Tuesday, December 26, 2006

December 29

Lucas Pander Art Show Close Party @ Wonder Ballroom

The show mentioned previously closes with a party featuring DJ Allon and live painting by Pander. http://www.markwoolley.com/ 128 NE Russell 6-9PM

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

December 21,27

December 21

Kurt Halsey Cartoons @ Missing Link

Missing Link is planning a move to neighbor with Local.35 on Hawthorne. This show intervened at their current location on Belmont. Local Halsey creates maybe emo panels slicing modern life into a moment. Maybe you will find your reality therein.

'Dealing instead with raw and excessive human emotions, and lyrical and sometimes whimsical personal musings. Finding inspiration in the ups and downs of his friends' lives as well as his own, Halsey creates characters in the manner of super-cute kawaii culture figures, but with distinctively rendered facial and body gestures that portray the vast emotions and countless stories of everyday life. "Influenced by my hopelessly romantic and super sensitive mindset, I pay far too much attention to the little things in life and in the relationship between two people. In constant need of reassurance, explanation, closure, and attention, my paintings are made."'

Missing link 3314 SE Belmont 7-10



December 27

Take it EZII(a) @ Valentines

Daniel Peterson's shorts series, previously reviewed, is reprised at Valentines at 7:14PM. Recommended, even for the ADD's.

Valentines 232 SW Ankeny

Saachi Artists' Myspace

Charles Saatchi is one of the world's brilliant admen. Forming Saatchi and Saatchi, with his brother in 1970, the agency captured British advertising imagination, including electing the conservative party, for which maybe they can be forgiven, and Margaret Thatcher, the first woman as prime minister, and which most agree, was mixed. (In an ironic turn, Thatcher was depicted as a child in a clever television ad for breakfast oats.) Saatchi and Saatchi later merged to giant Publicis and is now headed by Kevin Roberts who is known for his emotional branding and the value of industrial design as a branding element. Ousted from S+S in a boardroom battle, Saatchi and his brother formed independent M+C Saatchi. Meanwhile Charles took an interest in art. He correctly realized that artists' central problem of sustainability is that interested collectors and curators have no way of knowing they exist.

His first approach was to form a gallery and successfully promote the careers of young British artists which is now capitalized. His latest is YourGallery, for any artist, and STUART, a myspace for student artists. Student artists are posting photos and videos of their works, free forming self descriptions and friending other artists on the site. STUART is searchable by school. The site is still a bit primitive in function but has attracted ten thousand artists plus, primarily split US and UK, with no publicity.

The strength of STUART/YourGallery is that the process of artistic creativity is driven by artists communication one to another (David Hickey) and that a network of artists may allow navigation of the myriad of styles in the art world through the artists' self generated links. Galleries may contact the artists securely as have some. To date, only one artist I know in Portland has a profile.

Today, social networking sites, venture funded, are fetching valuations of $10 to 100 per member (Myspace 2005, Facebook rumor, today). A famous cartoon from 1993 quips "On the internet, no one knows you are a dog". The social networking field is so exuberant that one site is actually a social networking site for pets! So Saatchi's creation is a good bubble bet, as is art, booming with stock market's disposable income.

STUART/YourGallery's weakness is that artists are not the greatest demographic to sell things to, and selling is the raison d'ĂȘtre for the valuations. Ad revenue valuations are running at about $8 per year per subscriber leading, but growth rates of over 300% per year reduce that number in years' future. Perhaps Saatchi will invest early in a few of those artists' careers, generating excess cash. So far his track record is good, with Hirst's "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" - his famous preserved shark, fetching a multiple of 85 in valuation over 15 years. Another possibility is using the site for an ANP-style platform as I have written of previously.

What is the message? If you are a Portland artist, consider it part of your personal brand to the world to sign. It's free.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

December 21 VJ Night @ 911 Seattle

The 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle continues its VJ nights. Perhaps akin to Dimension 7 and Eyewash's similar regular events or a raft of large scale VJ meetups in Europe, this is an opportunity to look at one artist's work and share aesthetics informally with other visualists.

Tonight's guest is Yuba Foxfire (Foxfire F/X). Hailing from Bellingham, home to key hardware supplier Edirol (V4), Yuba Foxfire "has brought marvelous slide shows and 16mm loop arrangements up and down the west coast from Whistler to San Diego. Currently Foxfire F/X uses custom slide, 16mm film loops and the latest in video and digital photography, combining analog and digital and specializing in custom A/V installations. Past indoor installations include such venues as Max Fish, Mars Bar, NAF studios, Barca Lounge, Consolidated Works, See Sound Lounge and Chop Suey.

402 9th Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, 206.682.6552

http://www.911media.org/events/vj-night.html

7:30-10:30pm

Monday, December 11, 2006

December 7-17 Performance, Craft, Film

December 8,9,10

A Certain Facilitation of Impasse - Modern Dance @ Disjecta

Longtime movement collaborators Cydney Wilkes and Mike Barber can read each other's kinesthetic minds. In some ways, Barber is the comic and Wilkes the straight man. Tonight they collaborate with Jenn Gierada, Margretta Hansen and a dog named Hermann. This will be witty modern dance made by strong movers.

"A Certain Facilitation of Impasse uses obstacles in the form of confined space and restraint to present a human, thought provoking, and engaging performance experience. Separately and collaboratively, Barber and Wilkes have created new site specific work that explores how limits are perceived as impediments to forward movement as well as a means of ignoring repetitive patterns. Impasse hinges on both external and internal barriers – the kind that weave through the textures and dysfunction of personality and character."

Just in time for New Year's resolutions.

Friday thru Sunday. December 8, 9, and 10 at 8PM with an additional matinee on Sunday, December 10 at 2PM.

$15. Advance tickets thru Disjecta (503.286.9449) Also at the door. All ages.

Disjecta / 5 SE 3rd Avenue 97214 / www.disjecta.org



December 7-9,13-16

BodyVox V.5 Modern Dance @ BodyVox Studio

This modern dance group specializes in accessible narrative work, often humorous with high production values. Tonight they present works with company members Cristina Betts, Lane Hunter, Eric Skinner, and Anne Egan; guest artists Gus Van Sant (with the Zoo Bombers), Jonathan Wolken, Mitchell Rose, and Tere Mathern (with Tim Duroche); and BodyVox action directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland. http://www.bodyvox.com/ 1300 NW Northrup $30/24 students/15 children Thursday-Saturday December 7-9; Wednesday-Saturday Dec 13-16 7:30PM



December 10, 17

Church of Craft at the Doug Fir and the Wonder Ballroom

The Church of Craft is in session twice this month. The DIY table today features
Bre of Craft Magazine teaching you how to make shadow puppets. Then there will be a different mix of crafters showing their wares-works on the two dates. Today and December 17. Repent early and often as the first 100 people through the door get free goodie bags. That's a first for church. On the 17th The DIY table today features make a free snow globe! And there is a raffle to win prizes to support the Goose Hollow Family Shelter

http://www.dougfirlounge.com 11AM-4PM All ages Free

A similar thing is going on at the Wonder Ballroom from 12-5 December 10 and 17 http://www.handmadebazaar.org/


http://www.dougfirlounge.com 11AM-4PM All ages Free

A similar thing is going on at the Wonder Ballroom from 12-5 December 10 and 17 http://www.handmadebazaar.org/ Free too



December 11,12

Warhol Films @ Cinema Project

Artist Warhol took Duchamp's art of the ordinary into the era of mass reproduction and celebrity. The same is true of his films. Tonight the Cinema Project presents Outer and Inner Space. Two projectors, side by side, show Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick in each frame, and in each frame there is also a television monitor with Sedgwick, for a total of four images as she converses with off frame characters. The sound is poor for these essentially home movies, but made in 1965, they are Warhol's first double screen films and a fascinating view into the the Factory scene and the tragic short life of Sedgewick. The Speed Monolog remix is particularly prescient, another look may be found in Plimpton's biography and a feature film Factory Girl due at year end.

Warhol also produced over 500 screen tests, silent video portraits of Factory visitors, the three minute length of a reel of film. These screen tests presage Robert Wilson's HD video portraits. Ten of Warhol's screen tests will be shown. The film will be followed by a reel 18 of Warhol's Screen Tests featuring Nico, Susan Sontag, John Palmer, John Cale's eyes and Lou Reed.

www.cinemaproject.org New American Art Union 922 SE Ankeny
7:30 pm | $6


December 12

Take it EZ II Short Films at the Hollywood Theater

Daniel Peterson has put together a beautiful cross section of shorts by film=artists Eliza Fernand, Adam Sorenson, Michael Bunsen, James Boulton, Zefrey Throwell, Claire Evens, Raf Favria, Krystal South, Aaron Franquero, James Voges, Sam Gould, Finger Finger, Jen Krush, Johanna Jackson, Jessie Durost, Emily Isenberg, Midori Hirose, Matt McCormick, Adam Forkner, Chris Irik, Alex Felton, Jona Bechtolt, Maria Dixon, Ted, Meg Peterson, Ashby Lee Collison, Phillip Cooper, Tom Blood, Erik Mast, Corey Lunn, Zachery Reno, Robert Wodzinski, Emily Barry, Daniel Peterson, Anna Weber, Lydia Greer, Sarah Meadows, Jaclyn Campanaro, Grant Hall, Jen Olsen, Steve Schroeder, Richard Jensen, Jeffrey Kriksciun, Megan Crotty, John Afryl, John Bacone, Josh Kermiet, Brian Slaughter and maybe some more! The shorts will be shown without credits and the audience challenged to match films with makers. (just kidding)

4122 NE Sandy 7PM (shhh free!)



December 14

Everyone I Know Lives on Roads @ Reading Frenzy

Author Trevor Dodge will read from his short story fiction collection Everyone I Know Lives On Roads. Borrowing celebrity or remixing culture the press release notes:

"Everyone I Know Lives On Roads (Chiasmus Press, 2006) examines the accident scene of celebrity, fate and language, measuring the skidmarks for traces of our oedipal selves and chalking out the metaphorical places where these three paths converge. Road ragers and rubberneckers met along the way include Kathy Acker, Alan Greenspan, Jacques Derrida, Ayn Rand, Michael Alig and James Joyce, with hourly traffic reports from Dan Rather." It could be interesting if his writing is like that!

Dodge is a NW zinester.

921 SW Oak 7PM Free



December 16

Elvez Christmas Show @ DF

This is kind of hard to describe. A Mexican Elvis impersonator. OK. While this guy has a pompador and sings, a million costume changes and backup dancers, his variations on Elvis songs provide commentary and inspiration on the Mexican immigration experience in the USA. Sort of topical. El Vez, Robert Lopez, has both feet firmly planted tongue in cheek in the art and punk worlds. He curated at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in LA. And he was a founding member in 1977 of the punk band the Zeros, dubbed the "Mexican Ramones". The show will be funny and upbeat, campy and thought provoking. And like nothing you have seen before. http://www.dougfirlounge.com/ Doors 8, show 9 $15


Zoe Keating and Bright Red Paper @ Mississippi Studios

Sort of old timey new music players Bright Red Paper (vid) perform with Zoe Keating, cello loopist.
939 N Mississippi 10PM $6


Iretsu, Wooden Nickle and the Music Population Orchestra

The MPO, now with branches in Portland and Oslo performs. Experimentalists iretsu and hard to classify Wooden Nickle. Perform as well. Someday Lounge 9PM $7

Thursday, December 07, 2006

December 7,8 ANP artists

RVCA ANP artists Ashley Macomber, Rich Jacobs, and Matt Leines paint live at the Local.35 store on Hawthorne. 1-7PM Thursday and 1-4 Friday. Friday 5-9 at the Widmer brewery there is a party, reception for the artists, just in time for your later evening plans.

As Los Angeles grew more diverse and worldly, the dark inspiration for Blade Runner, middle class families with kids moved, colonizing first "the valley" to the North in the 60's and 70's. That kids' culture established it's mark on clothing, language and their parents' on porn in the 80's. The valley space filled, geography dictated the next move for families to Orange County and its environs, close to the beach in the 80's. The resulting Orange County culture has made a big imprint on music, clothing, graf, gaming, skating, surfing and extreme sports. RCVA, firmly rooted in Costa Mesa's youth culture clothing incubator, and at about $20M annual sales, has charted a brand trajectory tapping artists as authentically as Nike taps major athletes. Artists are perfect because they operate outside the world of music and its commercial machinery which can scale careers beyond the allegiance of cultural thought leaders.

It's Artists Network Program, including Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson, promotes artists and imprints their designs on shirts. To reach further, they started the ANP Quarterly, a sort of creative shoegazer lifestyle art magazine, distributed to stores in the network of their demographic.

Anyway the art is real and viewing free.

Local 35 3556 SE Hawthorne Blvd Widmer Brewery corner Interstate and Russell on the Yellow Line

Art Openings @ Portland Westside

This month Valentines shows photographers Ann Ploeger and Rachel Lang. Ploeger is known for a sly show of large format domestic portraits of families in their living spaces with serious looks at Newspace photo last year. Her Kodacolor palate provides a new nostalgia to her look at domestic life now. Olympia photographer Lang is a perfect complement. She poses with her subjects as a sibling or twin. 232 SW Ankeny Lights on 6-9PM, open late


New Photo Gallery Opens

Erik Schneider's Quality Pictures opens with photographs by Chris Verene and a group show "Pictures of Women". Quality Pictures is a transplant from Atlanta. Verene's show "self esteem" is an updated version of a popular aesthetic, subjects in everyday settings, perhaps derived from Arbus' unsympathetic gaze, and often seen at Blue Sky. Verene adds performance and participation vectors by constructing theatrical sets as an aspirational setting for his subjects' portraits. Funk electronica musician Carl Tietze performs 6-8 and Trashcan Joe from 8:30-10

Quality Pictures 916 NW Hoyt under Allied


11th Annual Cheap Art Show

Reading Frenzy presents exactly that. At 50 and under there will be work including paintings by Kjirsten Winters and Loni Gaghan; calendars by Nikki McClure, Katie Muth, Nicole Georges, Carye Bye, Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh; stationery from Proletariat Press, Meaghan Corwin, Nikki McClure, Katie Muth, and Carye Bye; prints by Ayumi Piland and Katie Muth; toys by J. Swan; wearables by Sarah Utter and artist's books, zines and mini-comics by Caroline Hwang and Ayumi Piland.

Reading Frenzy 921 SW Oak


Compound Ghosts vs Robots in Mike Burnett's Neighborhood

Ghosts vs Robots is a collaboration by Brian Flynn, Mr Jago and Heather Amundy-Dey. What great contrasting metaphors. There is also a giant show of small wood figures modded up by a large number of artists.

107 NW 5th


Organism Deer Show above Compound

Previously noted it will be open tonight up on the 4th floor - enter at Just Be Toys


Upper Playground The New Scenery

Upper Playground's Portland outpost presents "The New Scenery" - Portland artists Legal Bees, Joseph Cross, Olivia Edith, Justin Goreman & Caleb Freese, Klutch, Ashley Montague, Dan Ness, Oddball Studios, Jessie Reno, Lyla Emery Reno, Brad Simon and Sorey Smith. Ohmega Watts spins. 23 NW 5th until about 9 http://www.fifty24pdx.com/ 23 NW 5th


Geometric Oils - G Lewis Clevenger

This work makes effective use of palette and composition breathing life into a mid century modern style. At Pulliam Deffenbaugh 929 NW Flanders until 8:30


The Everett Station Lofts, bounded by NW Broadway, 6th, Everett and Flanders are an always recommended grab bag.

Friday, December 01, 2006

December Opens, Rainbow After Rain 1,2,3,4,6

December 1

Gallery Openings on Portland's Eastside

Portland children's book illustrators Stephanie Bauer, Susan Boase, Annie Cannon, Carolyn Digby Conahan, Scarlene Delage, David Delamare, David Horn, Susan Jerde, Robin Koontz, Abigail Marble, Nicole Rubel, Andrea Uren and Elsa Warnick show the original artwork for their books at a show at the Murdoch Collections Gallery. The opening is today 5-9. Each Saturday in December they have afternoon readings at 1 with milk and cookies. Not sure about naps.
4114 N Vancouver Avenue 503-284-1960 Opens 5-9 Free


The Mark Woolley Gallery is decamping from the Pearl District after 13 years and plenty of gallery shows and infamous events. All art operations will be focused at his gallery underneath the Wonder Ballroom on NE Russell.

Tonight a photo show of artist portraits opens. Marne Lucas has posed artists Tom Cramer, Paul Green, M.K. Guth, Storm Tharp, Chandra Bocci, Arnold & Jacob Pander, Jeff Jahn, Harvest Henderson, Bruce Conkle, Jayme Hanson, Henk Pander, Brenda Mallory, Molly Vidor, David Inkpen, Trish Grantham and LucasTom Cramer, Paul Green, M.K. Guth, Storm Tharp, Chandra Bocci, Arnold & Jacob Pander, Jeff Jahn, Harvest Henderson, Bruce Conkle, Jayme Hanson, Henk Pander, Brenda Mallory, Molly Vidor, David Inkpen, Trish Grantham and herself in tableau somehow going to the core of each artist's persona.

For example "In ‘Portrait of M.K Guth’, who is originally from Wisconsin, she is depicted ice fishing, a childhood memory- but at an ice hockey rink. Paul Green himself is cast as a proud, yet fragile figure from his own oil paintings and in ‘Bruce Conkle, Redwood Forest’ the artist becomes one of his own melting snowmen installations.” Jahn is depicted playing guitar at Stonehenge.

www.marnelucas.com


In the same show. “Only For Seeing” are new drawings and watercolors by Arnold Pander who alternates creative projects between Portland and LA.
www.pandermedia.com

Opening Reception: Friday December 1st, 6 - 9:30 pm
Artist talk: Saturday December 2nd at 2 pm (Lucas, Pander & Burns)
Closing Party: Friday December 29th, 7-11 pm
128 N.E. Russell (near MLK Blvd.) at the Wonder Ballroom
Hours: 11-6 Tuesday - Saturday (503 284-3636


Renaissance woman Alicia Rose shows portraits of Oregon ballet dancers lensed with rock attitude. Maybe that's because that's what she does. This woman's super powers include mad accordion playing, running an independent music distribution company, writing, radio, music supervision for a small ad agency, booking a nightclub and photography. More rockin' info at http://www.missmurgatroid.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciajrose The Press Club 2621 SE Clinton 8-midnight free


Newspace Photo opens their volunteer show. http://www.newspacephoto.org/ 1632 SE 10th


Small A and New American Art Union continue their shows and may not be open late this evening.


Cartune Xprez music and animation at the Portland Art Center

Yacht, Universe, Hooliganship and Slow Dance Recyttal play live to animations by artists Michael Bell-Smith, Phillipe Blanchard, Martha Colburn, Gretchen Hogue, Cassandra C Jones, Amy Lockhart, Luke Meeken, Andrew Negrey, Takeshi Murata, Paper Rad, Drew Pavelchak, Francine Spiegel and Jim Trainor. A myriad of details may be found at the event website http://www.cartunexprez.com/
http://www.portlandart.org 32 NW 5th 8PM $5



December 2

Artists' Talk at Woolley

Artists Lucas and Pander talk an artist talk at the Woolley gallery show noted above. 128 N.E. Russell 2PM


Art Auction at Disjecta

Disjecta holds their annual art auction. In past years, many bargains were had while at the same time record prices were set for artists such as Paige Saez and Chandra Bocci.

This year the auction includes artists Katherine Ace, Brad Adkins, Jason Adkins, Holly Andres, Paul Arensmeyer, Donna Avedisian, damali ayo, Steven Beatty, Joe Biel, Chandra Bocci, Mark Brandau & Andrew Ellmaker, John Brodie, David Corbett, Critical Art Ensemble, Richard C. Elliott, Karen Esler, Harrell Fletcher, Gene Flores, Bean Gilsdorf, Dan Gilsdorf, Gold Blizzard, Marianne Goldin, Jamie Goodridge, Jef Gunn, Cecilia Hallinan, Sean Healy, Mary Henry, Michael T. Hensley, Whitney Hubbs, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Scott Wayne Indiana, Philip Iosca, James Jack, Chris Johanson & Jo Jackson, Jo Ann Kemmis, Klutch, Jim Lommason, Joe Macca, Tamar Monhait, Chelsea Mosher, Arnold Pander, Pasha, Tom Prochaska, Christine Catsifas & Kyle Riedel, Patrick Rock, Rita Robillard, Ben Rosenberg, Paige Saez, Marty Schnapf, Margaret Shirley, Kimber Shiroma, Corey Smith, Mark R. Smith, Kara Sparkman, Kathleen Stephenson, Nishiki Tayui, Edie Tsong, Zefrey Throwell, Joe Thurston, John Sebastian Vitale, Elise Wagner, Amanda Wojick and the YesMen. Disjecta needs the money to complete its renovations, if they don't get it, the building goes back to the developer and Disjecta is homeless. So this is important to the art community and that's why so many artists are participating. Even if you don't have a lot of cash, just seeing this cross section of art in Portland in one place is a great value.

http://www.disjecta.org/ 5 SE 3rd under the Burnside Bridge 7-11PM $10


Weird Weeds, The MPO and Mise en Abyme at Holocene

Individualistic trio Weird Weeds, the incomparable Music Population Orchestra and Marriage Records darlings Mise en Abyme perform. 9PM $6



December 3

Darling Film at Valentines

Valentines film series shifts from France across the channel to London in the 60's with Julie Christie staring in Darling, for which she won the best actress academy award. Discovered in a street interview, Christie rises Courtney Love-style through London's heartless and snobby social ranks from hipsters to princes, ultimately learning money can't buy you love, which of course is what Holly Golightly discovered.
232 SW Ankeny 4:30 pm special early time this week $5



December 4


Lecture Series at PSU

Oregon Painter James Lavadour speaks. Lavadour is Umatilla. A self taught artist, his subject is abstract landscape. His work has a gestural feel, like sumi ink drawing, in thin pigments touching our Western landscapes' color; it is his intent to capture something of the landscape in the canvas that can hold the viewer's inspiration, if only for a moment.
His Gallery Website PSU 5th Avenue Cinema, Room 92, 510 SW Hall 8:15PM Free



December 6


Organism Deer Show above Backspace

Art Organism opens a deer show by San Francisco contemporary artist Jarrett Mitchell. The show is "The Dawn of The Birth Of The Battle of Right To Life vs. The Law Of Death". Departing from Brooklyn's romance of deer kawaii, Mitchell, who grew up in forested Kentucky, instead meditates on deer and death. In the film Deer Hunter, the protagonist, played by DeNiro has a moment like that, but the deer lives, establishing a motif which repeats, not always to a happy ending. Mitchell's show was well received in the UK, which also presents its own deer motif in the film The Queen. Mitchell's show of paintings and video deals with all manner of deer interactions including those in which the human protagonist faces death at the instrument of deer.
An early edit of the show's video component may be found here

107 NW 5th Ave (4th floor), Portland, Oregon Above Backspace/Compound

Opening Dec 6 6:00-9:00PM (artist in attendance)
First Thursday Dec 7 6:00-9:00PM (artist in attendance)

Dec 6 - Jan 28 2007
12:00 - 6:00 Wednesday - Sunday
Closed Dec 24, & Jan 1