CULTUREPHILE: PORTLAND ARTS

Switchyard Studios

A peek into a thriving Southeast art-and-lecture cabal.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 20, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration:

SCENE & HERD

WHAT: Harp & Altar Party at Switchyard Studios |
WHEN: Saturday, April 9th |
WHERE: an industrial space in Southeast |

NAMES AND CLAIMS TO FAME
Jesse Lichtenstein, co-director of Loggernaut Reading Series.
Zachary Schomburg, author of The Man Suit (Black Ocean 2007), Scary, No Scary (Black Ocean 2009), Little Blind Thing (Poor Claudia 2010), a dvd of poem-films, and the forthcoming Viking (McSweeney’s, 2012). Co-editor of Octopus Books and Octopus Magazine.
Michael Zeiss, contributor to Harp & Altar and consultant for non-profit organizations, spent five years at the American Red Cross working with people affected by the attacks of September 11. His fiction and criticism appear regularly in Harp & Altar.
Keith Newton, founder of Harp & Altar
Alina Estelle Hardin, musician, frequent collaborator with Alela Diane.
Liz Devine, photographer

Founded in 2006, Harp & Altar is a Brooklyn-based online literary magazine focused on innovative and risk-taking literature, publishing poetry and fiction alongside criticism and reviews of writing and art. The Harp & Altar Anthology, featuring a selection of poems and stories from the magazine’s first three years, was published in 2010 by Ellipsis Press, and new issues continue to appear twice a year at harpandaltar.com .

SPACE
Switchyard Studios is just industrial enough that its main entrance is a garage door. A sprawling, high-ceilinged space is subdivided into small studios that provide work space for 30-odd artists.

MOMENTS
~ Improvised seating included a couple salvaged van benches that still had their seatbelts.
~ Whenever a train traversed the nearby railroad, the noise filled the Studio and drowned out presenters, including the soft-singing Alina Hardin, who continued to play through and then remarked, “That was part of the song.”
~ An actual dogfight broke out between two fairly scary pit bulls in the snack area. The visiting dog was rescued and the resident dog finally contained by its owner, a silent man who materialized from some “upstairs” area sporting a Grateful Dead poncho.

QUOTES
~ “I don’t want to date us too much, but the song on the car radio as we first pulled into Portland was Alanis Morissette’s Ironic.”—Keith Newton, of his pre-New York stint in Portland.
~ “I’ve since folded this poem into an airplane.” —from Zachary Schoenberg’s The Man Suit
~ “The journals of Thoreau are variable in quality and interest.” —Jesse Lichtenstein
~ “At least I’m a distinguished schlub.” —overheard in conversation
~ “Goodbye tension, hello pension!” —printed on a trucker cap of an attendee
~ “A world in constant flux, that repeats and repeats its patterns…” —Keith Newton
~ “Let’s keep quiet now. If we say one word, the trees will die.” —Jesse Lichtenstein

For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

Add a Comment »

Tags: writer, galleries, scene & herd

Superstar Blogger Moves to Oregon

Allie Brosh, we’re not worthy!

Posted by: Anne Adams on Nov 22, 2010 at 12:00AM 1 Comments

A blog-to-blog shoutout to Hyperbole and a Half!

This week’s Monday fun comes in the form of—believe it or not—a link to another blog: Hyperbole and a Half.

A modest showcase of Allie Brosh’s hilarious narrative and deliberately dumb drawings, H&H already boasts more than 36,000 followers—and each new post exponentially expands the sharing frenzy. Bottom line, this chick is abnormally funny. Cue Culturephile’s delight with a recent post in which Brosh mentioned moving to Oregon. When reached for comment, she revealed that she now lives in Bend. “If it’s any consolation,” she added, “I love Portland too!”

Forget consolation—local factions of the zine, storytelling and comedy communities should seize this as an opportunity. Let’s count Allie’s move among our Thanksgiving blessings, and start cooking up plans to lure her over the river and through the woods to Portland.

This just in: Bar Pilot Blogger John Chandler is partial to Brosh’s Sneaky Hate Spiral post. To browse upcoming events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar!

Add a Comment »

Tags: comedy, monday fun, writer, comics, zine

5 Questions for Claudia La Rocco

Culturephile’s esteemed TBA Guest Blogger
forecasts her visit to PDX and TBA.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Sep 08, 2010 at 05:00PM 2 Comments

Claudia La Rocco strikes a modest pose, but holds prestigious critique credentials.

For many arts appreciators, Claudia La Rocco needs no introduction. A dance and theater critic for the New York Times who’s covered everything from Baryshnikov to Broadway shows, Ms. La Rocco has developed a strong following and a unique voice in arts critique. Starting tomorrow, she’ll step off a plane in Portland, to sample the diverse offerings of PICA’s TBA.

Claudia’s Official Bio
Claudia La Rocco writes about performance for the New York Times, is an editor-at-large for the Brooklyn Rail, and has written for a range of other outlets, including Artforum, Classical TV and Musical America. From 2008 to 2010, she served as a cultural critic for WNYC New York Public Radio, where she created the social and online Performance Club. She has taught criticism at the School of Visual Art’s graduate program in Art Criticism and Writing and Long Island University’s CW Post campus, and has been a guest lecturer and teacher in a variety of settings, including Arizona State University, the Springdance/festival in the Netherlands and the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Dance at the American Dance Festival. She is a member of the Off The Park poetry press, where she is currently editing an anthology of poems by painters, and reads regularly in New York.

In the coming days, Culturephile will be publishing lots of TBA coverage from Claudia. Meanwhile, Anne Adams welcomes her to town with the customary five questions:

1. Tell me about a recent favorite event that you blogged.

I’ve actually been on a blogging hiatus for a few months (and I’ve never
Twittered…) … but my favorite blogging event was actually an invention:
the Performance Club, an online and social organization I created that
functioned like a book club for live art. It was fabulous: we went out and
saw shows, hung out after and then continued the conversation online:
http://blogs.wnyc.org/culture/performance/

2. What’s unique about TBA from the usual content you cover?

Hmmm. Not sure about unique, but it is (sadly) unusual in that it’s one of
waaay too few festivals in the States with a true focus on progressive
contemporary work. Cathy Edwards is an incredible curator – she’s really
missed in New York (she was at Dance Theater Workshop a few years back, and
her seasons are still talked about).

3. Have you spent much time in Oregon? What (besides TBA) are you
looking forward to doing/seeing/trying during your visit to town?

I have NEVER been! Embarrassing. Suggestions, please … how should I be
spending my time? *

4. Which TBA event are you most excited to see?

festivals like this usually take on a rhythm and energy of their own
-usually it’s pretty distinct. I’m curious and excited to see what TBA is
like on that front. And also several of these works I’ve already seen -will
be great to get a sense of how/if they’ve changed in the time since they had
their premieres.

5. What makes a performance-art piece stand out for you? What should it
do?

Oh, Anne! …. that’s an impossible question to answer. You know it when
you see it, right? Art should do whatever the hell it wants to do. Except be
polite. Save that for the office.

*Readers, this is known as a “comment op.” Chime in and tell Claudia what parts of Portland she needs to see!

For more information om TBA events, visit PICA. A more comprehensive list of upcoming events can be found at our Arts & Entertainment Calendar.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Art, TBA, writer, five questions, 5 questions, new york times, performance art, Interview, performance, TBA 2010

Portland Zine Symposium

Posted by: Anne Adams on Aug 27, 2010 at 10:59AM 1 Comments

Does that say “readings 4 dorkz?”
Read at your own risk.

What happens when just anyone can publish their own book or magazine? As you might imagine, many elements slip into the mix at Portland Zine Symposium.

Rebels
Content that would normally get nixed by a publisher, becomes fair game for the printed page: incendiary rants, unauthorized cut-and-pastes of copyrighted content, and a barrage of unedited, indulgent diary confessionals. Some of this stuff is cathartically irreverent, or awkwardly humorous. Some of it is intriguingly “outsider.” And some of it is illegible, or otherwise un-readable, point blank. (Caveat emptor: if you can’t read the cover, may as well put it down.)

Artisans
On the other hand, with little economic incentive, and no third-party directives, many zine-makers feel free to create something more wonderful than the market demands. Handmade touches emerge, like letterpress impressions, screen-print, hand-coloring, and crafty binding. Illustrations abound. Some authors who don’t try to “market,” prove nevertheless quite compelling to read. One gets the sense that the content is purer, unchecked by an editor’s agenda-pen.

Professionals
Some small publishers, like recent Culturephile featuree Brandon Seifert, writer of Witch Doctor, self-publish with one eye on the prize of a mainstream deal. They bring slick, shelf-ready books to the zine scene, providing readers a sneak preview of work that will eventually “go big.”

So what does the zine world offer? Variety. Freedom. Risk. Rarity. Enough stuff, that there’s probably something for you. Head over to PSU, browse the tables and meet the makers.

For a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, visit the Arts & Entertainment Calendar!

Add a Comment »

Tags: Publishing, comics, writer, weekend, weekend, weekend picks, Arts Education, author, book, Weekend Plans, zine

Mary Roach Visits Portland!

The author of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, fittingly appears the same evening as the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Aug 12, 2010 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

Author Mary Roach took on the role of amateur space cadet, to research her latest book.

Astronauts, it seems, are misunderstood. While lionized and romanticized for their heroic turns of space-flight, the men and women who do the job are actually beset on all sides by petty annoyance and mind-numbing minutiae. Before and between the fleeting moments of floating and waving, astronauts are basically lab animals, poked and prodded, goaded and guiled by scientists. “What can we feed them?” “How might we strap them down?” “How many weeks can they endure the same underclothes?” are just a few of the myriad questions that can only be answered through a battery of NASA trials—and comically cringe-worthy errors.

Insatiably curious and hilarious nonfiction writer Mary Roach, already known for such titles as Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, pokes her nose into the most mundane aspects of space-travel prep in her latest offering, Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Fresh from shilling on The Daily Show, she hits Bagdad Theater (37th & SE Hawthorne) tonight at 7pm. This, incidentally, is mere hours before optimal Perseid Meteor Shower viewing, which should kick off at twilight. After catching Ms. Roach, you might rush over to one of OMSI’s Star Parties (at Rooster Rock or Stub Stewart State Parks, 9pm)—or just wander out of the Bagdad and up nearby Mount Tabor for a great sky-view, and most likely an informal neighborhood soirree. Either way, tonight offers plenty of opportunity for space exploration.

For a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, visit the Arts & Entertainment Calendar!

Add a Comment »

Tags: Literature, book, author, writer, outer space

5 Questions with Brandon Seifert

On the cusp of Comic Con, the writer of Witch Doctor discusses his series’ new-found bargaining power.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Jul 21, 2010 at 02:00PM 2 Comments

Prepping for his Comic Con coup, Brandon Seifert is all pinstripes and smiles.

Brandon Seifert writes a comic book series called Witch Doctor, which has been billed, succinctly, as House meets Fringe. This might be the first you’ve heard of it, but it probably won’t be the last, as he and illustrator Lukas Ketner have recently signed on with big-league comics-industry financiers, Skybound. (Read more about that in this recent New York Times Article)

Tomorrow, the pair will premiere Witch Doctor at Comic Con in San Diego. Today, Culturephile catches Seifert in a state of giddy anticipation, ready to don a new suit and take the geek world by storm. Without further ado, five questions:

How did you react when you first heard from Kirkman/Skybound?

We first heard from Robert Kirkman one year ago today, just before last year’s Comic Con. It was an email out of the blue, asking if we had a publisher and saying, “Book looks really solid.” That was all.

I was terribly excited, and also startled. We’d gotten a lot of attention for the book, but not from anyone of Kirkman’s stature.

My reaction was also, “It’s a shame we have to turn this down.” At the time Robert was contacting us on behalf of Image Comics proper, and Image pays on the back-end — you get royalties based on sales, but you never get an advance on royalties. And my collaborator Lukas can’t afford to produce multiple issues of a comic unless he’s getting paid up front. It was only after a couple months of back-and-forth that Robert revealed he had his own imprint in the works, specifically designed to accommodate creators like Lukas.

This medical/metaphysical horror comic will break out at Comic Con tomorrow!

What has the partnership done for you financially so far? What bills have they footed? How many of your books have they printed?

I can’t really go into details on the financial stuff. I won’t be quitting my day job any time soon — unless the comic is a HUGE hit or we get a Hollywood deal sooner rather than later. (And considering I got my first inquiry about TV/film rights less than 24 hours after Monday’s New York Times came out… that’s not outside the realm of possibility.) Meanwhile, my collaborator gets to pay his rent while he works on our first miniseries, and we get a comic published, distributed — and heavily promoted, which is rare in comics and is a big deal.

What’s your strategy going into Comic Con?

My strategy is NOT TO DIE. I leave Portland at 6:40 in the morning tomorrow, get to San Diego around 9, and then it’s meetings, panels, signings, parties… and then I spend the night in the airport and fly out Friday morning, exactly 24 hours after I left Portland.

DON’T DIE is Job #1.

HAVE FUN is Job #2.

What are you and Lukas gonna wear? This seems like a frivolous question, but costuming’s big at Comic Con, and I know you care ;)

Ha. :-) I went out and bought a Victory Suit for the occasion. It’s a pin-striped black three-piece. I told my editor I bought a suit, and he went, “… Why?” So that might have been a mistake. But still — VICTORY SUIT!

What is your absolute best-case-scenario biggest dream for Witch Doctor?

A long and successful run on my own creation, a la the success Mike Mignola’s had with Hellboy. Accompanied by a WITCH DOCTOR TV show written and directed by Joss Whedon, with effects by a creature house run by Guillermo Del Toro.

Also, a solid-gold minivan and a castle on the moon.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Interview, writer, five questions, 5 questions, new york times, Comic Con, Witch Doctor, Brandon Seifert, author, book, comics