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Arts, Uncategorized November 10, 2015

Theatre Troupe Seizes Control of Art Salon, Hurls Offenses At Audience

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By Ross Blanchard Photo by Reuben Broadfoot. Foreground: Corey O’Hara. Background: Evan Corcoran A few weeks ago at a Ford Gallery event in Southeast Portland, five actors slipped into the venue, seized the microphone from the event’s host during a presentation, and began to shout offenses at the startled and silented crowd. The art salon in PDX Magazine‘s Mechanical venuewas paying tribute to artist Olinka Broadfoot whose show had launched that evening in the Ford Gallery one floor above. Broadfoot had just delivered a talk about her exhibit and poet Dan Raphael had read, when a man in his early thirties, shaved head, and wearing a yellow nylon jacket burst onto the stage and wrested the microphone from the event’s host. “You are under review by us,” he shouted to the stunned crowd. Another man, dressed in a TSA-style uniform, walked through the audience and shone a flashlight in their faces as a third man pointed a video camera at them. “You don’t have to watch inactively any more,” the man on the stage continued. “You feel the discomfort of being watched and addressed, since you came prepared to watch and make yourselves comfortable in the shelter of the dark. Your presence…

Uncategorized June 12, 2014

LitHop: a Literary Pub Crawl

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This evening, beginning at 7, a mass of literary talent descends upon NE Alberta Street like a swam of fully mature locusts. Authors, poets, and spoken word artists will read their work simultaneously, creating a buzz at six different locations up and down the street. Portland’s second annual LitHop will see Hawthorne Books, the IPRC, alice blue, Eraserhead Press, Unchaste Readers, and Publication Studio each host a series in which readers will perform for 15 minutes, in quick succession. The idea is to create something of a literary pub crawl. During the event, listeners can pop up and down the street to hear several, very different performances. Three readers will perform for 15 minutes each at the top of the hour, leaving the remaining quarter-hour to talk, drink, or move on to the next place. “The 15-minute time slot gives readers more of a spotlight,” says Kevin Sampsell, who produces the event with Jeff Alessandrelli and Bryan Coffelt. “And they’re great writers so they deserve that time,” adds Sampsell. And he notes that the 15 minutes gives listeners “quality time to get into the voice and style of each writer.” One of those writers is Mykle Hansen. “Whenever we bring…

Uncategorized April 15, 2014

Creative Block Party

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By Darka Dusty Painting by Halyna Cisaruk If you’re an artist, writer or musician (and if you’re in Portland, Oregon, chances are excellent that you ARE an artist, writer or musician), you have things you believe you do well, and things you believe you do really well, and things you know you could improve, and things that make you think you should hang it up and get a real estate license. And things you think you suck at. You’re probably much harder on yourself than you should be, especially if you try to live a creative life. As an artist, a writer, musician or anyone who regularly summons your muse or faces your creative demons, you are part of a very special, sensitive club. We creative types feel things deeply. We cry easier than most, and maybe this causes us to drink or smoke more than most, or find other ways to alter our perceptions. Sometimes we just need to momentarily numb ourselves from the intense majesty of life. The beauty we perceive around us can just be too goddamn much to take, making our emotional pain and passion excruciatingly unbearable. It’s also what causes us to see things in…

Uncategorized March 20, 2014

Fun Page Creations

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Way Back in Issue #4 we asked our readers to have fun with a Fun Page. It was just a simple, black page with white, dotted lines and few instructions. Here, finally, are some results: 1. Fish Friend by The Indestructible Bubble “Hello! Im The Indestructible Bubble!  Im a superhero and I live at the top of a cliff over looking the Williamette River 🙂 I send you a creation of my fish friend about to enjoy a snack! Cheers! IB” 2. P1010010 by Anna Gorman “Hello Editor: I made this pillow in response to yourFun Page in Issue #4 (January 2014). I am an artist who works in various media. I like to sew to relax and break free of all the usual strictures of my other mediums. Thank you for even looking at this! Sincerely, Anna Gorman.” 3. Two-Way Make-Shift Fancy-Mask! and The Sturgeon by Zack and Emily Kosta