Things to do in Portland this weekend: (03/31/12 – 04/01/12) “Pancakes and Booze Art Show & Tell Mama: a Tribute to Etta James”

PANCAKES AND BOOZE ART SHOW

“The nationally touring art show born in Los Angeles, combining over 75 of Portland’s underground and emerging artists with alcohol, and a free, all-you-can-eat pancake bar.” From the Portland Mercury (here)

Where:  Urban Studio |206 NW 10th

When:  Friday, March 30, 8pm | $5

Website:   http://pancakesandbooze.com/
TELL MAMA: A TRIBUTE TO ETTA JAMES

“Get your Etta on with a tribute show for the fabulous Etta James at the Alberta Rose. The blues queen’s classic melodies will be covered by Duffy Bishop, Lisa Mann, and other notable Portland vocalists, backed by the DK Stewart Sextet. The show benefits Candye Kane and also features a silent auction.” By CLARE GORDON from the Portland Mercury (here)

Where: AlbertaRoseTheatre| 3000NE Alberta

When: 6 pm, Sunday April 1st | $20-50

Phone: 719-6055

Website: www.albertarosetheatre.com

Georg Dobler quote: “I can go forward or I can go back…”

“Aging also gives him [Georg Dobler] license to depart from the usual trajectory of the avant-garde, which presupposes that the new is always an improvement on the old. “I can go forward or I can go back. I go left and right, ” Dobler says. “I make quotations from my own work of years past, and I incorporate new influences from today. I do not have a plan; aesthetic is the aim.” (41)
Harris, Patricia, and David Lyon. “Georg Dobler: the natural.” Metalsmith, Vol. 32, No.1, 2012, pgs 34 – 41.

50. “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino

It’s Spring Break at OCAC, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything going on! This week is the last chance to visit the Hoffman Gallery and check out its current show, “Invisible Cities and Hidden Landscapes.” Don’t miss it!

“A Traveling Exhibition of Books and Book-Related Artworks

March 1-April 1, 2012

Opening reception Thursday, March 1 from 4:00-7:00PM

Devised as an opportunity to promote dialogue between teaching institutions in Britain and The United States, this exhibition investigates the medium of artists’ books. Participants were invited to submit a book of their choice or make one in response to Italo Calvino’s poetic novel “Invisible Cities”. Lecturers, alumni and students contributed to this eclectic collection featuring work from more than sixty artists.

Invisible Cities and Hidden Landscapes embraces diversity, including 3D books, altered found objects and textiles. Opening first at Coleg Sir Gar in Carmarthen in the United Kingdom in September 2011, the exhibition traveled to University of West of England, Bristol before opening here at Oregon College of Art and Craft. The exhibition concludes at Kansas State University.

This not-to-be-missed exhibition features the work of current OCAC students Melanie Brauner, Ruth Bryant, Ava Goldberg, Ruby Kapka, Michelle Latham, Erin Mickelson, Elizabeth Rank, Gwen Stronach; and almuni Rachel Fish and Sue Selby.” From (here)
In honor of this amazing exhibition, the library has selected Italo Calvino’s novel “Invisible Cities” as this week’s library pick. For such a short work, it is packed with incredible imagery. Gore Vidal has been quoted as saying: “Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvelous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant” (from The New York Review of Books). We agree with Gore Vidal. It is a book that can’t be paraphrased well, and, you’ll need to experience on your own to understand.

For those readers, who would prefer some kind of description, here’s the publisher’s description:

“Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his.” So begins Italo Calvino’s compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about Armilla, which “has nothing that makes it seem a city, except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be,” the spider-web city of Octavia, and other marvelous burgs, it may be that he is creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms a city might take” from the Publisher.

Check it out! And don’t miss your last chance to check out the amazing book arts exhibition in the Hoffman Gallery this week!

Things to do in Portland this weekend: (03/24/12 – 03/25/12) “The Malt Ball & StationToStation: Duover”

THE MALT BALL

“At last! The very first Malt Ball brings together two of the best things about Portland: BANDS and BEER. Local breweries offer exclusive beers while a dozen of Portland’s very best bands provide the entertainment. Fill your head with great music and beer—AT THE SAME TIME!

Presented by the Portland Mercury & Oregon Brewers Guild.

Collaboration beers provided by: Alameda Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing, Breakside Brewery, Burnside Brewing, Coalition Brewing, Columbia River Brewing, the Commons Brewing, Fort George Brewing, Full Sail Brewing, Gilgamesh Brewing, Hopworks Urban Brewing, Laurelwood Brewing, Lompoc Brewing, McMenamins, Migration Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing, and Portland U-Brew & Pub.

Admission includes commemorative glass and four tasting tickets.” From the Portland Mercury (here)

Where:  Bossanova Ballroom |722 E Burnside St.

When:  Saturday, March 24, 2pm – midnight | $20-25

Phone:  206-7630

Website:   www.bossanovaballroom.com/
STATIONTOSTATION: DUOVER

“Portland acoustic duo Duover (get it?) are likeable on many levels. Rebecca Rasmussen and Nathan Junior serve up lovely country folk that adheres to the rustic stylings of Arnold Schultz and Bill Monroe. They’d probably even serve you breakfast in bed if given the chance. That sweetness carries over into unassuming songs that are quirky and occasionally wander off to a dark place. Nathan Junior—who also does time with Fruit Bats and M. Ward—picks and strums with precision. But it’s all held together by those voices, which have the power to melt hearts and then put them back together again (try “Raining Love” on for size). Tonight’s performance will be recorded and broadcast for engineer Sean Flora’s StationToStation.” By MARK LORE from Portland Mercury (here)

Where: The Secret Society | 116 NE Russell

When: 7 pm, Sunday March 25 | $10.

Phone: 493-3600

Website: www.secretsociety.net

Ayumi Horie quote: “When I got out of grad school I was at a crossroads …”

 

CM: One of the other things you have become known for beyond, but related to, your work is your effectiveness at marketing your work through digital media. How did you become an early adopter of technology in our field, and how have you seen that change over time?

AH: When I got out of grad school I was at a crossroads. On one hand, I could teach in academia, and on the other, I could make work. I chose to primarily make work. To my good fortune, the internet was growing quickly and I was interested in it on an artistic level and as
a marketing tool. Artistically, it felt very much like ceramics, where niggling and loss of control existed in the same process. I was also interested right from the beginning in reaching out to people directly. I’ve always been very shy, and being online was a way in which I could have a balance of solitude and engagement as far as customers were concerned. The reclusive studio artist now has a portal to the outside world!

What’s emerged over the past few years with social media and blogging is an incredible transparency to our lives, however much spin we put on things. It’s been amazing to see the growth of museum collections online and artist databases so that minutia can be accessed instantly. The conversations I had just a few years ago that encourage more blogging in ceramics and called for more educational videos are largely irrelevant now. The number of quality voices out there vying for our ears and wallets ups the ante and puts even more demands on makers to wear multiple hats, all the while leading an ostensibly non-chaotic studio life.

The other day I watched a charming video about my woodworker friend, Josh Vogel, with wood chips flying and his sandy voice talking about finding old nails in tree trunks. It was a powerful reminder that no matter how seductive and fun it is for me to do marketing material, whether it’s postcards or video, my work in clay comes first and that neglecting it for too long isn’t in my best interest. There’s still nothing better to me than a good functional pot. I don’t know if being an attentive Facebooker and a focused ceramic artist are mutually exclusive, but I’m entertaining the idea.” (10).

Hall, Sherman. “Ceramic Artist of the Year: Ayumi Horie.” Ceramic Arts. 2012. P 8 – 11.

49. “Abstracting craft : the practiced digital hand” by Malcolm McCulloughby

Metals studio manager, Jennifer Wall will be giving a lecture entitled Craft in the Digital Age in the Centrum Studio at the OCAC campus today (Monday, March 19th) at 12:45 pm.

The talk will discuss her work as well as historic and contemporary precedents for using technology in the craft realm (and vice versa).

More information about Jennifer Wall and her work can be found here:

http://jenniferwall.com/

Inspired by Wall’s lecture topic, the library has selected the following title for this week’s library pick: Abstracting craft : the practiced digital hand by Malcolm McCulloughby.

The publisher provides a rather thorough summary of this work:

“The love of making things need not be confined to the physical world – electronic form giving can also be a rewarding hands-on experience. In this investigation of the possibility of craft in the digital realm, Malcolm McCullough observes that the emergence of computation as a medium, rather than just a set of tools, suggests a growing correspondence between digital work and traditional craft. Chapter by chapter, McCullough builds a case for upholding humane traits and values during the formative stages of new practices in digital media. He covers the nature of hand-eye coordination, the working context of the image culture, aspects of tool usage and medium appreciation, uses and limitations of symbolic methods, issues in human-computer interaction, geometric constructions and abstract methods in design, the necessity of improvisation, and the personal worth of work. For those new to computing, McCullough offers an inside view of what the technology is like, what the important technical issues are, and how creative computing fits within a larger intellectual history.” –from the publisher.

This is a most intriguing book and one that is somewhat difficult to keep on our shelves. While some of what the author discusses occasionally feels a little dated, most of the discussion has held up well over the last 15 years.

It will be interesting to see how Jennifer Wall’s lecture might pick up where this book has left off. Come check out her lecture, and, if you can find a copy, check out this book too!

 

Things to do in Portland this weekend: (03/17/12 – 03/18/12) “KMRIA, Sassparilla for St. Paddy’s day & Vetiver and Gold Leaves”

KMRIA, SASSPARILLA

“It wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day in Portland without the welcome return of KMRIA (that’s Kiss My Royal Irish Arse to you, boyo). Including members of the Decemberists, Eels, the Minus 5, and many more among its ranks, this all-star Pogues cover band reconstitutes (after taking last St. Pat’s off) for this highest of holy days. As ever, KMRIA shall play the patented Celtic punk of the Pogues, with singers Casey Neill, Ezra Holbrook, and Scott McCaughey taking turns tackling the gutter-drunk gnarr of Shane McGowan—hopefully without too much method acting. It’s a night for black beer (not that green stuff) and a casual stroll toward oblivion. Just be sure to find your way back.” By NED LANNAMANN from Portland Mercury (here)

Where:  Wonder Ballroom | 128 NE Russell

When:  Saturday, March 17, 9pm | $13

Phone:  284-8686

Website:   wonderballroom.com

VETIVER AND GOLD LEAVES

“Gold Leaves makes more of that mellow, golden-glowed folk rock that pervades Seattlelike Starbucks franchises. One can grow blasé about this sound (I sure have), but this Gold Leaves fella, Grant Olsen (ex-Arthur & Yu), writes songs in this mode with slightly more craftiness and subtlety than most in the crowded field; “Endless Dope” is especially lovely. The Ornaments, his 2011 full-length on Hardly Art, strikes a resonant chord of nonchalant down-heartedness à la the immortal Lee Hazlewood. In a similar vein, San Francisco Sub Pop fixtures Vetiver amble and drawl like they have more time to do exactly what they want than you do. Andy Cabic and his crew really know folk-rock history, and they emulate the music’s greats with exquisite aptitude and care.” by DAVE SEGAL from Portland Mercury (here)

Where: Doug Fir |830 E. Burnside St.

When: 9 pm, Sunday March 18 | $13-$14.

Phone: 231-9663

Website: www.dougfirlounge.com

Allan Wexler quote: “When we cross a threshold …”

“When we cross a threshold, we change a space and it changes us” (54)

Beckenstein, Joyce. “Allan Wexler : the Man who would be Architecture.” Sculpture. 31.1 January/February 2012. Pgs 52 -57.

Allan Wexler Lecture TOMORROW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 14 @ 6:30pm

MFA in Applied Craft and Design Studios @ The Bison Building

421 NE 10^th Avenue and Glisan Street

“Allan Wexler has worked in the fields of architecture, design and fine art for twenty-five years. He is represented by the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York Cityand currently teaches at Parsons the New School for Design. Allan’s works explore human activity and the built environment. He works as an investigator using series, permutations and chance rather than searching for definitive solutions. He makes buildings, furniture, vessels and utensils as backdrops and props for everyday, ordinary human activity. The works isolate, elevate and monumentalize our daily rituals: dining, sleep and bathing. And they, in turn, become mechanisms that activate ritual, ceremony and movement, turning these ordinary activities into theater. www.allanwexlerstudio.com” (from here)

Image: Allan Wexler

The MFA in Applied Craft and Design is a joint degree program offered by Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art.

 

48. “Thinking about Exhibitions” edited by Reesa Greenberg, Bruce W. Ferguson, and Sandy Nairne.

Kristan Kennedy will be giving an interesting talk today at 12:45 in the Centrum studio. She is “an artist and curator who is currently the Visual Art Curator for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. Kennedy’s curatorial initiatives focus on the creation of new work by working with emerging artists on large scale installations and helping foster their projects from concept to completion. Kennedy curates video, installation, music and new media projects presented at PICA’s annual Time-Based Art Festival” (from here).  OCAC is honored to have Kennedy come talk with our community on campus, and we encourage everyone to attend. It will definitely be an insightful talk and interesting discussion!

Check out Amy Bernstein’s interview with Kristan Kennedy “about her insights into the city of Portland, its art scene, and the evolution and orchestration of the most exciting art event of the year, TBA” here: http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2011/09/interview_with_14.html

Thinking about curatorial work, especially with respect to contemporary exhibitions, we’ve selected for this week’s library pick: Thinking about Exhibitions edited by Reesa Greenberg, Bruce W. Ferguson, and Sandy Nairne.

As the publisher notes, this exciting work is an “anthology of writings on exhibition practice from artists, critics, curators and art historians plus artist-curators. It addresses the contradictions posed by museum and gallery sited exhibitions, as well as investigating the challenge of staging art presentations, displays or performances, in settings outside of traditional museum or gallery locales” (from here).

Essays of particular relevance on this topic include:

• “Brokering Identities: art curators and the politics of cultural representation” by Mari Carmen Ramirez
• “Large Exhibitions: a sketch of a typology” by Jean-Marc Poinsot
• “The Exhibitionary Complex” by Tony Bennett
• “Exhibition Rhetorics: material speech and utter sense” by Bruce W. Ferguson
• “Creating Spaces” by Gerald McMaster
• “The Great Curatorial Dim-Out” by Lawrence Alloway
• “From Museum Curator to Exhibition Auteur: inventing a singular position” by Nathalie Heinich and Michael Pollak
• “Constructing the Spectacle of Culture in Museums” by Ivan Karp and Fred Wilson
• “The Show You Love to Hate: a psychology of the mega-exhibition” by John Miller
• “Dissenting Spaces” by Judith Barry
• “Postmodernism’s Museum without Walls” by Rosalind E. Krauss
• “The Exhibited Redistributed: a case for reassessing space” by Reesa Greenberg
• “A Visual Machine: art installation and its modern archetypes” by Germano Celant
• “The Institutionalization of Dissent” by Sandy Nairne
• “What’s Important About the History of Modern Art Exhibitions?” by Martha Ward.

This is a huge topic and a crucial one for emerging artists to think about, if they’re considering exhibiting their work! Check it out!

See you at the talk!