First Thursday

"Silent Fall"

Finally! Considering how long I've lived in Portland, I can't believe it's taken until now to attend First Thursday, a monthly art event in which a select number of galleries open new exhibitions of works by painters, sculptors, photographers and glass artists.

It was founded 24 years ago by members of the Portland Art Dealers Association and it spawned a grassroots-flavored street festival on the eastside (our part of town) called Last Thursday. The two events could not be more different.

First Thursday spills all over Northwest Portland, from Old Town to the Pearl, and attracts a more well-heeled crowd while, not incidentally, generating lots of business for restaurants and bars in the area. The quality of the art -- at least in the galleries -- is pretty high; the wares being sold on the street range widely, on the other hand. Everything from handmade furniture and jewelry to photography and low-brow paintings of beer cans.

Lori and I met some friends for a light dinner on Broadway and then broke off to tour the area with Colleen and her daughter Ryeder.

It was a gorgeous night to be outside, with a not-too-warm summer evening and not-too-full bellies. We spent a good chunk of time at the Auden Gallery, 714 NW Davis St., which featured some prints by Warhol, Picasso and Roy Lichtenstein, along with newer works by local artists including Dharma Strasser Maccoll. who does a lot of mixed media on paper with a delicate feel to it. "Silent Fall," above, is one example.

First Thursday was enjoyable on a lot of levels. It combined food, fun and the open air. It allowed me to spend time with my wife and two friends I don't see enough of. These are exactly the kinds of things I was thinking of when I wrote "I wish..."  earlier this week.

Artwork: http://dharmamaccoll.com

New Oregon Interview Series

In April, I wrote about an after-work function in our neighborhood where I met a couple of women, Nora Robertson and Tiffany Lee Brown, who were then publicizing a series of live interviews with local artists that would start in late June.

Last week, I attended the first one -- and I'm glad I did. I've often thought of myself as having something of a cultural blind spot when it comes to first-hand knowledge of what Portland's creative class has to offer the city.

Sure, I understand it intellectually. Lots of people in their 20s and 30s who've moved here in the past 10 to 15 years -- typically college-educated, working one or more day jobs so they can make art -- and who've collectively helped transform the city's cultural life through their numbers and D.I.Y. approach toward work and the creative arts.

But until I spent a couple hours last Wednesday at a local coffeehouse, as part of a small but supportive audience there for the kickoff of The New Oregon Interview Series, I hadn't really come face to face with it. (Guess I've been spending too much time focused on politics, race, class, the economy and other topics.)

Nora moderated a program on music, interviewing Slim Moon, a band manager/spoken word artist, who got his start performing at punk rock venues in Olympia; Alicia Rose (above), a music club owner, occasional accordion player and self-described "gatekeeper," who's originally from L.A.; and Mic Crenshaw, a hip-hop artist from Chicago's South Side who moved here after a stint in equally white Minneapolis.

My colleague, Barry Johnson, wrote his weekly arts column about the debut program. I defer to his take, since he was able to sit through the entire program, including a group discussion, whereas I had to leave after just the individual interviews.

The series continues through February, with additional topics touching on film, books, performance, food, visual arts, fashion and urban planning. I hope to hit the next one in July.

Photo by Motoya Nakamura, The Oregonian