Wurstminster Dog Show

Jason Sturgill’s latest Wurst Gallery project once again takes the online gallery into the real world, if only for one night at The Cleaners @ Ace Hotel (403 SW 10th). Over a hundred artists from Sweden to the Phillipines and from Hong Kong to Belgium (14 countries represented) have contributed work, each representing a different dog breed in many and varied ways. Look for work by Fawn Gehweiler, APAK, Bwana Spoons, Trish Grantham, Amy Ruppel, Evan B. Harris, Supermundane, and about a million other artists (or a hundred). The show, a benefit for DoveLewis Animal Hospital, opens with a reception on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 from 6-10 PM, then continues online at the Wurst Gallery, wurstgallery.com.

Liftoff!

The inauguration of the Portland Aerial Tram is this weekend, January 27-28 and in honor of the event, Crazy Coconut was asked by our arts and culture City Commissioner, Sam Adams, to design a Crazy Coconut commemorative t-shirt. For only $15, you can represent for the home team in the kind of brilliantly low-key, clever way that CC’s designs are known for.

In other Tram news, the Tram website is now live. Even though tickets for riding on opening weekend are sold out, you and we and everyone we know can ride free every Saturday in February from 9-5. Yes!

Beautiful: Needmore for entermodal

Serendipity. We just stumbled on Needmore Designs‘ website for entermodal which must have launched only a minute ago (relatively speaking). We love the lush, atmospheric photography, hyperreal product detail shots, and deep content concerning the philosophy of entermodal…oh, and a little tune by Small Sails.

It feels very grounded in Portland artistry—though its reach is now naturally worldwide (web-ified). Go see.

12X12 Tonigh

We were just days ago reflecting that the Christian Marclay retrospective that the Seattle Art Museum hosted in ‘04 was one of our fave exhibitions in recent memory (the thought brought on by Marc Joseph’s show at the Cooley Gallery at Reed College which used images of album covers). Marclay’s work lives in and around sound and the materials used to capture and release it…record, tape, film, even musical instrument. And when we can get conceptualism (“Tape Fall”), rigor (“Video Quartet,”) and beauty (having never before considered how beautiful a ragged, formerly white record sleeve could be) in equal doses, we can’t ask for more.

Because music still sits front and center with most of our experiences of culture and art, and because the LP is no longer the delivery mechanism of choice, the Richard Jones-curated 12×12 show opening at OFFICE (2204 NE Alberta)tonight is at once current and nostalgic. Twelve artists have been invited to re-create/re-invent twelve 12-inch album covers. Find work by and others. The show opens tonight, January 25 with a reception from 7-9 PM.

That’s What He Gets For Shopping Canal Street

Truth or fiction: It very well could be that Lou of the UNKL TinPo Fashion Victim crew was detained in the Netherlands by European Bailiffs who noticed that his tunic was covered in a pattern that “closely resembled” the gold-on-brown Louis Vuitton pattern. Surprise surprise. We could have told him that refashioning a Canal Street bag into a garment would raise an eyebrow.

True: Lou and the rest of the Victims with names as goofy as the toys are cute (H-toof, Burb, Arg and Lash) are now available as a set from UNKL and if you love us you should buy us a set for Valentine’s Day. Hurry before somebody notices what Burb is wearing.