It was a drawing on a wall. And it was our favorite art piece, favorite bite of visual culture in Portland in 2006. “Orientation”, a participatory installation by Jen Smith, Amanda Eicher and Chris Nagler, wrapped a simple graphite line drawing replicating a mountainous horizon around the hallway in the motel gallery (19 NW 5th). Viewers were asked to look at the drawing, put on a blindfold, and attempt to redraw what they saw on the wall. By the time we saw the project, it was a beautiful tangle of lines like a loose printout by a wayward seismograph, the original line called out by a tonal coat of paint below it that marked its primacy. A non-participatory conceptual piece we loved was Scott Wayne Indiana’s “Proposal for a Forest or a Dessert” for the PDX Window Project.
Notable group shows were the sublime “grey|area,” curated by TJ Norris at Mark Woolley’s Guestroom Gallery at the Wonder Ballroom, “inClover,” an outdoor show at Mt. Scott Park, curated by Scott Wayne Indiana, and the Jennifer Gately-curated Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum. For visiting work we deeply appreciate that Stephanie Snyder was able to bring “New Trajectories” from the Ovitz Collection to the Reed College Cooley Gallery. And on the design tip, Show2006 showcase of innovative furniture design knocked our socks off.
Performative highlights included Portland choreographers Linda Austin and Tahni Holt performing Deborah Hay’s “Room” during PICA’s TBA Festival as well as the performances (full of good surprises) by Philippe Quesne and Vivarium Studios (”La Demangeaison des ailes”) and The Nature Theater of Oklahoma also during TBA.
design: Liza Rietz. photo: Pete Springer
Portland fashion highlights included the Little White Dress show, which juxtaposed the white dress against the sunset windows and raw interior of everybody’s favorite warehouse-in-transition arts space, Disjecta. More than a dozen independent Portland designers showed white dresses that ranged from sweet little-girl confections to long, petaled soft-sculptures.
Other fashion hightlights included Leanne Marshall’s Leanimal line at Portland Fashion Week (available at Foundation Garments), Adam Arnold’s shirts and ties cut from the same cloth, Elizabeth Dye’s fall 06 collection that was exciting for having explored many ideas with her usual eye for detail and quality (at The English Dept), and we loved the smart debut collection from Sarah Weick.
Hear-hear for Portland’s sustainable/green poster children/projects including the launch of Entermodal (the high-end handbag company), fashion designer Anna Cohen, Sameunderneath bringing a little sustainable flavor to streewear, NAU entering pre-launch phase, and of course the Gerding Theater at the Armory.
Looking forward to 2007, we are anticipating seeing the beautiful silvery, Airstream-ish orbs of the tram making their way up and back from OHSU. We will likely don an appropriately Bond-girl-ish cream wool coat over ski pants topped by a fur hat to take our first joy ride.
We can’t wait to see the Ace Hotel (1022 SW Stark) and the new neighbors it will have on the West End, the Skylab/Jeff Kovel-designed NAU store, the new Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery in the old Daisy Kingdom building on the Northwest Park Blocks. We look forward to choreographer Linda Austin’s “Circus Me Around,” what PICA cooks up this year for TBA, Adam Arnold for spring, and watching the career of the extraordinary Courtney at Q6.
We’re keeping an eye on lower East Burnside: Disjecta, Denwave, Burnside Proper, the neighboring RonToms and the incoming Works Partnership Architecture-designed bSide6 building. We’re keeping an eye on the Light and Sound Gallery at the Portland Art Center, the Black Box Theater at the Gerding Theater at the Armory, what the Miller Meigs Endowment for Contemporary Art brings to the Portland Art Museum this year, what Organism does next, and shows at Tilt Gallery, NAAU, PDX Contemporary and Elizabeth Leach Gallery.
WHAT TO DO NOW?