Flux 7: Vol. One

Introducing....
A new weekly feature here on point.flux.broadcast, in which artists, writers, gallery owners, critics, chefs, designers, and other local, national, and international names share their current top seven lists.

vol. one: TJ NORRIS

TJ Norris chose his treasured albums for his top seven choices,_(and I agree that Brian Eno's Music for Airports_is one of the best albums of all time)._TJ Norris is an artist and curator, who's solo exhibition_Objects and Images opens tomorrow_(October 6, 6-9 pm) at 12x16 gallery in SE Portland._Norris' work will also be featured in Mills @ 35,_a Group Show at the Boston Center for the Arts_Mills Gallery, Boston, MA (November '06 - January '07)

1. Nurse With Wound - Soliloquy for Lillith
2. Billie Holliday - Lady Day:_The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944)
3. Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour/Further Listening
4. Björk - Family Tree
5. The Plasmatics - Beyond the Valley of 1984
6. Brian Eno - Music for Airports
7. Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi

Posted by Jeanine Jablonski October 5, 2006 20:31

Two Reviews (And A Disclaimer)

(Disclaimer: Both of the following shows include the work of TJ Norris, and while it wasn't intentional on my part, it just so happened that his work was some of the strongest in the exhibitions and was written about accordingly. These reviews are not my attempt to be a cheerleader for my predecessor, however it is very clear to me why TJ has chosen to make changes in his life which allow him the time to focus on his own work.)_

Eighteen

12x16 gallery, 1216 SE Division

After stopping by the New American Art Union to see Mazana Bruggeman's paintings, I drove further south in search of the 12x16 gallery. The petite cooperative gallery held its second opening in a series of three for the two month long group show, entitled Eighteen. On exhibit until September 3rd are works by the gallery's intimate roster of eight artists, along with that of invited guest from across the country. With an emphasis on photography and collage/assemblage work, there was much to see (35 works hung on the walls of a space the size of a small bedroom,) but little that held my attention. The strongest works were the smallest and largest in the space- Californian baby smith's heap no.47, a teeny-tiny mixed media piece, and Portland's own TJ Norris' slick lambda c-print, ripe + gilded, a work whose surface slickness and scale superseded the other works on view.

The walls were congested, and the gallery did itself a disservice by not showcasing the best works produced by its own members. And, although gallery director Cary Doucette said they worried a themed show would seem contrived, it definitely needed that little something to make it stand out from the endless stream of 'group shows' we're all very familiar with. I don't think every group show needs some deeply conceptual thread that ties the work together, that isn't always necessary, or even possible. But there needs to be some sort of break in the facile execution, a challenge that the unique resources a cooperative gallery environment should be able to meet head-on.

There is intrinsic value in cooperative galleries, which are primarily run and maintained by the artists who exhibit there. In theory, this type of venture gives its artists stock in what is exhibited, and they not only feel responsible for their own work, but how the gallery, as a whole, is represented. With a small roster of artists like that which makes up 12x16, the gallery is left with several openings throughout the year, a time in which they can take advantage of the opportunity to present their collective ideas and aesthetics within a context which they have a stake in. Instead, the members hung their work alongside the work of a few guest artists, resulting in yet another predictable group show.

inClover

Mt. Scott Park, Saturday, August 5th, 12-7 pm

Scott Wayne Indiana has been busy. In addition to installing his successful (not to mention laborious) installation, Waiting Room, at the Portland Art Center, he brought Portlanders to outer-southeast's Mt. Scott Park on Saturday for inClover, "a fine arts show in a park."

I have to admit, upon hearing about inClover and its outdoor locale, I was a bit skeptical. Art installed in a park? It sounded a little bit too Hawthorne-bongo-drum-esque to me, and I hoped I wouldn't need a dashiki, and a hackysack to blend in.

Cynicism in check, I walked into Mt. Scott park mid-day Saturday, to find dozens of kids, adults, grandmas, artists and dog walkers strolling through the outdoor exhibition. People were interacting, and talking about the work, standing in small groups with strollers and sunhats- completely de-void of pretense and art-scene hierarchies. I began to see what Indiana was trying to achieve. The show did have a tiny bit of the predicted Hawthorne-y feel at times, with several paintings leaned up against, hanging from, and wrapped around trees. For the most part, there was nothing particularly lacking in the paintings, but the painters didn't seem to have the forethought of other artists who clearly made work for the context in which it was being shown.

Aside from the paintings, one of the first works I came across, whose placement in a park setting somehow worked, was a video piece by Los Angeles artist Michael Keenen. Shown on a television, (whose cord Indiana finessed plugging into a neighboring house's power source,) the black and white video work had no clear indication of a time period due to its super8 film and puzzling soundtrack. Set on a beach, the actions of the film's single male figure seemed to be somewhat cathartic; the attempted release of someone or something, achieved through banal, solitary activity.

Aside from the more palpable works of Marty Schnapf, Paige Saez, and blinglab, much of the work on view was subtly and strategically placed, requiring me to weave through pathways, follow arrows and double check to be sure I hadn't missed anything. Nestled between two trees was Ellen George's Stiletto, a pointed polymer stake installed directly into the ground, simultaneously unassuming and unnerving. Gretchen Bennett's Mongrel Scouts (Coyoodle Decal Series) were a scattering of orange animal decals adhered to the park's various benches, tables, and power boxes. I witnessed several groups sit directly on or in front of the works, then notice them a minute or two later. Tree, a work by Justin Oswald, appeared at first glace as, well, just that. After closer inspection I realized it was not just a tree, but a tree enhanced. The perfect specimen showed leaves meticulously painted green, and the bark gleamed a flawless burnt umber.

Megan Scheminske's walk-a-bout installation was an attempt at what Harvest Henderson's Food for Birds (Lettuce Flower #2) and Show and Tell (precious 1, ii, and iii) successfully achieved. By using perishable and found materials, Henderson embraced the ephemeral nature of a one-day exhibition. Another highlight of the show, was a team effort by Abi Spring and TJ Norris entitled sim-park (network.) I spent the most time standing above and beside this piece, watching people interact with it, their reflections mingling with my own. Though its materials were man-made, like Henderson's Food for Birds, it worked within the context of the exhibition's fleeting nature. The mirrored shape reflected its surroundings, a momentary capture of the intangible; a fragment of time, a memory of place, while several small bell jars futilely attempted to contain those transient moments.

Indiana, in his statement for the show, said that he finds himself "in need of a middle ground when it comes to the physical space where art is experienced: A space that is, perhaps, carefree, comfortable, and yet conceptually rich." I think he achieved this, and more, with inClover. The exhibition's unique social characteristics and experimentalism reminded me of Fritz Haeg's Sundown Salon Series in LA's Glassell Park. (whose Sundown Schoolhouse is accepting applications now.) After a while, I began to question what was 'art' and what wasn't: a random pink hair barrette? Grandmas lunching at the picnic table? Artists playing Yatzee? The birthday party complete with blue streamers? And though sadly the grandmas were not, in fact, part of the exhibition, there was something almost utopian about the afternoon; about an art show, installed in a park, that simultaneously blurred the line between art and life and encouraged social interaction.

Posted by Jeanine Jablonski August 30, 2006 15:19