Thursday, September 25, 2014

September 27 A Lot of Lots

A few years back, Disjecta went to a rotating curator system. For a year or two the curator, often from out of town, discovers Portland artists, gives them an export channel and imports national and international artists.

This is the first show by curator Rachel Adams.

The show is Intimate Horizons: Claire Ashley and Bahar Yurukoglu. Ashley makes inflatable sculptures. Yurukoglu projects landscape she has videoed onto environments built in the gallery. They also prepare a work together for Disjecta.

At Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.disjecta.org 8371 N. Interstate Map 6PM-10 Free



There is an ambitious group show at Surplus Space opening tonight themed on the body, horror and industrial design by Tim Stigliano, Lauren Seiffert and Maggie Heath.

Video work by Omer Gal. As Surplus Space is a house, guest curator Kayleigh Nelson has programmed the kitchen, hallways and bathroom with Annalise Reinhardt, Hannah Andrews and Melina Bishop.

Maggie Heath performs her work at 6:30PM. At Surplus Space www.SurplusSpace.info 3726 NE 7th 6PM-9 Free

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

September 27 - April 26 Occupy Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei does not have a passport today. But he is mounting a large set of works on Alcatraz. It is really a poignant statement.

The works are With Wind, Trace, Refraction, Stay Tuned, Illumination, Blossom and Yours Truly.

With Wind is a large dragon kite and a collection of smaller kites painted by Chinese kite makers. It is a dying tradition. The kites are not flying free. They are indoors, captured in the New Industries Building. It was the site of prison labor for over 20 years.

Trace is a collection of portraits of 176 imprisoned or exiled people. They are prisoners of conscience. The portraits cover the floor of another part of the New Industries Building. They are entirely executed in LEGO® bricks. What is the relationship between the individual and bricks of their experience, between the bricks representing individuals and society?

Refraction is a flying wing constructed of Tibetan solar cookers. Viewers observe it from the gun gallery halls of the New Industries Building. There, armed guards looked down upon the prisoners working.

Stay Tuned are a series of recordings, spoken words, poems and music by people who have been detained for their beliefs. Some of the recordings were made in their prisons. The work is installed in 12 cells. The audience is invited to sit in the cells and listen.

Illumination, in the Hospital, has two sound recordings. One is from the Hopi Eagle Dance. In Hopi belief, the eagle connected the Hopi and the Creator. The second recording is of Tibetan Buddhist chants. The recordings are set in two tiled cells reserved for those deemed mentally ill.

Blossom, in the Hospital, encrusts the toilets, sinks and tubs used by prisoners with a dense installation of white porcelain flowers.

Yours Truly, in the dining hall is the final intervention. Here participants may write personal post cards to some of the prisoners in the Trace installation. The cards are illustrated with the plant life and birds of their homes each.

There is a nice article about the event at www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/arts/design/ai-weiwei-takes-his-work-to-a-prison.html. There will be more. The organizers are For-site Foundation /@Large, working in San Francisco.

It open today and runs through April 26.

Ai Weiwei @aiww showing @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz on Alcatraz Island. The ferry is $18.25-$30, but admission is Free

September 26 Art Music Video Motorcycles

The Projects #3 festival, organized by the IPRC, occupies S1 tonight with Undervolt & Co. Undervolt artists Johnny Woods, e*Rock and Peter Burr each have a program.

Johnny Woods presents a live video set and video works from Adam Ferriss, Suzy Poling, Cristopher Cichocki, Sabrina Ratté, A. Bill Miller, Giselle Zatonyl, Yoshi Sodeoka, Emilio Gomariz, and Jennifer Juniper Stratford.

E*Rock drops a dj set with visuals by Dane Overton.

Peter Burr has Green|Red, a 4chan video installation with the viewers inside a cube.

At S1, formerly Multiplex, www.s1portland.com 4148 NE Hancock Map All Ages 8PM-late $5



To celebrate the close of the amazing Lonnie Holley installation, the Portland Museum of Modern Art has Neal Morgan and Lisa Schonberg drumming on a cymbal structure forged by blacksmith Angie Terry. Plus experimental music on Casio, trumpet and drop in instruments by Grand Style Orchestra.

At the Portland Museum of Modern Art inside Mississippi Records www.portlandmuseumofmodernart.com 5202 N Albina Map 8PM-10 Free



The dirt jumping, back road and back country touring crowd, centered around See See Motorcycles has a photo show about their adventures at Union|Pine as well. 7PM Free



The Portland Art Museum is open for Free 5PM-8.

September 24 Altar of Film

Diode Gallery is Portland's gallery dedicated to electronic art. Right across from Ground Kontrol.

The Church of Robotron is their current installation with interactive altars. The gallery is usually open by appointment and for events. Some work of the work is visible 24x7 through the windows.

The Church of Robotron presents its rituals tonight and first Thursday at 7PM. The Diode and Robotron website copy is worth a read.

The altars are based on pairs of game controllers versus the machines. The Church of Robotron www.churchofrobotron.com at Diode Gallery for Electronic Art www.diodegallery.com 514 NW Couch. Ritual at 7PM Free



The Cinema Project is a well curated presenter of experimental film on celluloid. Many of the works have never been telecined to video, an expensive process.

To raise funds for their season, they are showing loops by Mia Ferm and found footage by Stephen Slappe with live accompaniment by Matt Carlson of Golden Retriever.

The evening finishes with DJ DNA of xray.fm playing obscure 80's finds. Presented by the Cinema Project www.cinemaproject.org at Holocene www.holocene.org 1001 SE Morrison 8:30PM $8

Friday, September 19, 2014

September 19 Ambient Noise

Xhurch is a live-perform space and a manifesto to document the reuse of places of worship, the ex-churches.

The Xhurch invites you into their home tonight for an early quietish musical experience.

Matt Jenkens from Dogheart performs solo. Then Catlin King-CKfirefighter, half of Planets Around the Sun performs her new unit Numbskull. Calvin Johnson and The Hive Dwellers finish.

Many may head over after to the MSHR live performance. MSHR has performed installations at Xhurch. At Xhurch 4550 NE 20th. 6:30PM-9:30 $5 donation



MSHR is Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy. They have made four installations, each about ten feet square, in an about forty foot square very dark room. Each pod is a geometric arrangement of Brenna Murphy's extruded patterns. Birch Cooper's analog synths, in primarily noise timbre, run in optical feedback-driven patterns. Some lighting free runs too, including white LED chasers, circling each pod.

Tonight they perform the piece in an interaction between their bodies and the sensors.

At 2010 SE 8th, 10PM $10

Saturday, September 13, 2014

September 14 Enough Enuf

This one wins the copywriting award for the month: "Posters for nothing. Begetting and beheading. Breakout hits, not enough. Genuine excellence in cratering. Fake drips, late to the game. Everybody loves distribution. Brancusi playing golf. Maybe later for the win. Lost and found flavors. I want the information. Hooray no one’s here. Let’s rebrand them as terrorists. Production life. There’s always coffee. Everything takes forever. You/me a small part of forever, and everything."

It's an art show, Is it Contemporary Enuf: New Works on Paper, by John Brodie. Brody is a cultural force in Portland. One of his vectors is collage done well.

Recommended, and we hope he worked in larger format to take advantage of the wall height there.

At Stumptown www.stumptowncoffee.com 128 SW 3rd Reception 4PM-6 Free

September 13 Singing Mobile Sculpture

The Hawthorne Eagles is a meetup today of art projects in mobile trailers. Art cars too. 4904 SE Hawthorne 11AM-? Free



St Johns has a sculpture park. Who would have known? Now you do and can see it at Green Anchors Studios 8972 North Bradford. Noon-6 Free



Qawwali is the musical expression of devotional ecstasy in Sufism. The performers call themselves a party. I have been fortunate to see the great Qawwāl Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. There are some great remixes of his work available.

Fanna-Fi Allah is a party of Western Qawwali performers. They tour Pakistan and are making a documentary of their performances and meetings with musicians there. They are unusual in having a woman performing. And I have been fortunate to see Fanna-Fi Allah in a back yard concert.

The Fanna-Fi Allah Qawwali Party performs this evening. Presented by Kalakendra www.kalakendra.org at the First Baptist Church, 909 SW 11th. 7:30PM $20 advance, $25 door

Friday, September 05, 2014

September 9 So Many Microphones!

Have you ever thought where microphones come from? Well some come from Portland, Oregon, USA, where they are made in the workshop of Philip Graham at Ear Trumpet Labs. It makes sense, one of the great DIY efforts, Tape-Op started in Portland. Tape Op has instructed, documented and sponsored many microphone DIY efforts. So many microphones! Come hear Graham explain the in(side)s and out(sides)s of small scale manufacturing of microphones for musicians. A presentation of the Curiosity Club, you can tune into the free live webcast off the Core77 site or visit the talk and demonstration in person at Hand Eye Supply www.handeyesupply.com/pages/curiosity-club 23 NW 4th 6PM Free

September 8 DIY Science

Portland loves lectures. The Summer of Science is an example of crowd sourced talks on many, many topics in science and surrounds. It takes place in a backyard. It's Portland!

Thursday, September 04, 2014

September 6 Publication Piano

Publication Studio is 5. So they are having a party! At Publication Studio www.publicationstudio.biz 717 SW Ankeny Map 8PM-late Free



We generally don't cover music here, there are others who do it better! We also have an interest in acoustic instruments of many varieties. One of the most expressive is the piano. Tonight Portland native in New York, Kathleen Supové plays. She is known for her performance of modern works. She performs tonight as a guest of Fear No Music www.fearnomusic.org in the Brunish Theatre, Portland’5 Centers for the Arts 1111 SW Broadway 8PM $15-30

September 5 Eastside Openings+

Jason Hirata from Seattle opens Coral Brush Node: Part I. At Portland's only member of the New Art Dealers Alliance www.newartdealers.org, Fourteen30 Gallery www.fourteen30.com 1501 SW Market Street Map 6PM-8 Free



Primary Motions is an exhibition by Myranda Gillies. The show includes weavings of sunset images gleaned from the Internet, and brass castings of lava rock. At Nationale www.nationale.us 811 E Burnside Map 6PM-8



Ellen Lesperance opens You & I Are Earth, paintings of sweaters seen on women at activist events. At Adams and Ollman Gallery www.adamsandollman.com 811 E Burnside #213 6PM-9 Free


Michelle Erickson has botanical watercolors, how perfect for Summer's swan song. At Haunt www.hauntstudio.blogspot.com 811 E Burnside Suite #113 6PM-9 Free


Black and White is a group photography show spanning landscape, portraits and interiors. At Black Box Gallery www.blackboxgallery.com 811 E Burnside, Suite 212 upstairs 5PM-8 Free


Mary Tapogna continues mosaics at Redux. For many years, her studio and gallery was at 30th and Killingsworth. Until the neighborhood fancified. At Redux www.reduxpdx.com 811 E Burnside 6PM-10 Free

All at 811 East Burnside Map



Ready to Die is a large group show themed on a piece by Biggie Smalls at 20 years. At One Grand Gallery www.onegrandgallery.com 1000 E Burnside 6PM-10 Free



Will Bruno opens Comics With Still Life: Finding The Inevitable Place, work inspired by a residency on the Oregon Coast. At Gallery Homeland www.galleryhomeland.org in the Ford Building www.fordbuildingpdx.com 2505 SE 11th x Division. Enter through the cafe on the corner if the main doors on 11th are locked. 6PM-9 Free



Jeremy Rotsztain's Digital Gestures continues at Pushdot. It's electronic illustration, some based on photographic images. At Pushdot Studio www.pushdotstudio.com 2505 SE 11th Avenue Suite 104 6PM-9 Free

September 4 Westside Art Openings+

Jenene Nagy has some stunning minimalist drawings and some concrete and metal leaf sculptures. Recommended. At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 925 NW Flanders Map early close 8PM



Upfor has four videos by Ryan Trecartin from the Venice Biennale: Center Jenny, Item Falls, Junior War and Comma Boat. It is their first anniversary, they wanted to do something notable and they have! At UpFor Gallery www.upforgallery.com 929 NW Flanders 6PM-9 Free


The Caldera offices have work from Baba Wague Diakite, James Florschutz, Eugenie Frerichs, Carolyn Hopkins, Jim Leisy, Patty Freeman Martin and Ben Rosenberg. Each artist worked in residence at Caldera in Sisters, Oregon. At Caldera Arts www.caldera.org 224 NW 13th 5PM-8 Free



Welcome Strangers, Paintings and Drawings of the Neighborhood is a show by Mateu Velasco. At Hellion Gallery www.helliongallery.com through the lobby of the arched brick entry, up the stairs and to the back. Very upper floor Japan-style. 19 NW 5th Suite 208. Map 7PM-10 Free



Lindsay Kretchun, coprincipal at the gallery shows her watercolors. At Duplex Collective www.duplexcollective.com 219 NW Couch 6PM-9



Michael Brophy is a painter of Northwest landscapes. Worth seeing. Also showing Rene Rickabaugh. At Laura Russo Gallery www.laurarusso.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-8



PNCA has Borderlander's Outfitter by Abigail Anne Newbold. It's survivalism lensed through art. At PNCA www.pnca.edu 1241 NW Johnson Map 6PM-10 Free



Everett Lofts are recommended as always. It's easier for you to see them all than for me to write suggestions. Some close as early as 9PM. At the Everett Lofts 625 NW Everett. Bounded by NW Everett, Broadway, Flanders and 6th Map closing ranges from 9PM-10:30ish



A new Taiko is launching in Portland: Unit Souzou. They are playing an event with Korekara Taiko this evening. Unit Souzou www.unitsouzou.com at Zoomtopia, Studio 2 810 SE Belmont 7:30PM By donation



Anjali and the Incredible Kid are playing at the Saucebox 9:30PM to late, Free