So find yourself a flyer, I guess. Info on the City Hall art show here.

The Central Eastside's First Friday Art Walk is taking place tonight instead of tomorrow. (First... Frursday?) Something to do with explosions. As far as I know, most galleries are still participating.

And of course it's First Thursday, which means the usual slew of opportunities for free wine and cruising art appreciation. Here are a few that looked fun to me; feel free to chime in with other shows of interest in the comments.

Floating World Two-Year Anniversary Party:

Floating World is a "curated comic book store" that also houses art exhibits--past shows have included work by Nicholas Gurewich, Tony Millionaire, Peter Bagge, and a Bill Mantlo (of Rom Spaceknight fame) benefit show. Tonight they celebrate both their 2nd anniversary and the release of the second issue of their "experimental comics tabloid" Diamond Comics, with a 50% off sale (they're trying clear some room for an upcoming remodel/expansion) and special guests Joseph Cross, Evan Meister & Blaise Larmee.

Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th Ave #101, 6-9 pm

Kind of Like a Buffet

PDX Contemporary Art's Kind of Like a Buffet features work that explores Portland's food culture. "In the spirit of enjoying the wonderful food culture of our region, "Kinda Like a Buffet" is a summer group show in which most pieces relate to food. Think easy & fun & a wonderful feast for the eyes." Participating artists include Vanessa Renwick, Joe Macca, Scott Wayne Indiana, Cynthia Lahti (that's her "Black Cat" up there. I think the cat is hungry?), and more.

Reading Frenzy/IPRC

Reading Frenzy opens a show of work by local illustrator Ryan Berkeley, Sophisticated Menagerie (expect pictures of "well-dressed" animals), while next door at the IPRC, Justin "Scrappers" Morrison has an art installation and release party for his new book CAMP.

Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak; IPRC, 917 SW Oak #218; both receptions run 6-9 pm

Chas Bowie, bastard that he is, left the Mercury a while ago to focus on some "personal projects." If I ever leave the Mercury to work on "personal projects," you can rest assured that what I'll really be working on is a couple of well whiskeys at Union Jack's; Chas, on the other hand, has managed to get some pretty great arts- and Portland-related things off the ground. First, there's his new photography blog, That's a Negative, and second, he'll be speaking tomorrow at Quality Pictures about photographer Roger Ballen. Let's get press release-y.

Although Roger Ballen's disquieting scenes of ambiguous, psychological tableaux look unlike any photography being produced today, Bowie will present historical photographs--both celebrated and obscure--to demonstrate what he calls "Roger Ballen's spiritual and aesthetic ancestry." Drawing from startling and evocative images from the past 150 years, "Before There Was Ballen" will explore photographic pioneers who sought to capture the tensions of insanity, theatricality, the grotesque, spontaneity, power relationships, animal interaction, and classical portraiture with their cameras.

The photographs Bowie plans to discuss include wide-ranging examples such as a remarkably formal abstraction by Roger Fenton of the queen's rifle target from 1860; Ralph Eugene Meatyard's hallucinatory compositions of children posing in latex masks of elderly, shriveled people 100 years later; archival portraits of 19th century zookeepers posing with their animal charges; and photo-documentation of the female inmates of the Surrey County Lunatic Asylum from the 1850s.

Chas also wrote about Ballen's work for the Mercury a little while ago (you can read his piece right here). Plus, Holly Andres' awesome-sounding work is still showing at Quality too, so all in all, I'm going to wager this'll be a pretty solid event. More info: That's a Negative and Quality Pictures.

Quality Pictures (916 NW Hoyt), Sat June 28, 10 am, FREE (though space is limited, RSVP at info@qpca.com).

That's exactly what Last Thursday in Alberta felt like last night. Diverse art + non-exclusive atmosphere + lots and lots of people. Thanks to a wonderful lack of top-down organization, anyone can just show up at Last Thursday, set up on NE Alberta and share whatever art they want with a mob of positive-energy Portlanders. The lack of fee and the laid-back nature of the event leads to two great things:

Great Thing #1: Lots of different kinds of art get equal footing. Low brow/High brow Gallery Art/Street Art distinctions - so not Northeast. Paintings sat on the curb right next to mobiles made from crab shells, hand-sewn dresses were right across the street from pastel on plywood drawings. An anti-exclusivity, supportive community event is just what's needed in a neighborhood tense about issues of division.

Great Thing #2: Speaking of gentrification, Last Thursday means financial greenery for all the neighbor shops. While the art galleries and coffee shops saw a lot of customers, the four Mexican restaurants were packed and people crowded the sidewalks all the way from 7th Ave to 33rd.

And now, my favorite local artists from the night:

Angy Will's untitled marmot skull with crochet from together gallery

Local sewer Arielle St. Lawrence's ruffly summer dresses make me super jealous.

I burst out laughing at this pin that reads "I'LL EAT ANY CLAM" and asked the artist to explain it to me. "Well, I've got a bachelor's sense of humor. Or maybe a clammer's sense of humor," he replied. He's from the coast. He calls himself Reverend Benny Bob.

Finally, my favorite performance of the night: Star-E Rose punk in pink hat attacking newspaper box with portable stereo.

posted by Sarah Mirk

kinseyvisual.com

Hey there, alkie art boosters: Friendly reminder that tonight at the Lowbrow Lounge (1036 NW Hoyt) from 5 pm until close is the summer edition of Pints for PICA, at which a portion of all food and drink sales go to the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art—including 100% of the sales of Full Sail's "PICA pint."

I will be there early, frontloading before Avenue Q at the Keller—to which, btw, you can get rush tickets for $28, two hours before curtain, tonight through June 29th, 7:30 pm, more details here.

7:30. Tour De Crepes, 2921 NE Alberta Street Portland, OR 503.473.8657. More info here. See you there.

So: I don't know any thing about visual art. (The irony of the title "Arts Editor" is not lost on me.) And I would like to up our coverage of the visual art world here on Blogtown—it's been getting short shrift since Chas Bowie departed. (If you miss him, he's got a new website).

I'm looking for someone who's knowledgeable about the local arts scene. Goes to art openings for fun. Is interested both in both art itself, and art news and gossip. Can construct a sentence. (Like that?) My needs are primarily blog-related, but pitching stories for the paper is also a possibility.

If you're interested, email a resume and writing samples to ahallett@portlandmercury.com—title it "Art Blogger," please—and we'll talk further details.

A few years ago, Holly Andres’ lush photographic series, Stories from a Short Street, seemed to be a ubiquitous presence in Portland galleries. For good reason, too: Andres’ laboriously staged, strangely evocative images at once conjure the supercharged narratives of Gregory Crewdson and the stylized surfaces of fashion spreads. Her new series, Sparrow Lane, picks up with similar themes and a few familiar models from Stories, but, here, self-discovery is sublimated in Nancy Drew-style scenes of young girls snooping and spying. Whether in some bucolic marsh or an attic crawl space, Andres’ unattended heroines appear in hot pursuit of unraveling some secret, but one suspects the real mysteries lie within. JOHN MOTLEY

I visited the Holly Andres exhibition and liked how closely they evoked illustrations from children's mystery novels--outstretched hands and all. The images are rich, and full of color and intrigue, and be sure to look for the full-wall assemblage of smaller pictures and objects (clues galore!) just around the corner from the photographs. Read John Motley's full review here.

Quality Pictures, 916 NW Hoyt; Tues-Sat through Aug 2

So, watching the Tony awards, my little inner theater geek rose up, still kicking. Turns out that people are continuing to make good theater on Broadway.

I have to say that the Tony awards are waaaaaaay more entertaining than the Oscars. The award show was packed with amazing performances from current Broadway runs. All the better to get you to buy a ticket, I suppose. And if I were going to buy a ticket, it would be for the show that won the Tony for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations: In the Heights.

I don’t know much about it other than it takes place in Latino dominated Washington Heights, New York, and that the music is a combination of Dominican rhythms and east coast hip-hop. Here’s last night’s performance from the cast, “96,000.”

And also, the mind blowing acceptance speech from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for the show. I don't think this has ever happened at the Tony awards. The dude is on point!

Pretty damn amazing.

If you want more hot Broadway action, the Tony award winning Avenue Q is in town next week, opening on the 24th. Think, Sesame Street but grounded in real life. Yes, I’m talking puppets here. Added bonus, it was written by a Portlander!

ART has struck me as floundering a bit lately, choosing tame shows while their directors phone it in (meanwhile Third Rail Repertory, arguably the best company in town, turns out consistently great work with a 12-person company). I'd love to see things turn around over there, and this could be a step in the right direction—they've also got some exciting shows lined up for the 2008-2009 season, including Tracy Letts' Artist's Rep-commissioned adaptation of Chekov's Three Sisters.

And the actors on board are top notch: Michael Mendelson, Todd Van Voris, Vana O'Brien, and Amaya Villazan. Not only will these actors be in a bunch of shows, but they'll become in a sense the public face of Artist's Rep. ART's Deborah Elliott told me:

"We [currently] do post-show discussions, we do outreach to local schools, and what's going to happen now is that these actors will be given first opportunity to lead or participate in all of the behind-the-scenes experiences. They aren't going to be doing all of them, but certainly every actor will have an opportunity [to get to know the audiences]."

This is a move in the right direction, and it brought to mind this article by monologist Mike Daisey (who will be in town for TBA this fall), about the death of the regional theater system and what it means to local talent when theaters outsource:

When regional theaters need artists today, they outsource: They ship the actors, designers, and directors in from New York and slam them together to make the show. To use a sports analogy, theaters have gone from a local league with players you knew intimately to a different lineup for every game, made of players you'll never see again, coached by a stranger, on a field you have no connection to.

The outsourcing conversation feels particularly relevant on the heels of the Drammys. Most of the awards given to Portland Center Stage went to people who were brought in from elsewhere, which kind of strikes me as complete bullshit. It's no commentary on the quality of the work PCS was honored for—I sure can't argue with the Outstanding Production nod to Twelfth Night, for example—but if you're going to insist that these are "local" theater awards and not allow any touring productions or non-locally produced shows to compete, where's the logic in then recognizing what is essentially touring talent, brought in from New York to work on a single project?

Yes, it's a toilet artist Amanda James carved from styrofoam and mosaiced in mixed media (Twizzlers, life savers and marshmallows... delicious, delicious toilet) and it was my favorite from the P.S.U.'s end-of-year silent auction opening last night.

This year (for the first year ever!) P.S.U.'s hosting this cool interactive auction both in its art department studios and online. You missed the hot bidding in the studio's show last night, but if you're excited about perhaps acquiring some novel and high-quality art on the cheap, browse through the internet auction.

The auction mixes the work of interesting established artists like Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July with still-starving students like Eric Steen (who's selling a "mystery customizable art idea") and Cyrus Smith (who will mail art to your home every month). Plus, it continues until all the art is sold. Every single item must go, even if it means the auction runs indefinitely. And everyone who bids is guaranteed to win a piece of art. The whole thing strikes me as an internet performance piece. And I like it.

posted by Sarah Mirk

The shows are self-produced by PSU students hoping to bridge the gap between Portland's burgeoning creative class, and its perception of the stuffiness and modern irrelevance of live theater.

It is very, very difficult to convince people to go to the theater. Ticket prices have a bit to do with this, and are frequently invoked as a reason why people, particularly young people, don't go—but in reality, most companies offer sliding scale and pay-what-you-will nights. There are even inexpensive options at the high end of the spectrum—PCS sells cheap rush tickets when shows aren't sold out. In my experience, people like the idea of theater—they're unwilling to condemn the medium as a whole, but they're equally unwilling to actually attend a production. People will take a chance on a band they've never heard of or a movie that's gotten middling reviews, but theater just doesn't seem to be a viable entertainment option for many. (I'd be curious to hear from commenters on that one—do you go to the theater, and if not, why not? What was the last show you attended?) So anyway, it's nice to see young folks trying to reach out to new audiences. Bridge that gap, kids.

Full press release after the jump

Announcement: Portland will be participating in Free Night of Theater this year. The program asks participating theaters to provide free tickets to new theater goers. And then people go see a play, and hopefully like it, and come back and see more theater and pay for it. That's great news.

Gracie Starr is presenting the award for Best Young Performer. She is precious. I feel bad that she had to hear Eleanor's joke.

Oustanding Young Performer: Eli Hirsh, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, Oregon Children's Theatre.

Portland Civic Theatre Guild's Mary Brand Scholarships, two $250 scholarships to young actors (backstory here), go to Robert Halprin (?) and Destiny Stigall (I know I butchered those names, sorry).

Q: What is the difference between an actor and a mutual fund?

A: A mutual fund will actually mature and make money.

More hilarity—and a full list of the winners—after the jump.

There's a big piece about Bob Hicks in the program, the Oregonian critic who retired in December. 35 years of writing about theater. That is, frankly, mind-blowing. I've only been doing it for four and I think about suicide way more often than I used to. (I kid because I love.)

Here we go! Apologies in advance for misspellings, I have the wrong version of Safari or something.

Vana and Eleanor O'Brian ("Portland's answer to the Judds") are hosting, here they come. Oh, it's just Eleanor, Vana is running a little late... Here she comes. With snacks. "I brought brownies... Every presenter will receive a homemade brownie." Neato.

Eleanor mentions a "gender inequality" in the ceremony. Ooh, I see what she means. Only one best actress award is being given out, and four best actors? Same deal with supporting roles? Yikes. She just led the ladies in the room in a cry of "What the fuck?!" Heh. That's pretty funny actually. Oh, now we're doing a "group om." You had me, and you lost me.

All of the presenters have to tell a joke. Neat, jokes. We're telling actor jokes now. Ooh, that one was dirty. I can't repeat it.

Oh my god. I'm going to get hit by a plate. Eleanor telling the story of how during a performance of Streetcar, Floyd from Just Out got hit in the head with a plate. And she says, "Presenters, throw your paper brownie plate at the audience when you are done. Maybe you will hit a critic."

Now we're telling blooper stories. This is boring. Back in a bit.

Nothing has happened yet, so skip this post if all you're looking for are winners—I'll have those up as they're announced.

We're at the Crystal Ballroom—I'm sitting in the corner grudgingly drinking a pink McBeer, while all around folks are mingling and schmoozing and waiting for the ceremony itself to get started. It's a far younger and livelier crowd than the audiences at most of the actual plays I've seen recently—unsurprisingly, the theater community saw an opportunity to play dressup and seized the shit out of it. I see heels, bare shoulders, elaborate updoes. A man in a skirt just walked by. (Or was that a ultilkilt?) Everyone looks very pretty, except for me, who just spilled beer on myself. Luckily my beer and my shirt are the same color.

Everyone looks familiar, for obvious reasons—there's Tyler Cafall, who was one of the only parts of Artist's Rep's The History Boys that I didn't find viscerally offensive. His date just spilled a drink; he cleaned it up. Ahh, chivalry. (At what point does liveblogging become creepyblogging?) There's Darius Pierce, who I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see get a nod tonight for his excellent turn in Portland Center Stage's The Beard of Avon; there's Val Landrum, who certainly earned herself a supporting actress nomination with her turn as Stella in Artist Rep's Streetcar. Michael O'Connell, maybe a little something-something for his role in Shining City?

I'm not one to make predictions, but on my wish list: I'd like to see Imago's The Dinner get a shout out, and I'm hard pressed to think of a better female performance than that Andrea Frankle, who played Blanche in Streetcar. Sojourn's Throwing Bones deserves a little love.

O theater critic Richard Wattenberg (a former professor of mine, which he may or may not remember) just dropped by and said that "Live from the Drammys" is a sexy name for a blog post. I know, right?

Everyone is schmoozing and mingling. How nice. More later when the ceremony itself commences.

There are some really good things happening onstage this weekend.

9 Parts of Desire sounds amazing—the one-woman show about nine very different Iraqi women is co-produced by CoHo and Cygnet Productions; my notoriously irascible freelance theater writer, Temple Lentz, called it "one of the most compelling pieces of solo theater you will ever see on a Portland stage."

The Dinner at Imago Theatre is just a fantastic little show. Dinner party gone wrong. Musical numbers. Acute social anxiety buried under hilariously outsized hijinks. I loved it. I took a friend who generally considers himself too rock 'n' roll for local theater—after the show, he said, "Damn, if theater was always like that I would go all the time. I might actually recommend that to people."