The Portland art scene is so hit and miss for me. Last weekend I went to the Portland Art museum, mostly to check out the exhibit they had on Dali (which left me floored/ the guy had some serious art chops). Then I decided to go check out the wing dedicated to contemporary art. I am not a whore for big names in art, in fact I love rooting for local artists and support them however I can. That being said, the contemporary wing was pretty abysmal.
It seems like the technique of taking a portrait, gobbing a shitload of Oils on , has become extremely in vogue. There is not much soul to this work, and I lost track of how many pieces took rehashed pop art and covered it in stuff. Stuff doesn't mean creativety.
Here is a piece by Keith Haring to offset the negativity.
David Foster Wallce taught me manythings about myself! A selection of which is about how much my writing could improve.
This book induced fits of laughter that hit so hard, it made me wary about reading it in public areas.
Wallace's books take you and Do sit ups with your MIND! Mind feels like steel! Pumpin' IQ all day every day!
Lolita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita
&
Pale Fire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Fire
Both of these books were dark and readable, but I preferred Pale Fire to Lolita. Nabokov owns (see picture).
I am not making any waves rambling on about some of the most well known classics of the last 30 years but fuck it, people need to read more and these books are great!
WORKING ON DeLILLO'sWHITE NOISE
"Several Days later Murray asked me about a tourist attraction known as the most photographed barn in America. We drove twenty-two miles into the country around Farmington. There were meadows and apple orchards. White fences trailed through the rolling fields. Soon the signs started appearing. THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED BARN IN AMERICA. We counted five signs before we reached the site.... We walked along a cowpath to the slightly elevated spot set aside for viewing and photographing. All the people had cameras; some had tripods, telephoto lenses, filter kits. A man in a booth sold postcards and slides - pictures of the barn were taken from the elevated spot. We stood near a grove of trees and watched the photographers. Murray maintained a prolonged silence, occasionally scrawling some notes in a little book.
'No one sees the barn,' he said finally.
A long silence followed.
'Once you've seen the signsabout the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn.' He fell silent once more. People with cameras left the elevated site, replaces at once by others. 'We're not her to capture an image. We're here to maintain one. Can you feel it, Jack? An accumulation of nameless energies.'
There was an extended silence. The man in the booth sold postcards and slides.
'Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We've agreed to be part of a collective perception. This literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism.' Another silence ensued.
'They are all taking pictures of taking pictures,' he said."
Two Seasons: First aired April 8, 1990. Directed by David Lynch, originally shown on ABC.
Watch this show or at least the first season then half of the second season. You really should. Twin Peaks opens with a scene of young girl washing ashore dead, wrapped in plastic. FBI agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate. Mystery/action/humor/surrealist imagery mark the series as the oddities of Twin Peaks unfold before you. Here are some pictures to entice:
ARCWELDER Formed 1988, Minnesota. Five LPs (Touch + Go Records).
sounds like: Mission Of Burma, Battles
Shellac Formed 1992, Chicago. Four LPs (Various Labels).
sounds like: Big Black, Gang of Four, Polvo
WOW Hall: 12$ at the Door.
Monday night concert at the WoW hall; hit or miss. Didn't know what to expect coming into this concert, because I hadn't given Steve Albini's music beyond Big Black much attention.
Arcwelder opened, with Grippin bass lines, Ear splitting harmonics, and decent singer. I will never understand why a band would have a drummer as the lead singer. There is something inherently uncool about a man sitting down, canting his neck to the microphone, but they pull it off.
Shellac is famous due to their lead singer, Steve Albini. The man behind Big Black went on to produce some of the most successful records in decades (Nirvana, The Pixies, The Stooges.) His unique record production is based on the idea of isolating the vocals, letting the bass shine through as the lead, and blasting the listener with extremely distorted guitar. The effect is very powerful and influenced many post-punk/grunge/shoegazing music of the early 90s. But enough fawning over Albini's production, lets talk about Shellac. Their sound is best qualified as a cross between bass driven 70s punk, with heavy funk influence. Very tight set.
They played for about two hours, stopping every once in a while to chat with the audience and have a Q&A session. Good show, tip top performers. Definitely worth a look at
Suggested Listening:
Shellac:
1000 Hurts - Prayer to God. Simple song; good introduction to their style 1000 Hurts- Mama Gina. One of their more drawn out songs; the breakdown at 4:40 on is the highlight Terraform- Copper. Their "single". Very catchy, very short
