I recently attended a movie premiere for the film, Ethiopia, Staring Into the Sun put out by Seattle’s Sublime Frequencies. The film by Olivia Wyatt documents her visits with 13 different tribes in Ethiopia. Olivia also documented her trip in Polaroids, on view here. The film captures the music and dance of each tribe, and provides no background information, translations, or themes. It simply gives the viewer a glimpse into the lives of these highly diverse people through dance, music and dress. This leaves you to draw your conclusions about the culture based off the visuals. You can tell which cultures are more egalitarian, more religious, more prosperous, and more modern. It was amazing how different these cultures are despite their shared geography. While the tribes’s hardships are sometimes obvious, their passion for music, elaborate dress, decoration, and fervor of dance is truly inspirational.

I think we could all use a little head-shaking, body-painting, drum-beating fun every once in a while.

Ethiopia- Staring into the Sun from olivia wyatt on Vimeo.

I discovered many items of tangible retro goodness, including these amazing papers (highly scan-able) and tear-outs from an old atlas. The page shown here diagrams the routes of famous aviation adventures. I spent a good 45 minutes hunting through the boxes and boxes of old postcards. The combination of the beautiful old illustrations with the original handwritten personal scrawls on the back, make for a fantastic glimpse into and old way of life, a story and art piece.

The postcards were presented courtesy of a postcard club in town called the webfooters. I marked my calendar for the April 17-18th Antique Paper Show and Sale. At a $2 admission fee, this event has got to be good.

Download these graphic goodies from my new flickr set, “Rad Design Finds.”

This September, Portland Art Museum hosted a unique event they called Shine a Light: A Night at the Museum, with the stated goal of blurring the boundary between art and life. A typical trip to any institution of art, PAM included, is typically a very structured experience. Visitors pay the admission cost, then quietly maneuver from room to room like zombies, their attention mechanically shifting from one piece of art to the next. Any communication is hushed and whispered so as not to disturb the aged artifacts of history that hang dominantly above.

Shine a Light changed all of that, at least for one night.

For this one night, the museum was ALIVE. The doors were thrown open, the courtyard was swarming. There was music, food, children running, and beer flowing. The air was electric as adults and children alike experienced the joy of breaking the rules of social engagement for one night. Even the guards seemed to have a hop in their step as the patrolled.

On the second floor, amidst the American collection, an animated group of strangers loudly debated the latest play in the customized card game, Apples to Apples: Art and Labor. Break-dancers invaded Schnitzer Court, filling the halls with Hip Hop rhythms. The Goodman Gallery showcased Varinthorn Christopher, who encouraged you to save an endangered language and learn to count in Mon, a language from lower Burma. Throughout the museum we noticed strange way-finding indicators and signs marking various stationery objects such as decorative vegetation. This was evidence of the mark of SCORE O, a project of the Columbia River Orienteering Club, that created a unique way to “navigate” the museum and explore. The Sculpture Garden was the center point with the most activity since it was a beautifully warm September night, and it housed the free beer. Brewers from Old Lompoc, Laurelwood and Lucky Lab had previously explored the museum  and each had chosen one art piece as their source of inspiration for the recipe of their specialty brew, served up at Shine a Light to an eager public.

But my personal favorite part of the evening, was a series called Serenades: Musical Conversations Between Humans and Artwork. Serenades featured several Portland-based musicians who each composed an original piece of music centered around a  piece of artwork of their choosing. The 15 minute Serenades were performed live in front of the artwork in various galleries throughout the night. I sat cross-legged on the floor of the art museum with 100 or so other curious strangers. I listened to the hollow, metallic, overlapping  hymns of Honey Owens as she, also hunched on the floor, created a haunting melody beneath the Neoclassical painting that inspired it. Later, on the 4th floor, Joe Preston wove intricate electronic musical patterns in and around a large spherical sculpture. The sculpture consisted of many spheres of all sizes whose surface was made of circular metal structures. The spheres were all connecting and interlocking, cantilevered in every direction, yet balanced. As the 15 minute tonal maze meandered, I found myself becoming absorbed by the structure. I imagined it lifting up off the ground, hovering in mid-air. I imagined the spheres unhooking and dropping from their larger parent. Would they bounce?

For the first time, a trip to the art museum was a complete immersive, interactive and truly engaging experience.

At the end of July, my partner and I journeyed East, on a much needed vacation, seeking adventure, inspiration and a reconnection with family members far from my everyday stomping grounds. Our journey began in Vermont, ended in New York City and our experiences were as varied as those two extremes.
Vermont – Bread & Puppet

Self-described as “Cheap Art and Political Theater in Vermont,” Bread & Puppet in Glover provided a truly unique experience, far outside the bounds of traditional art appreciation. Upon entering Bread & Puppet, you are greeted by a broken-down Kesey-styled bus that contained a free art museum full of self published “zines,” the usual slew of anti-war/bush/capitalism posters, and other found art masterpieces.

You pass by a large, standalone brick oven that on any given day produces several freshly baked loaves of sourdough bread. Then you enter the main building, an ancient barn, a piece of art within itself, that housed the puppet museum.

These puppets are unlike any puppets I have ever seen, and in no way resemble the sock or paper bag variety. These “puppets” are huge – some 40 ft tall – mystical paper mache creatures, draped heavily in colorful fabrics and meticulously painted. We walked among the aisles of puppets resembling the founding fathers, scenes from fairy tales, nightmares and religious figures. While many puppets are now out of commission, there are still an active group performing their colorful political theater weekly for a growing captive audience. Sourdough philosophy circus & pageant, you cant get more interesting than that.

Montreal
We left the back country of the Northeast Kingdom and ventured out of the US – north to Quebec – to scope out our friendly French Canadian neighbors. After a short drive we were deep in the heart of Montreal, walking through the cobblestone streets of Old Town. Old Montreal has the feel of Europe with its enormous gothic Notre Dame catherdral, sidewalk cafes, carriage rides and of course, the rich French language. Although steeped in history, Montreal emits a distinctly modern and progressive flair with its carless street (Aires Libres), gay district (the village), and flair for design.

Our goal was to fit in with the locals and not look like tourists, which was immediately shot whenever a friendly Canadian addressed us in French beyond the greeting “Bonjour.” Then we were forced to sheepishly admit we were not versed in their language. I almost created an international incident when I tried to pay for a beverage with a Canadian dollar bill which apparently had been out of circulation since 1987 (replaced by the dollar coin). After much fussing on the part of the young cashier, the man in line behind me stepped up to the counter and explained the bill and offered to buy my beverage for me. Quite a neighborly thing to do! Merci!

Highlights of the day were walking through Mont Royal, eating an amazing lunch at a french restaurant at the Historic Hotel Nelligan, not to be topped by our dinner poutine (french fries covered in gravy) dinner. Overall a fantastic journey, wearing my shoes thin, wrinkling my passport, and practicing my “Merci beaucoup”.

New York City

The final stop on our journey, the grand city of New York, central hub of all things art, culture and design in the US. We stayed off the tourist path this time and headed straight for the Whitney Art Museum. At Whitney we studied up on Buckminster Fuller, the great modern renaissance man, and got turned around by Paul McCarthy, best described as a performance artist who creates perceptual disorientation by spinning mirrors, rooms, and slamming doors.

Then, on to MoMA, we gawked at the normal assortment of paintings from greats like Picasso, deKooning, Dali, and of course NYC’s own Warhol. I was completely shocked upon entering one room when one wall was completely covered with 3 large panels of thickly layered paint piled in globs that accumulated to form one panoramic scene…Monet’s waterlilies. However spectacular this was for me, seeing my childhood idol’s ultimate masterpiece inches from my face, I was also very disappointed. Monet painted his waterlily scene as a COMPLETE panorama in the round, meant to be endless and seamless. Now museums have broken that continuity, and with it, that feeling of being enveloped in the scene. I was long awaiting the day I would travel to Givery, France and see the waterlily panorama in its original form as Monet intended. Now, seeing it half complete, took away that magic. Maybe there is still hope and someday it will return to its native land a complete unit, and you can bet I will be first in line.

In addition to the art, we indulged in many other NY favorites like pizza at Grimaldis, cheesecake, and bagels. We took every form of transportation available, subway, taxi, train and walked miles and miles through the streets of SOHO, Greenwich Village, and Williamsburg. We walked through flea markets and old Bob Dylan haunts, through ritzy Manhattan streets, and dipped our toes in the east river. Thanks to Curtis and Lydia our NYC tour guide team extraordinaries!

As a designer, I was thrilled to learn that design expert/celebrity Steven Heller and blog pioneer Jeffery Zeldman would be speaking at a book reading for the collection “Field Tested Books” produced by Coudal Partners of Chicago. I was stoked, I had my pitch to Steven Heller rehearsed, my business cards in hand. The event was held at a rooftop bar just feet from the Williamsburg bridge. We arrived just on time, and were disappointed to see a small crowd (of about 20) had already gathered and filled up the only part of the bar from which the speakers would be visible. I settled in to the nearest spot I could, directly behind a water feature. When the program began I found not only could I not see the speakers, but due to the rushing water, could also not hear. Not to be dissuaded, I squeezed into a corner, climbed onto a chair, and through a palm tree, took the above photo of Steven Heller, then promptly finished my glass of red wine and left. Sigh, maybe next time.

Here are some thoughts from a few I attended:

10/18/07 – Art Chantry lecture- PNCA

Seattle-based design icon Art Chantry spoke to a packed house last Thursday at PNCA. He shared his portfolio and spoke casually about design in a pre-computer era and his visual representations of the punk/grunge movement. This garbage man turned designer spoke of his extensive “trash” collection of 1950 Sears catalogs, old encyclopedias and children’s books. He is best known for his unique typography, to which he attributes to his label maker, and his self-described collage style of art. He is very hands on with his work, utilizing scissors, glue and a Xerox machine to achieve the grunge factor. Chantry would stop at nothing to achieve an authentic look including burning pages and shooting a bullet through a stack of posters. At a time of grunge brushes, stock photos, and free fonts, Chantry encourages you to get down and dirty and look to the trash for inspiration.

10/21/007 – Film Screening, Eloquent Nude – Hotel deLuxe

This documentary by a Northwest filmmaker (who was kind enough to attend and introduce this movie at the screening) tells the story of photographer Edward Weston, and his model and wife, Charis Wilson. Weston was one of the first to give photography a new purpose, from the recording of everyday life to expressions of an artform. He was particularly known for his close-ups on human forms as well as natural forms of shells and peppers. To Weston all had beauty in front of the lens, and the curves of a nautilus shell were equal to that of the curve of a woman’s back. Many of his photographs remind me of the work of Georgia O’Keefe, whom I discovered he had met and admired. Other artists on Weston’s speed dial were Diego Rivera and Ansel Adams. Hmmm…could O Keefe, Weston, Adams and Rivera be the modernist North American West’s response to the French’s Monet, Renior, Cezanne, Pisarro?

Three upcoming events ALL on the same day, October 25th – choose wisely!

1. W+K Ignite – An open forum hosted by Wieden + Kennedy. Anybody can enter a topic and have open floor. There are sure to be some awkward moments, some laughs and maybe some boos, good luck Crystal.

2. Sandstrom lecture – 52 Limited sponsors this speaker event. PDX design celebrity Steve Sandstrom speaks on design v advertising.

3. Potluck Slideshow – This unique event combines a potluck with short artist slideshows about 5 minutes each. Slideshows can tie into the theme “lust” or can just be a random collection of artist’s work. All of course, set to music.

Bring on the rain, with events like these who needs the outdoors?

I am expanding upon my normal weekend activities and trying out new sources of artistic and cultural absorption. Yes that was me in the back row at the one-man play on Hunter Thompson drinking a PBR. I admit I was waiting in line at 9:00 in the morning on a Saturday for the Seattle Art Museum grand re-opening ribbon cutting, attempting to be the first free-loader to stand before an Andy Warhol and a Georgia O’Keefe. I am guilty of shamelessly promoting Cut & Paste to Dan Stiles at his art opening display of rock and roll posters, and sneaking in late to a modern dance performance. My partner in crime and I are explorers in this refreshing cultural landscape. And its about time, I am now a quarter century wise.