Cover Artist

Congratulations to local artist Christine Bourdette, whose work appears on the cover of Sculpture Magazine in December! The issue will soon be available in refined magazine-selling establishments everywhere.


If you are not familiar with her work, but as you might glean from this cover, Bourdette is known for using interesting materials from wood, leather and rubber to potatoes, feathers and corn. Her work has been called everything from "playful" to "unsettling," two of my favorite descriptions in the arts, so naturally I am very fond of her work. She's also a great community collaborator, having developed projects with choreographers Mary Oslund, Minh Tran and Kristy Edmunds, and filmmakers Jim Blashfield and Joanna Priestley over the last several years.

Congratulations, Christine! For more information on the artist, visit the Elizabeth Leach Gallery website.

Sayonara!

As The Oregonian reported today, Portland Mayor Sam Adams is heading to Japan for six days. The reasons for this diplomatic visit are many, but the paper has distilled the mayor's mission down to two key points: bring Mitsubishi's zero-emission cars to Portland, and bring Pink Martini to Japan.

Like its competitor the Nissan Leaf, which will be sold in five U.S. markets including Oregon next fall, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is powered solely by electricity, and can be recharged from a regular home socket. The four-seater vehicle can run up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) after charging seven hours at 200 volts. While any electric car is good news in my opinion, the part that I still don't understand is how the i-MiEV, at reported retail of $47,000, can compete with the Leaf, which most industry observers say will retail for $20,000 to $30,000. And there's no word yet on whether the Mayor plans to lobby Detroit to sell Portland a staging ground for the new Chevy Volt.

Whomever we are trying to woo, perhaps Thomas Lauderdale and friends can help. The Mayor is taking several autographed copies of Pink Martini CDs as gifts for Japanese dignitaries. After all, the French are in love with them, and Pink Martini has dabbled in Japanese a fair amount.


Sympathique features “Song of the Black Lizard," taken from the soundtrack of a Japanese cult film of the same name, and Hey Eugene! includes a Japanese-language track, "Taya Tan." In a reworking of the Japanese song “Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu” for Hang on Little Tomato, Pink Martini collaborated and recorded in Japan with Hiroshi Wada, the slide guitarist whose group originally recorded and released the song 40 years ago. Splendor in the Grass doesn't have any Japanese inspired music, so we can only hope that our Japanese friends won't take it personally that critics are calling this the best and prettiest album of them all.

The Mayor will also be giving away Japanese-inspired blown glass orbs and vases from Portland artist Andy Paiko, and framed woodblock prints (you know, the Japanese printmaking process) by Carole Zoom. For our sister City of Sapporo, the Mayor is bringing a 1985 hand-colored etching by George Johanson. It's called "Waiting for the Parade I," and captures the true character of our world-famous Rose Festival better than most glossy photos.


The Mayor's office also tells me that Portland jazz performer Patrick Lamb is playing (or, played) in Sapporo tonight, and provided tickets to the U.S. Consulate General Sapporo as a pre-thank you for the Mayor’s hosted dinner there.

Now go get us some electric cars!

Missing in Action

I've been absent quite a bit from this blog lately, but that's not all. I completely missed both the TBA Festival and Wordstock. I have yet to take in Ragtime and China Design Now. And god only knows if I'll make it to the Emerald Retrospective or the Oregon Symphony anytime soon.

For what? A myriad of excuses. I haven't caught the swine flu but I think I coughed up part of my lung last weekend. I love the fall but who wants to go out in some of this weather? I'm not addicted to television but it sure is comfortable watching Glee and Mad Men from my La-z-boy recliner.

We've also been hard at work raising Work for Art dollars and overhauling the RACC website, which was no small task. Suffice it to say that spending this much time in front of the computer at work makes it really hard to spend any time in front of the computer at home, blogging or otherwise. And although this isn't the ultimate purpose of this post I would be remiss if I didn't use this paragraph to acknowledge the fine work of the design team at Davison/Blackheart, CultureShock commenter Shobiz, and the great staff at RACC for producing such a handsome site with volumes of valuable content for the arts community. Blogger's prerogative, no matter how infrequently he writes.

My related arts observation for today comes from Hilary Pfeifer, whose temporary installation "Vertical Garden" is currently featured on our homepage. She wrote to let us know that the piece, which was originally created for the Portland Building Installation Series several years ago, was recently sold to a Pixar executive in Marin. I thought you might enjoy her blog entry on installing the piece in his home, as I did. Congratulations, Hilary!

If you know any artists who are looking to get a temporary installation gig for themselves, RACC is accepting proposals through November 16.

August Art Spark

Tomorrow's Art Spark is a clever pairing: LiveWire Radio at the Radio Room. If you haven't been to Art Spark lately, you might be interested to know that they've dispensed with the formal 6@6 presentation in favor of more interactive festivities throughout the evening to help artists and the people who love them get to know each other better. If that doesn't draw you, then maybe the idea of a front-facing patio on a warm summer evening will?



Art Spark: A monthly mingling for artists of all sorts to meet, discuss, blather, applaud and plot the growth of art in Portland. Features a no-host bar at a different venue on the third Thursday of each month.

Thursday, August 20 from 5-7PM
At the Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta

Third Thursday

The Thursday before Memorial Day was a busy one for RACC. We've been following up on Wednesday Night's open house at the John Ross Penthouse, where guests received a comprehensive progress report on The Right Brain Initiative. The grants and public art departments are busy as ever. And we've been putting the finishing touches on an aggressive campaign plan for Work for Art in 2009-10.


Carol R. Smith -- not the same as PPS Supe Carol Smith -- chairs The Right Brain Initiative and delivers here the Progress Report on the arts education activities that were performed in the spring of 2009.

At noon, I (along with co-Shockers Mighty Toy Cannon and CynSeattle) attended a meeting of the Cultural and Performing Arts Group, which Barry Johnson covers here.

At 5:00, I strolled down to Bar XV on SW Second and Ash where there was a light but enthusiastic turnout for the monthly Art Spark networking event, this time featuring Reid Decker of Portland Saturday Market. Reid showed some beautiful photos of the market's grand re-opening, now out from underneath the Burnside bridge and stretching its wings in Waterfront Park proper. Here, artists set up shop beneath a beautiful cantilevered canopy, and tap in to electricity, natural gas, and other amenities easily as they have been build into the infrastructure of the herringbone-patterned cobblestone ground.



Reid mentioned that the market's master plan, even back in the 1970s, had always called for locating here, which I did not know before, and artists spoke about the jury process, fees, and other pertinent info of presenting their work every Saturday and Sunday. Shout out to Shock reader and prolific blogger in his own right, TheBuzzByBrian.

After Reid's comments, and a margarita drink and a margarita pizza, I dashed over the Portland City Council Budget Hearing at Mt. Tabor Middle School, which was just getting underway by the time I arrived at 6:30. The Creative Advocacy Network had worked to pack the house, and many artists did show up (more than 20 by my count) albeit somewhat begrudgingly I suspect. I can't say I was looking forward to it either; it was a beautiful evening outside and by all indications this budget, which was proposed by Mayor Sam Adams last month and includes noteworthy increases in arts funding despite significant budget cutbacks in other government programs, is positioned to be approved by the City Council 5-zip. Thus, less urgency to spend a lovely evening listening to two hours of citizen testimony on every public program imaginable.

However. I must say. Those who attended heard some remarkably poignant remarks from about 50 citizens that night, each being given two minutes to say their piece. The arts had a strong showing, with great commentary from Jon Ulsh of OBT, Adienne Flagg of the IFCC, Sarah Dougher of p:ear, Olga Sanchez of Miracle Theater, and Cary Clarke of PDX Pop Now. Also in the house: fantastic advocates for Central City Concern, Outside In, and other community programs centered around affordable housing and retired citizens. Read more from The Oregonian.

At the evening, commissioners Leonard, Fritz and Fish each commented on the extraordinary feel-good tone of the evening. For these citizens to take the time to give their thoughts on the Mayor's proposed budget -- in most cases expressing their gratitude that the Mayor found a way to include the program they care about so passionately -- was actually somewhat life-affirming in a way. You know that Amanda Fritz has been to many-a hearing like this (formerly on the citizen side of the microphone) and she said she had never been part of such a well-run budget process with such compassionate and articulate citizen testimony. I must also credit Mayor Sam, who is really great with the public in these situations. He thanked each and every citizen for their time and passion, more like Potter in this regard than Katz ... she was a barking bulldog in these budget hearings of years ago. Yeah, some of the people rambled on long after the two-minute buzzer went off, and there were a few strange moments (what was the sassy thing that that ten-year old said to Council?) but it really was a great civics lesson and a true community event.

Clearly this budget, including the proposed funding increase for the arts, is SO going to be approved next week. It is a budget that reflects our values as a community, and the entire City Council and almost every citizen who participated in the process is pretty proud of it. What an amazing thing to have such a feel-good budget considering we're still the the throes of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Poetry, past the expiration date

I know that Poetry Month ended yesterday...but a co-worker shared with me today this lovely little poem from Tennessee Williams, so I'm hoping that being one day tardy will be forgiven.

Life Story

After you've been to bed together for the first time, without the advantage or disadvantage of any prior acquaintance, the other party very often says to you, Tell me about yourself, I want to know all about you, what's your story? And you think maybe they really and truly do

sincerely want to know your life story, and so you light up a cigarette and begin to tell it to them, the two of you lying together in completely relaxed positions like a pair of rag dolls a bored child dropped on a bed.

You tell them your story, or as much of your story as time or a fair degree of prudence allows, and they say,

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

each time a little more faintly, until the oh is just an audible breath, and then of course

there's some interruption. Slow room service comes up with a bowl of melting ice cubes, or one of you rises to pee and gaze at himself with mild astonishment in the bathroom mirror.

And then, the first thing you know, before you've had time to pick up where you left off with your enthralling life story, they're telling you their life story, exactly as they'd intended to all

along,

and you're saying, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

each time a little more faintly, the vowel at last becoming no more than an audible sigh, as the elevator, halfway down the corridor and a turn to the left, draws one last, long, deep breath of exhaustion and stops breathing forever. Then?

Well, one of you falls asleep

and the other one does likewise with a lighted cigarette in his mouth, and that's how people burn to death in hotel rooms.

--Tennessee Williams

Gnawing away the thrones.

Over lunch yesterday, I wandered over to the Gerding (“The Bob”) to eavesdrop on a round table discussion titled “Stone Soup: Engaging Culture, the Arts & Civic Collaboration.”

The guest of honor was Barbara Schaffer Bacon, co-director of the Americans for the Arts project, “Animating Democracy.” Here’s what that’s all about:

Animating Democracy fosters arts and cultural activity that encourages and enhances civic engagement and dialogue. It is based on the premise that democracy is animated when an informed public is engaged in the issues affecting people’s daily lives. The arts and humanities can contribute unique programs, settings, and creative approaches that reach new and diverse participants, stimulate public dialogue about civic issues, and inspire action to make change.

Several guests contributed to a conversation about using the arts as a tool to generate dialogue on pressing community issues, both chronic and acute. These are projects such as Sojourn Theatre’s “Witness our Schools," a groundbreaking examination of values related to public education in Oregon. The discussion also touched on a Sojourn project, “Common Threads” in Lima, Ohio, as well as Portland’s “Restorative Listening Project” which addressed issues of gentrification in North Portland. The facilitator of the latter project, Judith Mowry from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, was introduced warmly as “The Listening Lady.” She pointed our way to the Oregonian’s excellent coverage of that project by Erin Hoover Barnett and an online multimedia story that grew out of it – a nice example of how a traditional newspaper can effectively use technology to tell a story.

Culture Shock founder and contributor Culture Jock contributed to the discussion. Of course, he was equal parts pith and eloquence, with a dash of debonair. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a notepad, so can’t report on what he said other than making the smart point that some people grow frustrated with too much of the yakety-yak that doesn't lead to solutions.

Instead of more "dialoguing" (to use a particularly heinous term) on this topic, here’s a poem in honor of the last day of “National Poetry Month.” Written by American poet Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931), I like to think of it as an ode to community organizers.

Here’s to the Mice!

Here’s to the mice that scare the lions,
Creeping into their cages.
Here’s to the fairy mice that bite
The elephants fat and wise:
Hidden in the hay-pile while the elephant thunder rages.
Here’s to the scurrying, timid mice
Through whom the proud cause dies.

Here’s to the seeming accident
When all is planned and working,
All the flywheels turning,
Not a vassal shirking.
Here’s to the hidden tunneling thing
That brings the mountain’s groans.
Here’s to the midnight scamps that gnaw,
Gnawing away the thrones.

Robot Report! (#3)

While writing last month’s Robot Report, I tried to track down a particular artist whose kinetic sculptures I had read about years ago. I couldn’t remember his name, and though my Googling skills are simply amazing, I failed to find any clues leading me to him.

Then, last week, while bouncing around the local cultural blog circuit, I landed on Hilary Pfeifer’s site, “Bunny with an ArtBlog.” And there, in one of her posts, was this amazing video:



Eureka! There he was: Arthur Ganson, an artist-in-residence at MIT (appropriately) who has been called “a modern-day creator of ‘twittering machines’ [who] uses simple, plain materials to build witty, mechanical art.” (I believe that description was written before “twitter” took on new meaning).

I’m enamored by Ganson’s inventive problem-solving and application of fundamental engineering to the creation of art. It takes some special kind of genius to figure out how to get gears, crankshafts, screws, cams and levers to make an object move the way you want it to. Take this example, in which Ganson must have asked himself, “How can I get a doll’s head to appear to be keeping eye contact with a blue ball moving erratically. Think of the number of problems that needed to solved to make this work:



Finally, a piece Ganson calls a “ballet” – a massive machine that accomplishes a single, simple task with elegance, grace and beauty. The first 1:20 minutes of the video show the machine being set up, then the "performance" begins.



By the way, Ganson also wrote and performed the guitar music that accompanies that piece. A slew of videos of Ganson’s other work can be found here on YouTube, and a DVD is available at his website.

You can also hear Ganson give a TED Lecture here. If you don't know about the TED Lectures, you should invest a few hours exploring the rest of the site.

Free Jazz to Cleanse the Palate

I found at least two items of import while cruising Facebook today:

1) The March 12th deadline for NEA grants was pushed back a week due to technical problems. (Thank you Baby Jesus!) The computer that processes NEA grants was apparently covered in chocolate while yams were stuffed into its expansion slots. (If you don't get that joke, find a time machine and set the dial for 1990).

2) Friend of Culture Shock and cultural gadfly Tim DuRoche posted a video of himself performing as a member of Better Homes and Gardens with compatriots Reed Wallsmith (alto sax) and Bob Jones (bass).

After all our moaning about the Oregon Cultural Trust, I decided that Culture Shock needs a palate cleanser. And while Ornette Coleman may not be the first person to whom you should turn for such a task, that’s who you’re about to get. (Those of you with a low tolerance for inscrutable free jazz, may want to move along). I liked the Better Homes and Gardens rendition of Coleman’s “Song X” because:

1) I love crazy jazz drumming and Mr. DuRoche is a master.

2) As cacophonous as it all may be, they’re laughing at the end—a reminder that we shouldn't be too serious in the midst of chaos.



If that's not enough to keep you satisfied, I'm working on a new Robot Report, as well as an account of a recent brush with the criminal justice system--a report with the working title: Testify! A Morality Tale in Which Our Hero Uses the Power of Persuasion and an Eye for the Truth to See that Justice is Served. Curious?

Urgent Art Issues

While we wait for the House vote on a budget that includes $1.8 million in funds stolen from the Oregon Cultural Trust -- with narry a word from the Trust itself -- a small diversion.

The Oregonian penned a curious editorial this morning, pointing out that Randy Leonard used campaign funds to purchase a $750 Gwenn Seemel portrait of himself. The narrative (by Mary Kitch, I believe) pours on the sarcasm, with phrases like:

Only a few grouchy old souls would be literal-minded enough to think that "campaign funds" should actually be spent on campaigns.

And,

Popes do it. Kings do it. Presidents do it. Now, a city commissioner acquires a portrait.

But we love Gwenn Seemel portraits! Right, Mead? Right, RACC?



A couple Gwenn Seemel portraits


Anyway. THIS is what the editorial board writes about while the funds are being stolen from the Trust? I just don't get it.

Lame Theater Joke

I have a miserable cold, so was a little doped up when I went to bed last night. As sleep approached, I kept pondering the bones of a joke that I couldn’t quite flesh out while in a half-dream state, though I did have a punch line. Here goes:

A playwright, an actor and a [fill in the blank*] walk into a bar.

The playwright says, “[Insert grievance here].”

The actor says “You think that’s bad, [cause of marginalization].”

The [insert] says “Yeah, but [countervailing argument here].”

Finally, the bar patrons shout, in unison, “Can you keep it down? We’re trying to watch television here!”

That’s all I got. Perhaps I should have placed them in a life raft. Remember, I was half asleep and full of cold medication. I think I’ve been reading too many blog posts about the plight of theater artists who can’t get a fair shake.

* Suggestions: Artistic Director, Literary Manager, Arts Board Member, Theater Critic.

The other thing stuck in my head while dozing off was the Beyoncé tune "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)." I know! Who would have thunk it? While wandering the internet wilderness, I tripped across a mash-up which combines Beyoncé's song with a video of a little number featuring Gwen Verdon with choreography by Bob Fosse. Beyoncé was reportedly inspired by it. I must have watched a half-dozen "Single Ladies" parodies until my wife asked, "How many times are you going to listen to that?"

Watch at your own peril:



If you're up for more, here a version nicely danced by Darius Crenshaw, Grasan Kingsberry, and Brian Brooks from the cast of "The Color Purple."

Art to Come

Figure 1: Let's look into our crystal ball, shall we?

Figure 2: The Crystal Ballroom, site of the Portland Jazz Orchestra's upcoming “Intricate Rhythms," one of 102 projects receiving funding for 2009.

While our friends at Art Scatter were shaking the money tree last Wednesday, the RACC Board was quietly approving record sums of grant funding for artistic projects in 2009. Now that artists and organizations have had time to receive their award letters (and rejections), I'm giddy to help announce the winners.

Actually, let me just link you to the full description of all projects that have received awards for the year ahead. This is one story that actually gets a fair amount of attention each year, as the media and bloggers have fun picking out the projects they are most excited to see. What's your favorite?

Two themes are especially noteworthy here, in my opinion. First, how many of these project grants would you guess are going to the "same old" groups vs. first-time winners? Would you believe 50-50? It's true.

Secondly, this is the most money ever awarded by RACC for project grants, and while the recipient artists and organizations have plenty to cheer about, I suspect it will trigger a few critical remarks from folks who think this a frivolous investment amidst serious economic woes. You'll notice that the press release was written to counter any such sentiment, but we as an arts community must be sure to respond swiftly and intelligently to any Letter to the Editor or other public document that ridicules these investments or calls for arts funding cuts. It's time to gear up for the spring budget cycle, and we have much work to do to maintain arts funding locally as well as renewing statewide arts funding, including the Oregon Cultural Trust, for the next biennium as well.

To arms!

More Christmas Cheer

Following Mighty Toy Cannon's review of A Christmas Carol, there was some chatter surrounding Holidazed at Artist's Rep. I for one have missed too many good shows this year -- shows that came and went before I got around to buying tickets (Dead Funny and The Receptionist come to mind), so I am pleased to report that I have just purchased my seats for the December 18 performance at A.R.T. and I invite Culture Shock readers to do the same.

If you've been tracking Art Spark, the monthly networking social opportunity for artists, then you know it falls on the third Thursday of each month, which just happens to be December 18, and this month's installment just happens to be taking place at ART. In a double feature for the 6@6 presentation, Cynthia Kirk will be reminding folks about the tax credit offered by the Oregon Cultural Trust, and Marc Acito will be on hand to deliver a few comments about his play. Guests are encouraged to stay for Holidazed at 7:30.

So December 18th offers a fantastic evening two-fer: come mingle with artists over a cocktail, and then see a funny play. But here's the catch: while the Art Spark reception is open to all, there are only 9 single tickets remaining for the play. I've put them all on hold. To buy yours -- complete with a 20% discount -- call the ART box office at 503-241-9807, extension 101. Ask for one (or two) of the tickets that are being held under the name Art Spark. (Hey, that would be a good new pseudonym!) No use trying the ART website -- it shows the show as completely sold out.

See you there?

And the 2008 Artists Fellowship Award goes to...

It’s not a MacArthur Genius Grant like what has been discussed on Art Scatter this week, but RACC has just named its 2008 Fellow for Literature: Kim Stafford.


Flickr photo by Beyond Baroque

Stafford is, without question, a local treasure and a consummate storyteller. The son of former Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford has certainly become one of the most important artists of our place and time, leaving profound impressions through poetry, prose, essays, children’s stories, and public art. He is also one of the most kind and generous artists I have ever met; even a simple letter for recommendation from the man brings instant understanding, inspiration and authenticity.

I also like what poet and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye says about Stafford: “He has an ability to be present to every moment he ever lives in – a native, original brilliance with language and imagery – a perfect sense of time – an endless appetite for deep listening – a wonderful sense of humor… a true belief in the powers of language to connect, not to divide.”

The RACC Fellowship Award for Literature includes a cash grant of $20,000, and in the year ahead Stafford plans to reduce his teaching time and other commitments to wander the city and engage residents in conversations. All will be documented in a series of essays entitled, “Pilgrim at Home: Local Encounters Beyond the Epoch of the Car” that will undoubtedly deepen our appreciation for the local experience that is Portland, Oregon. How cool is that?

Also, a shout out to Debra Gwartney, Mead Hunter, Karen Karbo, Renee Mitchell, Greg Netzer, Ellen Waterston, and Matt Yurdana who sat on the panel that selected Stafford for this award.

Here’s hoping that our colleagues at Art Scatter are compelled to abide.

Artists Outnumber Athletes at Olympic Games

As Rob and I prepare to sit down tomorrow night to watch what could possibly be one of the most extraordinary Opening Ceremonies ever, I was intrigued by this article in Bloomberg about the massive volume of arts events scheduled to take place in Beijing over the next few weeks.

The Chinese Ministry of Culture reports that more than 20,000 artists from 80 countries have come to present more than 300 exhibits and performances as part of the international spectacle -- and that's twice as many artists as athletes scheduled to compete in the Games. This figure, as far as I can tell, doesn't include the thousands of children and other citizens who will be performing and in various pageants and ceremonies "on-site" at the Olympics; the commitment here seems to be around featuring the city's new and established museums, theaters, concert halls and parks. Perhaps most intriguing, Beijing has just completed construction of their new National Center for the Performing Arts at a cost of $438 million, and it opens this month with a massive collaboration of dance, music, and other artistic disciplines all wrapped up in a billing entitled "Divas in Beijing."


The egg-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Photo by Bernardo De Niz/Bloomberg News.

Divas and The Olympics. Two of my favorite things! And speaking of this unlikely combo, did you know that if you were to travel to the Gay Games (Cologne 2010), you would actually find singing, dancing, and monologues (!!!) to be among the competitions you can enter and win medals for? Now THAT sounds hilarious, and wonderful, and frightening all at once!