October 13-15, 19-22, 24-31
Catacombs @ Portland Art Center
The Portland Art Center opens Catacombs, a sort of grown up haunted house, involving a maze of rooms created within the Center's warrens. Each room is representative of historic happenings in the North End and Old Town Portland, enacted by actors with you in the scene, passing or tarrying as you wish. Continuous performance 8-11PM Admission $10-20 on a sliding scale October 13-15, October 19-22, October 26-31 (Halloween show runs 8-midnight)
Details http://www.portlandart.org
October 13
Classical Indian Dance Performance Updated @ Schnitzer Concert Hall
Kalakendra presents a bharatanatyam dance performance, Ekaanta Seetha, Lonely Furrow, commemorating women Sita in Hindu mythology, who raised the twin sons of Rama, Rani Lakshmi Bai, a key figure in India's struggle for independence and Aparajitha, a representative contemporary fighter for social progress in rural India. These dances have elaborate costumes, stylized hand movements and characteristic shifts of gaze (sit close or bring field glasses). Usually they retell historic myths, this one is contemporary. Schnitzer Concert Hall 8PM $30 Discounts for Kalakendra members. Details http://www.kalakendra.org
Haley-Briggs Art @ Gallery Homeland
Liz Haley and Troy Briggs show new works at Homeland’s one-year anniversary show Friday the 13th. Bring your party hats and rollerskates. "Let them eat cake!"
“With a Stranger” is up for the Month of October at gallery Homeland project space at 916 SE 34th Ave, opening Friday the 13th 7-10pm.
From their artists' note:
'The other day I ate Chinese food and my fortune cookie said “A chance encounter with a stranger will change your life” So Liz Haley and Troy Briggs started a project together for Scratching the Surface three months ago, meeting for the first time and with no idea what to do. While walking along the esplanade, they noticed couples asking people to take their picture. Something in this exchange was the seed for what will be shown at gallery Homeland this October. It began with questions of intimacy, projection and the exchange. The stories we create and the objects left over have become the medium that they will use to give notice to that moment that happens hundreds a time a day when we walk down the street. Who are you? Can I ever know you? Will you change my life?'
http://www.galleryhomeland.org
916 SE 34th ave just off Belmont 7-11PM Free
October 14
Foghat Ranchero Breakfast Car Wash Performance @ John Head World HQ
Portland has a concentration of particpatory social performance artists such as Harrell Fletcher, Red 76, the MOST and Sincerely, John Head - these folks who have also been doing the tailgating things from time to time.
At 10AM they will throw a campagne breakfast of "omelettes, pastries, waffles, hot coffee" "while supplies last" and champagne christen their life size Ranchero with FOGHAT vanity license plates. From 11-5 their installation is on display and you can get your picture taken in their personsize commemorative Foghat vinyl cover cutout.
http://www.sincerelyjohnhead.com/sjh-images/welcomepix/foghatlive-sidebyside.jpg
10 Breakfast and Car Wash
11-5 Photo sessions and general carrying on, aka art viewing
It's at 18th and Overton in the Corberry Press
http://www.sincerelyjohnhead.com/
October 14,15,21,22
Westside Open Artist Studios (14,15); Eastside (21,22)
Once a year, many Portland artists open their studios. It's an opportunity to look inside a star kitchen or mysterious science lab for maybe a flash of insight into how artwork is created. The website shows examples of each artist's work, not my minimalist conceptual cup of tea. Nonetheless it could be valuable for process or auditioning studio space with likeminded artists. West Side Studios October 14, 15, East Side October 21, 22. Details on getting tickets and maps at the website, of course your artist friends may invite you to their studios directly. $15 for two people and two weekends of open studios. http://www.portlandopenstudios.com
October 14,15
Last Open Art Studios @ 333
The 333 Studios are closing. Come by for their tenth and final open studio, sale and party. Surviving for 15 years an illegal speakeasy and a Russian nightclub downstairs, but not the fire marshall, the studios are over Dunes, which, as the building has been sold, will probably blow away too. These studios have incubated a few generations of Portland artists with monthly square foot rents a quarter of many of today's prices. See the work of artists John Brodie, David Eckard, Carol Ferris, Gilles Foisy, Cecilia Hallinan, Stephen Hayes, Robin Hoffmeister, David Inkpen, Una Kim, Blair Saxon-Hill and Marty Schnapf. RIP 4-9PM Sat, 12-4PM Sunday 333 NE Hancock, upstairs
October 14
Art Benefit @ PNCA
PNCA holds a silent auction art benefit to defray the medical bills of an alumna who was attacked in Old Town. Luckily this one is still alive as she was not attacked by the thin blue line. 7-11PM $5 donation at the door http://www.pnca.edu NW 13th and Johnson
Flamenco Guitar Concert @ Community Music Center
The flamenco community is passionate. No dancing tonight, but the guitar playing by Mark Taylor and Mark Ferguson will be passionate. Someday I would love to hear flamenco played on electric with miles of sustain, this concert will be on traditional classical guitars. Information: 503-972-1178
Community Music Center 3350 SE Francis $12 advance, $15 day of show; $9 youth under 17 7:30PM
October 16
Art Lecture Series @ PSU
The PSU Art Department lecture series continues with Julia Bryan-Wilson. She teaches art history and visual culture at RISD after a 2004 PhD from Berkeley. Writing extensively and curating, she is interested in the intersection of political issues of all types and art. If you are missing school, this talk should be a smart one. 5th Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall by PSU 8:15PM Free
October 17
Register to Vote by Today
5PM Is the deadline for registering to vote in Oregon for the November election. You have to be registered at your current address to get you ballot in the mail. So if you moved, update your registration. For Multnomah county, the elections office is across the street from Holocene. Oh and it's free!
October 18
Sustainability and Environment Lecture @ Church
There are plenty of hipster events in Portland and this is not one of them. But if you are deep in the sustainability, environment or energy public interest movements, you may be inspired and pick up some good ammunition for your efforts at this lecture, maybe some allies too.
Author Bill McKibbens, longtime New Yorker writer and author of "The End of Nature" speaks on the theme "Earth on Edge: Choosing Our Future". Sponsored by Methodists, the talk may be slightly imbued with spiritualism of the good kind by cospeaker Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda. I heard this guy speak at the Illahee series, he is smart and low key, a true thinker. What inspired me at his Illahee talk were his understated insights for world changing. At the First United Methodist Church, SW 18th and Jefferson across from the Goose Hollow Inn and by the MAX. http://www.emoregon.org/emo_events.htm
Cost: $10; $5 for students with ID. For more information, call Jan Elfers at (503) 221-1054
October 20-22,25-27
Portland Fashion Week @ US Bank Building
Urbane Portland has two fashion weeks, September's "The Collections", featuring Adam Arnold, Pinkham Millinery, Linea, Kathryn Towers, Holly Stadler, Jess Beebe, Elizabeth Dye, Church and State, Denwave, Liza Rietz, Emily Ryan and Anti-Domestic; and this two week long fashion week. Diversity is good for Portland. The events are held on the 43 floor of the US Bank Building aka "Big Pink", doors 7, shows 8PM
October 20 Clothing by sofada with eyewear from Visage and jewelry by Janine Gibbons hosted by Mayor Potter and Commissioner Adams
October 21 Heather Bell jewelry, The Black Fox, DarBeka - Jackie Steiner Originals Duchess and PoppiSwim
October 22 Louise Jeans, Naomi Raquel Sha Montana, the Elusive Collection and Segel Clothing
October 25 The Green & Sustainable Design Showcase with Saffrona - Nora Catherine Jewelry, MEWV, Maiti Nepal, EXIT and Flood Clothing
October 26 OSU Fashion Night with Melissa Ward, Tonya Schreiber, Alaina Shea, Diem Le, Marianne Egan, Morgan Tove, Lenore Semperviren and Gowns by Laura
October 27 Urban Metalics, Kicklet Kreations, Adriana Couture, Urban Girl NW, Leanimal DoubleCross Belt Co., Magali Corzo, Eden Dawn Apparel
http://www.myspace.com/portlandfashionweek2006
http://www.portlandfashionweek.net/
Tickets $10 General, $30 VIP advance; $15 General, $40 VIP door; Week-Long Pass-All Shows-Gen Adm - $55; afterparties $10
October 22
Church of Psychedelia @ Holocene
White Rainbow, Plants, Paint and Copter and Ghosting play the music that would have made church way more interesting accompanied by visuals from Andy Brown, Jason Frank, Penguin Jetpack and Sara Robbin. http://www.myspace.com/thechurchofpsychedelia This is the last Church of Psychedelia. Holocene 9PM Free
October 23
Art Lecture @ PSU
The PSU Lecture series hosts ultra baroque Seattle sculptor Jeffry Mitchell. You may have seen his work at the Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery. Mitchell was a finalist for Seattle newspaper The Stranger's 2006 genius awards. 5th Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall by PSU 8:15PM Free
October 24
Organism Salon @ Vendetta
This arts organization hosts a free salon at Vendetta on Williams - details at their web site http://www.artorganism.org
October 24,25
Miniature Golf Designed by Artists @ Holocene
Once a year artists and designers bend their creative minds around miniature golf. They fill Holocene with putting greens and all manner of cleverness to make golf holes with crazy ramps, chutes, funhouse mirrors and blinky lights. This year's holes include:
"Blowhole: The Hole" something about teeing off a surfboard into the hole which is the mouth of a whale. Except the whale hole mouth is moving! Once you sink the hole, the ball is blown from the whale's blowhole. By WK12.4
The "Labyrinth" requires friends to play. Tee off into a labyrnth maze. Your friends then tilt the maze to navigate the ball to the hole. They have to avoid spots on the maze where the ball drops from play. It's just like the hand held puzzle from childhood days of infinite time. Designed by Dave Selden and friends - The Minotards.
"Fancy" requires interactions with actors in play. Sort of performance art golf except you are in the performance. Luckily this all happens behind the curtains. Just like theater life world. By Lightbox Studio.
"Gnomes in Candyland" transforms the course into candyland. Whether candyland is the ultimate cradle to cradle sustainability strategy remains to be seen. Perhaps the course will be available to be eaten after day two, which might not be too bad since it is created by Pix Patisserie's Team Decadence.
"Superturboawesome" is always welcome, especially since this hole reference summer fun's skating, biking and the like. From Team Leisure Package - graphic designers Tom O'Toole and Ada Mayer.
"A Night at the Palms" involves navigating two floors of the Palms Motel, avoiding palm trees and whatever happens in the motel's rooms. By Flight 64, a coop printmaking studio. Press play!
"Destination Rampage" maybe recreates a life with the flying superpower. To score you need to dodge trees, rubble and "purple ponies" (?) then jump a ramp over the city. Home is where the hole is. By Team Monkey Punch (Anna Troupe and friends).
"The Mystery Hole" is not the mythical Gold Beach roadside attraction, but a devilish trap of optical illusions. Pass through the rabbit hole's shrinking corridor into a tiny village to the hole. By Team Half & Half, Cyrus Smith.
"Skee-Ball", the game you can never win at the Rose Festival's "fun center" is the inspiration for this hole by Omen (aka Nemo Design).
"FusGolf"TM requires running fusball paddles. Hopefully your "friends" are not running defense! By Elise Bartow and Daryl Freier.
"Virtual" is a game of electonically generated environments. Very Aeon Flux. By Alphonse Swinehart and Second Story Design.
"Pirate Golf" had to be. Dutch pirates in this case, navigating Holland's canals and windmills. By The Portland Radio Authority.
"Fleshtone" a performace hole by Portland's own costumed electro performers. Very steamy, surely. By "it's getting hot in here" Fleshtone.
Players - You - vote for champion holes in categories Best Action, Most Artistic, Greatest Technical Achievement, Hole I Most Want To Take Home With Me (odds on Fleshtone?), and the most mega ultra uber awesome Best in Show, the designers of which win $500 cash money! So play early and play often.
Get your game on, those funny pencils and golf clubs are provided for 2 nights October 24 and 25! Tuesday 9-late and Wednesday 2PM - late. Holocene $6
Dahlia @ Doug Fir
I wrote about this monthly electronica event previously. Still good. Still danceable. Show 9 $6
October 26
Barak Obama Booksigning in Seattle
Wonky, yes. But in politics, a ray of light is worth much more than the all of the fear and loathing which passes today for leadership. Thus the thesis of this Illinois senator's book "The Audacity of Hope". Unfortunately this Seattle reading and booksigning sold out 2500 seats at the Banaroya concert hall in a day. What's the fuss? A lot of people want this guy to run for president. Hopefully we'll see him talk in Portland soon.
Thriller @ Alberta Art Walk
Here is a question. Do three wrongs make a right? First, Michael Jackson. Yes the music persists, but that was more a product of Jackson's producer from Seattle, Quincy Jones. Wiki his career. Second, the conjunction of Alberta and art. Yes it is heartfelt. Anyway taste is personal, or, as I say, aesthetics is tribal. Third, zombies. Put the three together and what you have is zombies performing the West Side Story-(on the East side - ?)-inspired dance sequence from the Michael Jackson music video for Thriller, live at the corner of 15th and Alberta beginning at 6:30 or 7 and for every 20 minutes for a few hours while the Alberta art walk happens this Thursday. Pop culture sampling. Start your halloween off right...
Free
October 27
Not an event here, though there may be a party in Bolognia or Paris and in San Francisco and Yokahama, but long time butoh performer Kazuo Ohno turns 100 years old today. Actively performing until about 90, Ohno is representative of the lighter, softer and romantic branch of this Japanese performance art. He is quite frail now, but for years he created improvisation inspired solely by birth, death and his mother. I know this is obscure, but butoh is an interest and there is a concentration of it in Seattle, Olympia, LA, SF, the Southwest's wild spaces and Portland. Not all of it is tortured or dark, in fact very little is. http://www.kazuoohnodancestudio.com/english/top/
October 28
Bollywood Horror @ the Fez
DJs Anjali and the Incredible Kid throw their annual Indian Horror Film dance party. I'm waiting to see if they have those improbable Bollywood dance scenes akin to Miike's zombie musical Katakuri-ke no kôfuku. $10 with costume Flier
October 29
Trick or Vote, today I say both, as long as they are not dirty tricks! If you know me, you know real democracy is a passion worth life risking. For reasons far far different than the current administration proposes, in fact, antithetical.
The Bus Project registers Oregon voters then encourages them to vote, the Dean strategy. Today join them visiting Oregon voters and encouraging them to get their vote by mail ballots in to count. Later in the evening they throw a great costume party at the Crystal Ballroom with Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes, Quivah and March Forth. http://www.myspace.com/trickorvote Doors 7:30 $13
October 30
Art Lecture @ PSU
The PSU Lecture series hosts Portland filmmaker Vanessa Renwick. She had the Trojan video in the Oregon Biennial. She has been making what could be classed documentry work as much as magical realism can be classed fiction. In other words, our region through a personal lens. You can get a feel for her work at http://www.odoka.org/. Renwick has also developed a low budget network of places to show her films by touring band style in a van, even to rural towns, showing films in Grange halls. 5th Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall by PSU 8:15PM Free
