III  Benedikt Ender This weekend, German performance/installation artist Benedikt Ender's exhibition WW III: The General of Freedom opens at Rocksbox. Ender recently participated in Documenta 12, and was last in Portland for TBA 2006 with his installation The Temple of Something Higher. Opening reception: Rocks Box Fine Art | Saturday, November 24, 7-12pm 6540 N Interstate AVE | 971.506.8938 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 23, 2007 at 13:25 | Comments (0) PermalinkWednesday 11.21.07 Watching  Shohei Imamura This Friday, the NW Film Center is showing the first in a series of films by Shohei Imamura (1926 - 2006). This Japanese filmmaker "excelled at exposing the realities of the human condition and the basic instincts, rational and otherwise that drive human behavior." The first film, Vengeance is Mine, airs on Friday, November 23, at 7pm. Click here for more info on the full series. Also showing this weekend at the NW Film Center: Helvetica, directed by Gary Hustwit, which explores the effect of typology and design on communication and our daily lives. And continuing this week, the films of Lech Majewski, with The Garden of Earthly Delights. Majewski gained his reputation writing the screenplay for Basquiat. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 21, 2007 at 19:53 | Comments (0) PermalinkTuesday 11.20.07 Dead Air  The Video Gentlemen, "Cropped Signal (detail)" Here's an interesting opportunity for all you video artists out there: "In February 2009, the United States will add Dead Air to the acres of accumulated Dead Media, pulling the plug on analog television broadcasts. Subsequent waves of e-waste are predicted as consumers junk their abruptly obsolete receivers in favor of HD-readied consoles. What else will go out with this trash? What residue, ghost-images or other artifacts will persist in the nooks and crannies of this technocultural turn-over?" The Video Gentlemen are seeking submissions for a video and performance series that will explore/reclaim "electromagnetic modes of cultural production." Deadline is January 15. For more information, visit their website. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 20, 2007 at 12:38 | Comments (0) PermalinkMore parlor games and MoMA 
H.C. Westerman Tyler Green has been playing a parlor game centered around reimagining MoMA's galleries. My take is that Americans pretty much needed Alfred Barr to simplify the polyglot that was avant-garde art for Yankee consumption. Barr's brilliant solution was Picasso and since he had helped MoMA to acquire Les Demoiselles d' Avignon the museum was in a good position to make that case. Following curators like Rubin and Varnadoe picked a different hero artist to key the installation to; Jackson Pollock. The thing is I believe Americans are now ready for a more complex worldview and MoMA needs to accept that challenge to avoid becoming not only just a museum of 20th century art but a museum of 20th century ideology. Personally I agree that Pollock is a lynch pin argument but I also agree with Tyler that by foregrounding another giant like Clyfford Still and lesser lights like John McLaughlin it could really shake things up. Hell, I'd throw in an Andrew Wyeth and lots of H.C. Westerman's just to flay the monogenic discussion away from just one artist. Westerman isn't talked about enough, he's actually way more influential than is typically recognized. I'm all for an allout assault on monogenic thought in America... (more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 20, 2007 at 11:44 | Comments (0) PermalinkMonday 11.19.07 Building... with balls? The print media in Portland is finally starting to catch up with PORT on the very
exciting 511 building project for PNCA. Here's our initial take, and a tiny
bit from the
O this past Saturday (they've lost a lot by not having full-time architecture
columnist like Randy Gragg). To reiterate, the 511 project effectively creates a high profile arts
boulevard on Portland's North Park blocks (consolidating gains with the Desoto
Building and the Everett
Station Lofts) and if the Post Office moves out by the airport as expected
the additional 13 acres could be developed into an urban cultural boulevard...
a little bit like the Benjamin
Franklin Parkway but with the park blocks instead of the old imperial style.
Also, Brad Cloepfil did the campus' master plan and would almost certainly be
the top choice as architect for this building. Net result, a world-class art
institution effort in the Pearl District. I was at the PDC meeting (there was really no contest between the market and PNCA, the Federal Government controls the building
not PDC and thus only PNCA qualifies to apply). Hopefully, the GSA will see the wisdom
in giving PNCA the building and Portland a boost... let's just say PNCA is pulling out all the stops,
they really want this and it's the biggest news for Portland's cultural
community since I've lived here (8.5 years).
UPDATE* DK Row has chimed in as well now with a pleasantly matter of fact piece... the recent vacation must have quelled his typical need for snark, or maybe it's because this is such an important issue. Still this article doesnt really convey how this is a potentially paradigm changing opportunity. 
Nouvel's proposed tower next to MoMA Jean Nouvel is designing a new tower next to MoMA. Actually, it will give a much needed expansion to MoMA's exhibition space by devoting 3 floors to the museum. This question from the Times' Ouroussoff is key, "Yet the building raises a question: How did a profit-driven developer become more adventurous architecturally than MoMA, which has tended to make cautious choices in recent years?" The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has acquired 6 of the works it did not already own from their superb Robert Irwin retrospective (aka the best show of 2007)... this show has balls and their aquisitions do too. Last but not least Jerry Saltz is asking important questions about MoMA's lack of female artists. The Portland Art Museum actually does a good job of this currently highlighting Lee Krasner, Judy Chicago, Agnes Martin, Helen Frankenthaler, Lynda Benglis, Hilla Von Rebay, Dorothea Rockburn, Anne Truitt, Kiki Smith and Suen Wong, etc. For once PAM can claim bragging rights over MoMA (and it's something MoMA can easilly correct). Also, when will MoMA do a long overdue Benglis retro? Needless to say balls aren't everything... Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 19, 2007 at 10:37 | Comments (4) PermalinkFriday 11.16.07 a band on every thing: Gary Hill Lectures at Reed  "Frustrum" Gary Hill 2007 If you didn't have the chance to attend video artist Gary Hill's lecture the other night at Reed, you may have missed one of the rarer opportunities to revisit the contemporary phenomena of existence with one of its most ardent investigators. While modern day philosophers. . .(more) Posted by Amy Bernstein on November 16, 2007 at 19:34 | Comments (1) PermalinkMK in the WiBi  MK's portrait by Marne Lucas Congratulations to MK Guth who made the cut for the upcoming 2008 Whitney Biennial. MK is the director of PNCA's brand spank'n new MFA program and a longtime stalwart of the Portland art scene. Here's a short but recent PORT review of MK's work. Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 16, 2007 at 10:58 | Comments (0) PermalinkThursday 11.15.07 A Grand Weekend  Michael Kenna, "Eglise Abbatiale, Mont St. Michel, France" This month, Charles Hartman Fine Art is exhibiting the Mont St. Michel series by Michael Kenna. The haunting black and white photographs explore the quieter moments on the beautiful French island. Kenna will be signing copies of his accompanying book during the reception. Opening reception: Charles Hartman Fine Art | Saturday, November 17, 3-6pm 134 NW 8th AVE | 503.287.3886 More Saturday events below the cut. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 15, 2007 at 17:40 | Comments (0) PermalinkWednesday 11.14.07 Lectures at Reed  Mary Kelly, from "Post-Partum Document" This Friday, NYU art historian Eve Meltzer is lecturing on The Love of Language and the Politics of Dis-Affection: Mary Kelly's Post-Partum Document. Kelly's extended project, developed from 1973-1977, explored her relationship to her son over the first four years of his life. Reed College | Friday, November 16, 4pm 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. | Eliot 314 
This just in: Reed is full of great lectures this weekend! On Saturday, Peter Kreider will be discussing The China Syndrome. Kreider is currently exhibiting in the Cooley Gallery with Marko Lulic as part of a joint Cooley & PICA project. Reed College | Saturday, November 17, 4:30pm 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. | Eliot 314 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 14, 2007 at 19:44 | Comments (0) PermalinkWriting about Talk'n 
For those of you who arent as sick of my own voice as I am... I'll be on KBOO radio's Art Focus program tomorrow at 10:30 Am (Pacific Time). On the dial you can find them at 90.7 FM and for the rest you can stream it online here. Julie and I will probably discuss this month's Art in America article on art blogs, Portland's art scene and my other upcoming projects. Also note on November 29th as a followup to Peter Plagens Art in America article this month PNCA will be hosting Avant Blog a panel discussion about the online publishing revolution as it relates to serious art blogging. It's a heavy duty lineup and I encourage all bloggers who can make it to attend and chime in on the Q and A. 7-9PM in the Swigert Commons of PNCA: free The panel: Erin Langner: The Communication's Assistant for The Henry and frequent contributor to hankblog... her master's thesis explored podcasting for museums Carolyn Zick: Longtime blogger of the personal POV art blog Dangerous Chunky fom Seattle Amy Bernstein: PORT's very own myself, again (I apologize) Moderator: Bruce Guenther, chief Curator of PAM, because he can handle both the snark and the issues of "seriousness" in an emerging art media, besides the historical precedents for blogging have historical roots that pre-date the internet. Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 14, 2007 at 12:32 | Comments (0) PermalinkTuesday 11.13.07 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards: 5 finalists announced (PORT Scoop) Today, the Portland Art Museum announced the 2008 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards exhibition recipients:
Dan Attoe Cat Clifford Jeffry Mitchell Whiting Tennis Marie Watt My general reaction to this list is it's... solid, somewhat conservative (except for Clifford whom I was rooting for as an underdog) and very Northwest art-ish (aka lots of wood, craft, animals and tree references). For context, more agressively contemporary and less regionally placeable artists like Alex Schweder, Sean Healy, Jack Daws and Chandra Bocci (list goes on forever) were not of the 28 finalists from which these 5 were chosen so this list isn't really a surprise and curator Jennifer Gately has a very tricky balancing act to do. Her statement that she decided on, "works that resonate on distinctively regional yet universal levels," explains things rather well... to me that means a show which big time donor/collectors can be both challenged by and yet find familiar. A completely respectable list, but not bleeding edge... (more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 13, 2007 at 16:30 | Comments (2) Permalink"Night Moves" at 23 Sandy  Stewart Harvey & Colleen Hoyt This week, 23 Sandy Gallery is opening a group exhibition to celebrate the winter solstice. Night Moves features 14 local photographers exploring the nocturnal world, from city streets to their own bedrooms. 23 Sandy Gallery | November 15 - December 22 623 NE 23rd AVE | 503.927.4409 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 13, 2007 at 15:49 | Comments (0) PermalinkMore-akami  Takeshi Murakami, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study of Isabel ...), 2002 © 2006 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Private collection. On Artnet, Hunter Drohojowska-Philp has taken on the Murkami show at MOCA with lots of nice pictures. I'm a big fan but it is odd how Ive seen most of this work in other places (I first saw My Lonesome Cowboy and Hiropon at The Portland Art Museum in 2000 even). Murakami still matters but somehow I wanted him to do something more radical than a museum show, maybe something in a mall instead of moving the mall into the museum? My favorites will always be the Francis Bacon works, DOB inflatables, toothed mushroom paintings and the wallpapers. Also,Christopher Knight of the LA times also gives his take on Murakami ...all this is well and good but the best museum show of 2007 is Robert Irwin's retrospective in San Diego. Sure Serra was real good too but there is always something problematic about Richard Serra in a museum retro. Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 13, 2007 at 9:51 | Comments (1) PermalinkMonday 11.12.07 Speaking Out From the Ivory Tower  Do-Ho Suh If anything is worth the drive out to Corvallis, this is it. Internationally renowned artist Do-Ho Suh is speaking this week at OSU. Born in Seoul, Korea, Do-Ho Suh relocated to the U.S. after receiving his MFA in painting, and has since received wide recognition for his sculptures that "defy conventional notions of scale and site-specificity." Do-Ho Suh represented Korea in the 2001 Venice Biennale, and has exhibited his work all over the world. Oregon State University | Wednesday, November 14, 7pm LaSells Auditorium | 541.737.4745  Beth Campbell Also this week: PNCA Artist-in-Residence Beth Campbell will discuss her work on display in the Feldman Gallery and the Project Space. PNCA | Thursday, November 15, 6:30pm 1241 NW Johnson St. | 503.226.4391 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 12, 2007 at 15:33 | Comments (0) PermalinkSaturday 11.10.07 Beth Campbell at PNCA's Feldman Gallery For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - Sir
Isaac Newton's third law of motion
 a portion of Beth Campbell's The Following Room (2007) at PNCA Art can get lost in the paradoxes it courts and sometimes that is a good thing. Yes, some contemporary art is designed to ingratiate itself by reaffirming the tastes of those who see it, whereas other work is designed to confront and challenge those expectations. Beth Campbell's show at PNCA's Feldman gallery is mostly of the challenging journey variety. It has a kind of magic despite the fact it goes pretty much nowhere through its use of a series of faux mirrors. The effect is a bit like the Bermuda Triangle in an Ikea store, or a kind of physical paradox where pop culture meets nameless individual. The important part is how viewer gets a little lost and discombobulated by the experience forcing them to question the way optics and cognition converge. Getting lost has an important and pervasive history that can't be ignored. Great literary characters like Melville's Ishmael or cheesy self help books are both built on the idea that one has to lose themselves in order to find oneself. In Chinese philosophy Mencius focused on the internalization of one's external world to stay true to it. Similarly the western philosopher Wittgenstein focused on the human tendency to solipsisticly see one's self as the center of the universe... (more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 10, 2007 at 17:21 | Comments (3) PermalinkFriday 11.09.07 Gary Hill Lectures at Reed  Gary Hill Gary Hill, recipient of the Leone d'Oro Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale in 1995 and the MacArthur "genius" Award in 1998, will be lecturing next week at Reed College. Hill's work in electronic media, video, and performance since the 1970s has earned him the international reputation of being one of the most important artists of his generation. The ongoing shows by Marco Lulic and Peter Kreider at the Cooley Gallery and Caseworks 13 by Laura Fritz in the Library will open before the lecture as well. Reed College | Tuesday, November 13, 7pm 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. | Vollum Lecture Hall Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 09, 2007 at 14:21 | Comments (0) PermalinkThursday 11.08.07 Working Together  Boxlift building artists On both Saturday and Sunday, the artists in the Boxlift Building (formerly 333 Studios) will open their studios in conjunction with a group exhibition curated by Mark Woolley. Participating artists include Ballyhoo Photography, Natasia Chan, Pat Clemens, Compass Rose Studios, Erin Galvez, Sarah Kamsler, Kelly Kerwick, Una Kim, Josie Koehne, Nicole Linde, Mulysa Melco, manuel Mondejar, Eugenia Pardue, Julianna Paradisi, Ellen Shade, smashbox photography, John Sulahian, and Scott Sutton. Opening night features music by Deja Nu. Opening reception: Boxlift Buildng | Saturday, November 10, 4-10pm 333 NE Hancock St. | boxliftbldg@gmail.com Also, Working Artists presents Unifying Themes, a group exhibition showcasing their members in the Carton Service Building. Featured artists include Sabina Haque, Kindra Crick, Gus Reed, Hillary Atiyeh, Adrienne Fritze, Talus Fritze-Moor, Brooke Mackenzie and Richard L. Young. Opening Reception: Working Artists Gallery | Saturday, November 10, 6-10pm 2211 NW Front AVE #102 | 503.445.1268 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 08, 2007 at 15:45 | Comments (1) PermalinkWednesday 11.07.07 Artists' Talk at Laura Russo 
Marie Sivak Mortality's Veil (2006) carved English limestone Sculptor Marie Sivack and painter Sherrie Wolf are speaking this weekend at the Laura Russo Gallery. They'll be discussing their respective exhibitions on view at the gallery through November 24. Laura Russo Gallery | Saturday, November 10, 11am | 805 NW 21st AVE | 503.226.2754 Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 07, 2007 at 16:03 | Comments (0) PermalinkTuesday 11.06.07 Show Your Stuff Static/Flux
PSU's MK Gallery is seeking submissions for a juried exhibition on the themes of static and/or flux. Two and three dimensional works in all media will be considered. The show will run from February 22 - March 21, 2008. Submissions are due on November 26. For more information, check the Craigslist posting, or contact the gallery director at jenene@pdx.edu. Intown Works Night The Intown Church is seeking submissions for its third annual Works night on December 6. All visual media will be considered. Submissions are due November 15. In addition to visual arts, the evening will feature music and performance on the theme of time. It is a non-religious event. For more information, contact matthew@intownchurch.com. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 06, 2007 at 18:22 | Comments (0) PermalinkEstablishing an anti-establishment, comparing Rinder and Hickey  So far, the two most influential art shows of the 21st century have been the2002 Whitney Biennial curated by Larry Rinder and Beau Monde: towards a redeemed cosmopolitianism curated by Dave Hickey in 2001. The art-insider-unpopular WB was a fetished kind of amatuerism that was quickly co-opted by the arts system as a style (yet ironically got Rinder exiled), whereas conversely Beau Monde was simply too perfect as an ideal, hyper intelligent yet entertaining art show that sported grafitti art and foregrounded experience (most of the art was also big ticket). Together they signified the death knell of postmodernism (which was all about disassociation and alienation) and the reassertion of both craft and street culture as more important than the academy. Yet, it is funny how both Hickey and Rinder are anti-establishment and yet so firmly of it. Though considering the fact that Rinder is now a Dean at CCA is more of a true institutionalist, whereas Hickey seems to enjoy the material for writing that the paradox generates. Rinder has a former CCA student show at Liz Leach right now and Hickey has a similar but bigger production show about his UNLV days at the LVAM. At one time they seemed like polar opposites but now they seem like omnipresent sides of the same coin. For example, Paul Schimmel's Ecstacy show at MOCA seemed like a followup to both Beau Monde and the 2002 Whitney Bi. Now, there is more from Hickey and Rinder as they look back: Tyler Green pointed out that Dave Hickey's interview in The Believer is a great read, including some provocative gems like... (more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 06, 2007 at 10:16 | Comments (3) PermalinkMonday 11.05.07 2007 Rosey Awards  This week the Portland Advertising Federation (PAF) is hosting the 50th annual Rosey Awards, which celebrate the "world class" work in communication arts coming out of the Northwest. In conjunction with the awards ceremony, the gallery at the Portland Art Institute will be showing selected entries through November 6, and then featuring the award winning work exclusively from November 8-28. The ceremony will be held Wednesday, November 7 at 5:30pm at the Gerding Theater in the Portland Armory. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 05, 2007 at 12:47 | Comments (0) PermalinkSaturday 11.03.07 Beyond the Frame: Robert Irwin's Primaries and Secondaries at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego  Robert Irwin examining Light and Space a few moments after it was turned on Photograph by Jeff Jahn Copyright Robert Irwin/Artists Rights Society, New York Robert Irwin is walking to the left and then to the right, stepping forward and then back, until finally stopping at a spot where the work fills his entire field of vision. He is trying to understand what this new piece is about and he has always said that looking is as much about the body as the eyes. For the first time, his assistants have just turned on Light and Space, a work designed specifically for his retrospective, Primaries and Secondaries at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Light and Space, like the eponymous art movement is about a particular environment or set of conditions to experience. In this case it is a large empty room defined on a one long by a field of fluorescent light fixtures. The lights are installed in a non-repeating modified grid pattern that completely fills a giant wall. There is no focus and is non hierarchical, it is just the experience itself. The experience resonates between the field of light that is created by the fixtures and the way that the light redefines the space of the room. The transformation and reorientation of the space makes the new work a classic Irwin piece.  Robert Irwin examining Light and Space Photograph by Jeff Jahn Copyright Robert Irwin/Artists Rights Society, New York At that moment, like the rest of us, Irwin has never seen this particular work before, and we are lucky enough to watch him as experiences it for the first time. It is an event that crystallizes much of Irwin's approach and reveals as much about the man as the art. In the excellent retrospective of Irwin's art currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego we are treated to almost fifty years of his work, most of which is supplied by the Museum's own collection. The installation of the work is clean and spare and you can feel Irwin's eye not only in the work but also in the way the work becomes inseparable for the space in which it is installed. More... Posted by Arcy Douglass on November 03, 2007 at 9:14 | Comments (1) PermalinkFriday 11.02.07 Art Learnin'  Conceptual artist Tom Marioni is speaking this weekend at Reed College. Marioni's work is guided by his interest in Zen Buddhism, and its emphasis on locating the extraordinary within the ordinary and focusing on the process over the product. He's received acclaim for his 1970 project The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art, which involved gathering with friends for drinks and conversation, and was documented only by photograph. Reed College | 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., Eliot Hall, room 314 | Saturday, November 3, 4:30pm | free And while you're at Reed College, don't forget to swing by the library and check out Laura Fritz's Caseworks 13, on view from November 2 on. Described as "perceptual architecture," the show promises to really shake things up in the Hauser Fundome. Official opening TBA and talk on December 2nd but it's up now.  Anavtika Bawa Also happening in the world of education this weekend: Avantika Bawa's Sit, Stack is opening at PSU's Autzen Gallery. Combining objects built in her studio with site-specific installation, Bawa "puts the act of drawing into the service of sculptural design" by integrating hand drawing with architectural supports. Her use of functional materials and delicate hand work make her work subtle and candid. Opening reception: Autzen Gallery | PSU, Neuberger Hall, 2nd Floor, 724 SW Harrison St. | Saturday, November 3, 5-7pm Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 02, 2007 at 14:28 | Comments (2) PermalinkThursday 11.01.07 First Friday Picks November 2007 
Sincerely, John Head Sincerely, John Head is having their first solo exhibition this month at Small A. The central focus of BOX SET: Car Show is SJH's 1977 Ford Ranchero, but it is only one element of their ongoing BOX SET project. Inspired by the 1977 album Foghat Live, "the year 1977, parking lot culture and fandom," BOX SET explores the physical traces of the "ephemera of fanaticism" and the way the legacy is constructed and packaged. Previous BOX SET projects include the Studio Sessions project for PICA's 2007 TBA festival. Opening Reception • 5-8pm • November 2 Small A Projects • 1430 SE 3rd Ave. • 503.234.7993 (more) Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 01, 2007 at 14:07 | Comments (0) PermalinkPortland Art Center at a crossroads  Director Gavin Shettler in 2005 at the Portland Art Center's then new home in Chinatown The Portland Art Center has been attempting to fill an important role in the Portland arts community over the past five years, as a non-profit supporting the development of young artists while bridging the worlds of galleries, museums, and educational institutions. Now they're looking back to the community for support to cover a $40,000 budget shortfall. Although PAC has achieved some success with grants (a $50,000 grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust and $25,000 from the Lehmann Foundation) they have been unable to meet their sustaining private fund raising goals in Portland's difficult philanthropic environment. They're currently inhabiting an ambitious 10,000 square foot space, but the rent, although below market value, has become a heavy financial burden at $5,000 per month. As the Goldsmith building's lead tenant, it creates market pressures for developer David Gold and his bank, requiring PAC to scale up financially. PAC currently needs to raise $27,000 for back rent and $13,000 to cover salaries for its two staff members by December 1st. That isn't a lot of money considering the Portland Art Museum raised 40 million dollars back in 2005, but those people have been completely absent as major patrons ($2,000+) for PAC. Shettler describes the situation as, "at a critical point." For more information, please contact executive director Gavin Shettler at gavin.shettler@portlandart.org. Posted by Megan Driscoll on November 01, 2007 at 12:32 | Comments (7) PermalinkPORT's Bridge Design Contest  Proposed pedestrian and light rail bridge as designed by ZGF >  Oldenberg (1976) Here's a chance for budding designers, architects and well... armchair architects. We have discussed this previously on PORT but most of the design conscious people in Portland who saw the rather preliminary image for the new pedestrian, cycle and light rail bridge just south of the hideous looking Marquam Bridge by ZGF were pretty unimpressed. To be fair to ZGF, its just a preliminary, on the other hand it's top heavy and very static "clothespin" form almost seemed like a Claes Oldenberg. In the spirit of better design, PORT is going to have a lil contest so y'all can give it your best shot. You can even choose to use this high-res image (courtesy of Brad Carlyle) if you want. Rules are simple: Email jpeg's to me at jeff At portlandart Dot net by December 1st and we will post images of everything that stands out. Highly conceptual, impossible to build ideas, such as a bridge made of banana peels or Vera Katz statues are fine, though if...(more) Posted by Jeff Jahn on November 01, 2007 at 0:00 | Comments (0) Permalink |
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Site Design: Jennifer Armbrust | • | Site Development: Philippe Blanc & Katherine Bovee | |