PICA Lectures: Keegan McHargue

All The Way From San Francisco!
Keegan McHargue Will Lecture About His Work!
The Public Is Invited (it's free, tell your friends)
Monday March 31st, 7:30pm Sharp!
PSU 5th Avenue Cinema
510 SW Hall St. at SW 5th Ave

San Francisco based artist Keegan McHargue (Born in Portland in 1982) has been depicted as "a magnificent maker of intense, busily illustrated drawings and paintings that warp perspective and combine imagery more as if in a dream than in reality". (Sarah Valdez, 2006). McHargue has shown at Jack Hanley in SF, Metro Pictures in NYC, Max Wigram in London, Galerie Emmaunel Perrotin in Paris, and Hiromi Yoshii in Tokyo. His new book Mauve Deep has just been released by Hiromi Yoshii Gallery. www.pica.org

PDX Picks March 26th 2008

Wednesday 26th:Rosie Thomas and Teddy Thompson

Seattle's favorite songstress Rosie Thomas will be singing quirky little heartbreak tunes tonight in the Doug Fir as she opens for singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson. Doug Fir Lounge,830 E Burnside. 9pm. $15. Over 21's.

Starts Friday 28th: Snow Angels

The latest from All the Real Girls director, David Gordon Greene is an adaptation of Stewart O'Nan's novel featuring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale as an estranged small-town couple caring for their 3 year old daughter. Beautiful, sparse cinematography, haunting music and transfixing performances from everyone involved. Fox Towers, 846 SW Park Ave. All week.

Friday 28th: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Watching Bruce Springsteen rock the Rose Garden is absolutely the best thing anyone could be doing with their Friday evening. It's been a long time coming and I will be there feeling extremely thankful to be singing along with Born to Run. Rose Garden, 7:30pm. All ages. $65-$95

Sunday 30th: The 24 Hour Plays

CoHo Productions locks 30 actors and 4 writers in a room for 24 hours to cast, direct and perform four one-acts. The CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St.8pm. $20

Sunday 30th:Portland Lounge Series

It's a free show with Laura Gibson, Per Se and Ben Meyercord playing tunes and doing short onstage interviews. What else would you be doing on a Sunday evening? Towne Lounge. 9:30pm. FREE. Over 21's.

April 3rd: First Thursday Group

New to Portland? Want to meet some great new people and find out what's going on in the local arts and culture scene? Need an excuse for a great night out. Join us for First Thursday in the Pearl as we walk round the galleries, exhibitions and shows, drink some coffee and discuss. For more information email Adele (adele.galebach@gmail.com) or simply show up and meet her on the evening. To find out more about what's taking place at First Thursday this month check out www.firstthursdayportland.com

Date: Thursday 3rd April

Time: 6pm

Location: Quality Pictures, (corner of NW 9th and Hoyt)

Ten Tiny Dances

Please join me in celebrating a unique North West dance experience. I will be presenting a new work, Rented, danced by Maesie Speer in the upcoming Ten Tiny Dances show at Clyde Common. It is a one night only engagement - APRIL 6 - so, buy your tickets early as there is very limited seating.

To find out more about the fabulous and fascinating Ten Tiny Dances go here:

http://tentinydances.org/

ReBar Presentation

ORLO Presents ReBar
Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 pm
AIA Portland 403 NW 11th Ave

PICA is proud to sponsor a lecture by ReBar, presented by ORLO. ReBar will present their internationally-lauded public art work and engage in an open forum Q & A with a dynamic audience. Reception to follow. Door at 6 pm. Admission is free at the door. Reserved seating tickets available online at www.orlo.org.

The San Francisco-based design collective makes their first appearance in Portland. ReBar is known for projects such as Park[ing] Day where they transformed metered parking spots into temporary public parks. Join us in energizing the Portland design community to challenge current ideas of public space and discuss issues concerning our built environment.

PDX Picks March 19th 2008

Thursday 20th:Smallpressapalooza

Fifteen of PDX's best-known independently published authors speed read from their writings. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside Street. 5pm. FREE.

Starts Friday 21st: Paranoid Park

Portland-based director, Gus Van Zant takes an unflinching look at skateboard-kid culture, filming exclusively round the local cityscape. Catch it for one week only at Cinema 21. 616 NW 21st. $4-$8.

Sunday 23rd: Dance Dance Resurrection

Come join us as we dance up a storm and celebrate New Life this Easter Sunday. Dance hard, spend some time focusing on the Resurrection and raise money for a great local non-profit.6pm: Evangel Basement (SE 29th & Flanders) All donations to These Numbers Have Faces (www.thesenumbers.com) Suggested donation $5 or $15 per family. For more information email jan@imagodeicommunity.com

Monday 24th: Jens Lekman

Swedish songbird Jens Lekman combines soaring orchestral pop arrangements with off the wall lyrics and honey-dripping vocals. His recent album has been making me smile for weeks. Well worth the $12. Berbati's Pan, 231 SW Ankeny St. 9:30pm. $12. Over 21s.

Tuesday 25th:Polka Madre y la Comezon

Mexico City band Polka Madre y la Comezon are on their second US tour. Having performed in everything from Mexican prisons to some of the most respected venues and festivals in Mexico, the US, and Europe, the band will now be in Portland. Their shows are at times highly theatrical, even more so now as they are joined by Finnish performance artists Pekka and Teija Isorattya, who provide live visual accompaniment for Polka Madre. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th, 8pm. Over 21s.

Polka Madre Y La Comezon

Mexico City band Polka Madre y la Comezon is on their second US tour. Having performed in everything from Mexican prisons to some of the most respected venues and festivals in Mexico, the US, and Europe, the band will now be in Portland. Their shows are at times highly theatrical, and even more so now as they are joined by Finnish performance artists Pekka and Teija Isorattya, who provide live visual accompaniment for Polka Madre.

Tuesday March 25 8pm Someday Lounge
Thursday March 27 9pm Alberta Street Pub (with Portland Russian band Chervona)

Art Spark

Art Spark is a swinging good time.

Every third Thursday, we gather at Living Room Theaters' Lounge to meet, discuss, blather, applaud & plot the growth of the arts in Portland. Join us Thursday, March 21st as we kick off these monthly gatherings.

Here's what we promise:

* Food & drink specials

* Fantastic, rotating, monthly hosts from the arts community

* Six@Six where our hosts have six minutes at six p.m. for a performance, a question, or a talk of their choosing
* Freewheeling conversation for the rest of the 114 minutes


Our host this March is Arts & Culture Commissioner Sam Adams. April's host? Come to find out and help us pick future hosts!

- VISIT US AT PORTLANDartSPARK.COM

PDX Picks March 12th 2008

Thursday 13th: Flutter Loves Men

Come celebrate the brand new men's line at local store Flutter. Relax with beer and cigars while you admire new designs by Frocky Jack Morgan and check out the hand-crafted clothes and jewelry on sale. Flutter,3948 N Mississippi. 5pm-9pm.

Starts Friday 14th: West Side Story

All week the Laurelhurst is showing the original version of the beloved 1961 musical. Well-worth the three bucks if only to sing-a-long. Laurelhurst Theater, 2735 E Burnside. 6:30pm nightly plus 12:40pm Sat. & Sun. $3. Over 21's.

Saturday 15th: Live Wire! Anniversary Show

OPB's live radio show turns 4 this weekend. Celebrate with local travel writer Chuck Thompson, comic-book duo the Pander Brothers and local blogstress Stacy Bolt. With music from the March Fourth Marching band and Amelia. www.livewireradio.org. Aladdin Theater, 3116 SE 11th Ave., 8pm. $15-25.

Monday 17th: Beach House

Baltimore's Beach House are in town tonight bringing their own brand of carefully put together, lonely, yet oddly beautiful music to the Holocene. With support from Papercuts and AU. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrisson. 9pm. $10. Over 21's.

Tuesday 18th: Saul Williams

Saul Williams is a former Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Champion. A seasoned open mic pro. His work featured in the 1998 film Slam. He has performed spoken word with the Fugees, Blackalicious, Erykah Badu and Allen Ginsberg. This event also features live music from Dragons of Zynth. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. 9pm. $15.

Flutter Loves Men

PICA Lectures: Anissa Mack

All The Way From Brooklyn!
Anissa Mack Will Lecture About Her Work!
The Public Is Invited (it's free, tell your friends)
Monday, March 10th, 7:30 pm Sharp!
PSU 5th Avenue Cinema, Room 90
510 SW Hall St. at SW 5th

Anissa Mack received her BA in Studio Art from Wesleyan University and an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She also attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and participated in the PS1 National Studio Program. Recent solo exhibitions include To Be Sung as a Round at The Contemporary in Atlanta, Georgia and New Work at Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia.

Mack has also created commissioned public projects for the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (Santa Barbara, CA 2007), WaveHill Gardens (Bronx, NY 2004), The Public Art Fund (NY, NY 2002), the Queens Museum (Queens, NY 2005), and Socrates Sculpture Park, (Queens, NY 2003). She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

PDX Picks March 6th 2008

Thursday 6th: First Thursday Group Kick Off

Curious about what's happening in the Portland art scene? Want to connect with other people who are?
Join us as we head out to discover what downtown's galleries have to offer. Check out what's going on this month at www.firstthursdayportland.com Meet at 7pm, Backspace on NW 5th Ave. and Couch St. Email adele.galebach@gmail.com with questions or statements.

Thursday 6th: Zines, Zines, Zines

Tonight a decade's worth of the best that Zines have to offer goes on display at the IPRC. In celebration of their spring theme of "Zines!Zines!Zines!" the IPRC's members and staff have put together an art show of "amazing publications from their favorite zinesters." IPRC, 917 SW Oak, #218, 6-9pm FREE.

Starts Friday 7th: Girls Rock!

Shane King and Arne Johnson's documentary about Portland's own Rock and Roll Camp for Girls (www.girlsrockmovie.com) finally makes it to the big screen this weekend with a week long run at Cinema 21. Join Sam Adams, Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls staff and campers and the Rose City Rollers for the Portland Premier, 7pm Friday. Nightly at 7pm and 8:55pm plus Sat.-Sun. (1pm, 3pm, 5pm) 616 NW 21st Ave.

Friday 7th: Neil Young Tribute

Local acts including Dolorean and Matt Sheehy turn their attention to covering their favorite Neil Young tunes tonight. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi.8pm. FREE

Sunday 9th: Mortified

Back by popular demand Mortified returns to the Someday Lounge this evening with a host of red-faced adults reading from their teenage journals in front of a live audience. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th, Sat. 8th & Sun.9th, 8pm. $10-12

Fundraising Art Auction

March Photography Exhibit at Franklin: Allegra Villella

This month’s foyer art display at Franklin comes from 16 year old photographer Allegra Villella. Allegra focuses on conceptual photography and uses a Nikon D50. Allegra says her photography is an attempt to show the world from a different angle, capture magic and express herself. Somehow, explaining the way she see the world seems so much easier in pictures. Her thoughts can have shades, colors, layers and tones, they can be pieced together, dark, simple, or textured. Scripture and music greatly influence many of Allegra’s photos. She loves the challenge of taking a verse and representing it in an image. Each of her pictures has a purpose behind it. Whether it is to portray a verse from scripture, a certain emotion, or simply to make someone smile, every image has a meaning.

Allegra’s goal as a photographer is to inspire others to see the beauty of imagination.
Check out Allegra’s work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/av_photography

Vibe of Portland: Fundraising Concert

On March 15th from 7-9 p.m. at Revive Coffeehouse (1323 NW 23rd),
Vibe of Portland is having a fundraising concert featuring Muse Chamber Ensemble.

Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted, and a portion
of the evening's sales will go to Vibe of Portland.

www.vibeofportland.com
and Vibe's facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2214529461

Mr. T Art Exhibition

Next week, Moshi Moshi Gallery in Portland will be hosting a cool group art show curated by Levi Pitters, a 10-year old Mr. T fan and artist (who also happens to be the son of Crafty Wonderland's Cathy Pitters).

For the first time ever, twenty of Portland's finest artists will come together to present "I (Heart) Mr. T" - a show of art based on America's favorite Mohawked Messiah. Levi Pitters, a ten year-old artist and Mr. T enthusiast, came up with the idea and recruited some of his talented friends to create artwork dedicated to his idol. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of art in this show will be donated to a scholarship fund to help send 5th graders in Levi's school to Opal Creek - a three day outdoor education program held in June. Mr. T would approve!

Featured artists include Bwana Spoons, Ryan Berkeley, Chelsea Fletcher and more. Link.

Opening Reception on First Thursday in March
March 6, 2008 from 6 -9pm
@ Moshi Moshi
916 W. Burnside (btw 9th & 10th)
Portland, Oregon

PICA Lectures: Julio Morales

All The Way From San Francisco!
Julio Morales Will Lecture About His Work!
The Public Is Invited (it's free, tell your friends)
Monday, March 3rd, 7:30 pm Sharp!
PSU 5th Avenue Cinema, Room 90
510 SW Hall St. at SW 5th

Julio César Morales is an artist, educator and curator whose photography, interactive media, public art and video installations have been shown extensively in California and internationally. Inspired by the design, popular music and street life of his native Tijuana, Mexico, Morales has taught and created art in a variety of settings, from probation offices to public schools to museums and to alternative nonprofit galleries.

Morales has received awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, Artadia Foundation, The San Francisco Arts Commission, The Fleishhacker Foundation, National Endowment for The Arts, Fellows of Contemporary Art and the Creative Work Fund amongst others.

He is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied in the New Genres department. His work has been exhibited at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Harris Lieberman Gallery in New York City, The Rooseum Museum of Art in Sweden, The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, Fototeca de Havana in Cuba, Peres Projects in Los Angeles, Espacio C in Spain, and the Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte Roma in Mexico City. Group shows include the 2006 Singapore Biennale, San Juan Triennial in Puerto Rico, Frankfurter Kunstverein in Germany and most recently at The Tenth Annual Istanbul Biennale with upcoming shows at The Los Angeles County Art Museum, Ishibashi Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan and Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City.

Morales' curatorial projects include the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, The Pasadena Museum of California Art, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Southern Exposure and the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk Art, among many others. Morales is co-founder and curator for Queens Nails Annex, an artist run project space in San Francisco.