April 19 Obsession Velocity Broadcast

Richard Tracy, RichArt is an outsider artist in the Raw Vision tradition. He lives in Centralia, Washington, where he has transformed his yard into a fantastical installation. Over 30 years he has built a beautiful thing. He gives 55 minute tours to visitors for $5. Sadly his Art Yard was dismantled in 2013, but not before it was captured by filmmaker Vanessa Renwick who befriended the artist. Tonight his works on paper will be shown in the gallery and Renwick will screen a short film about the artist. Cellist Lori Goldston also performs.

At the Portland Museum of Modern Art inside Mississippi Records www.portlandmuseumofmodernart.com 5202 N Albina Map 8PM-10 Free



Filmed by Bike is one of Portland's great seasonal bike confabs. 45 films show over three days. Saturday 4PM-9:30 is the bike street party. There is storytelling, adventure night and raffles. Filmed by Bike www.filmedbybike.org at the Clinton Street Theater 26th and SE Clinton. Saturday films 5PM, 7, 9; Sunday 3, 5, 7; Monday 7l Tuesday 6, 8. $10 individual films, $30 pass



Many people consider broadcast television, really broadcast of any kind, including print, a thing of the past. Public television, especially the BBC, is better. But in the US, public television is struggling to capture new audiences. Nonetheless, public television, and Oregon public television, does some things well. One is a series on Oregon artists. With a broad audience, public television takes a broad view of art. But that broad view has captured a few artists that interest us.

Their production is Oregon Art Beat, documenting 15 years of artists. For two months, they show visual artists and present live performances by 15 years of artists. In a mall. Very broad minded and without controversy.

You can see the performance schedule at www.opb.org/artsandlife/event/oregon-art-beat-exhibition-performance-schedule/.

Oregon Arts Beat retrospective www.opb.org/artsandlife/article/oregon-art-beat-exhibition-celebrates-15-years-of-creativity/ at Mark Woolley Gallery www.markwoolley.com and the People's Art of Portland www.peoplesartofportland.com 2PM-9 Free

April 18-19 Butoh in Portland, US, North America, World

On May 24, fifty five years ago, butoh dance was birthed by Tatsumi Hijikata in Daiichi Seimei Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Trained in European modern dance and ballet, Hijikata was part of a rebellious nationalist movement joined by artists occupying the streets of Japan. The piece was inspired by a homoerotic novel by Mishima of the same name, Forbidden Colors.

Since butoh has spread worldwide. It is an improvisational form, so each culture, and each individual brings their own spirit. One is Diego Piñón from Mexico. Piñón has studied with Kazuo Ohno, Hijikata's early collaborator, who performed into his 90's, Min Tanaka, famous for wild performances by students working on his rice farm, and Natsu Nakajima, one of the first female butoh performers. The influences of each are evident in Piñón's work. He also brings a relationship with the landscape, nature and shamanistic traditions of his homeland.

Piñón travels internationally performing. Over years he has attracted students who perform in his ensemble under the umbrella Body Ritual Movement. Tonight Sheri Brown, Amelia Burns, Leslie Castellano, Mizu Desierto, Nathan Montgomery, Christopher Mankowski, & Kevin Cochran, many of whom have worked with Piñón for more than ten years join him on stage.

Diego Piñón and Body Ritual Movement at the Headwaters Theater - information and tickets link: www.witd.org/service/diego-pinon-and-the-brm-dance-ensemble/diego-pinons-north-american-brm-dance-ensemble/, 55 NE Farragut St. #9. The theater is in the back of the building by the active railroad tracks facing Winchell Street. Map 7:30PM. Students $12, $15

April 17 Whither Society?

Photolucida is an international curation and art photographer resource based in Portland. Tonight they bring photographer and documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield to present her work.

Cultural processes sometimes produce extremes which are not in accord with human values. A certain direction, value or behavior can be amplified, becoming its own end, unteathered. Greenfield is noted for her photography of young women, the societal psychodynamics of beauty, and her documentary Thin. She continuously seeks new moving documentary and still photography projects focused on individuals in relation to common social narratives. Her topic tonight is "From Gordon Gekko to The Queen of Versailles: A journey in pictures, film, and culture", including an exploration of her documentary on an extreme example of the 2008 financial bubble.

Photolucida at the W+K atrium. RSVP required info (at) photolucida.org. At W+K www.wk.com 224 NW 13th Map 7PM Free



The other event tonight is Happening#12 organized by the PSU Time Art Club. It's a sprawling Spring rain edition with live music by step kid and Ch2, video by Riley King, Isaac Fletcher Weiss & Tim Ferrell, diva runway for Frankie Knuckles by Manny Layers, Two-Minute Party by Stephanie J. Brachmann, live painting by Leif J. Lee, installations by Annalise Reinhardt & Kayleigh Nelson and performances by LICHI & Jah Justice. Time Arts Club www.facebook.com/TimeArtsClub. All ages. In the PSU Art Building parking garage SW 5th and Jackson. 7PM-9 Free

April 14 Sun Tube

Getting to Know You(Tube) has collections by Jessica Hickey, Stacey Tran and Briar Levit At Getting to Know You(Tube) www.gettingtoknowyoutube.com at the Hollywood Theater www.hollywoodtheatre.org 4122 NE Sandy Boulevard. 7:30PM $5

April 13 Northwest Migrations

Vanessa Renwick is a filmmaker, installationist and provocateur. She has a great rich history of work. One of the themes of her work has been the fauna of the Northwest. This show is centered around birds. She has made a video of the vaux swifts, scored by Sam Coomes, and projections of a loon, a snowy owl, a raven, a woodpecker and a peregrine. She will give a gallery talk May 8 at 12:30PM. At the Marylhurst University www.marylhurst.edu/theartgym/ Map Noon-3 Free

April 11 Multicollageplex

Fourteen30 continues its Collage group show with part 2 including Perry Doane, Michael Dopp, Rachel Foullon, Evan La Londe, Andrea Longacre-White, Israel Lund, Josh Tonsfeldt and Bobbi Woods. It's a great representation of the curator's view of fresh art at home on the West Coast, including the sunny parts. At Portland's only member of the New Art Dealers Alliance www.newartdealers.org, Fourteen30 Gallery www.fourteen30.com 1501 SW Market Street Map 11AM-6PM Weekends Opening tonight 6PM-8 Free



The Pallbearers is a new project by Michael Reinsch. He has been executing a series of performance installations. For this show he has collected objects sold to commemorate life events. At 6:30 he will perform. At Multiplex www.multiplexportland.com in the Multiplex Annex. 2400 NE Holladay Map 6PM-10 Free

April 4 Eastside Art Openings

Collage with squares arranged according to the laws of chance is a show by Michael Dopp, Rachel Foullon, Israel Lund, Niall Macdonald, Brian Sharp, Josh Tonsfeldt. At Portland's only member of the New Art Dealers Alliance www.newartdealers.org, Fourteen30 Gallery www.fourteen30.com 1501 SW Market Street Map 6PM-8



Redux is back with a new curator and show of printmakers Adam Burke and Noelle Barce. At Redux www.reduxpdx.com 811 E Burnside 6PM-9:30



Black Box has Grayscale, monochrome photography. At Black Box Gallery www.blackboxgallery.com 811 E Burnside, Suite 212 upstairs 5PM-8:30 Free



Grays the Mountain Sends and Roll on Columbia is a show at Newspace Photo www.newspacephoto.org 1632 SE 10th Map 6PM-9 Free



Go big or is a show at Homeland. Many studios in the building are also open tonight. At Gallery Homeland www.galleryhomeland.org in the Ford Building www.fordbuildingpdx.com 2505 SE 11th x Division. Enter through the cafe on the corner if the main doors on 11th are locked. 6PM-9 Free

April 3 Westside Art Openings

Hellion has a show themed around the Portland collection of artists curated into the book Tall Trees of Portland. Matt Wagner, gallery principal, summarizes his curatorial philosophy in a Creative Mornings video. He is too humble. One of his projects is to uncover the tall trees: artists in select cities who are taking risks beyond others, and taking risks that reward. The meme comes from Japan where taking those risks is highly discouraged. He has found artistic risk takers in Tokyo, now Portland, in progress, Rio. Tonight is the Portland book debut with artists AJ Fosik, JShea, Zach Johnsen, Meredith Dittmar, Souther Salazar, Jennifer Parks, Amy Ruppel, Keith Carter, Peter Gronquist, Bradley Delay, Blaine Fontana, Tripper Dungan, Stephanie Buer, Brett Superstar, Brin Levinson, Cole Gerst, Craig Thompson, Ryan Bubnis, Josh Keyes, Ren Sakurai, Jason Graham, Jen Lobo, Martin Ontiveros, Keegan Onefoot, Maryanna Hoggat, Morgaine Faye, APAK, Neil Perry, Susannah Kelly and Jon MacNair, all featured in the book. Tall Trees at Hellion Gallery www.helliongallery.com through the lobby of the arched brick entry, up the stairs and to the back. Very upper floor Japan-style. 19 NW 5th Suite 208. Map 7PM-10 Free



Eva Lake is the artist's artist and accomplished cultural explorer with a solid geometric painting practice and stunning collages. She also propels smart discussion of Portland art in a radio show podcast. Augen has represented her geometric op art paintings using vibratory color contrasts, and now they dip into her collage. There are two bodies, Targets and Anonymous Woman. I did suggest she take some of her work into commercial reuse, and she declined that cup, wisely. But just saying, buy now. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis early close 8



Tom Prochaska is a printmaker and painter. His impressionistic figures have a resonance hard to describe. See if you agree. At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis



Lee Kelly is a long time Portland sculptor. Sculpture you can store outside for eons is less popular currently in an era of ephemera. Welding stainless is not for the feint of heart but Kelly is not feint of heart. Nonetheless worth contemplating his era, what comes and what lasts. At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 6PM-9



Patricia Galagan has Objects of Desire, portraits in Havana 2011 of individuals situated with items they selected as being their most meaningful. In many cases that was people not things. Shows with Craig Hickman. At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org map 122 NW 8th 6PM-9



We cast a jaundiced eye on pop culture sampling in art. So the frame of this listing is keep Portland weird. Floating World has invited artists to sample an early 1990's network television series, Twin Peaks, set in Northwest, USA, planet earth. You can see how weird at Floating World Comics www.floatingworldcomics.com 400 NW Couch 6PM-9 Free



Shohei Takasak has a show of energistic illustration-style work. At W+K www.wk.com 224 NW 13th Map 5PM-9 Free



Portland is living on the fault line. The big one is a few miles out to sea, but it will destroy us. The other is our volcanic bud Hood which could erupt and destroy us. So the show, Dig: A Tectonic Art Show, may be relevant. Don't recognize any, but as always have your own experience. At Pond Gallery pondpdx.com 920 W Burnside 5PM-11



Some say that the journey of a thousand miles (li) begins with a single step. That was the philosophy of John Muir who walked from Indiana to Florida, from San Francisco to Yosemite, and in the Sierras. Migrations and documented explorations on foot, supported and not, have been equally epic. And so is the experience of Arthur Hitchcock who walked over 170 days from California to Maine. You can see photographs of opening tonight. At The Good Mod 1313 W Burnside 4th floor. 7PM-9 Free i



Upfor has Tim Flowers and Rebecca Ripple. At UpFor Gallery www.upforgallery.com 929 NW Flanders 6PM-9 Free



Expanse is a new installation by Marissa Green of cut paper geometries. At Duplex Collective www.duplexcollective.com 219 NW Couch 6PM-9



Fight clubs gained name from a novel, but boxing clubs and variants go back; way. Photographer Jim Lommasson has traveled around the country photographing them. He shows American Fight Clubs at a private business Cargill Communications 819 NW Glisan. It is open tonight, but otherwise by appointment only in the month of April (503 939-1939). 6PM-8 Free



Grace Weston makes miniature scenes and photographs them with lensbaby-angles. Her latest is Unfamiliar Faces from a series Neo Noir. The work is inspired by film genres noir, pulp and spy. She speaks at the gallery April 13, 11AM. Grace Weston at Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 424 NW 12th 6PM-9 Free



Everett Lofts are recommended as always. It's easier for you to see them all than for me to write suggestions. Some close as early as 9PM. At the Everett Lofts 625 NW Everett. Bounded by NW Everett, Broadway, Flanders and 6th Map closing ranges from 9PM-10:30ish

April 2 Ducks, Dolls & Robots: a Genealogy of Socio-Technical Anxieties

This blog is mostly about visual art. Sometimes performance. Art and performance interesting to us and maybe to you. But we sometimes dip into other events which may be interesting to you too.

Ethnography and anthropology applied to current time are in my toolkit. Those tools of mine are well worn. One of the uses for that type of tool is the coadaption of people to change. Technology is its own self-generating change agent. The response of individuals to that change is the topic of a talk tonight.

Genevieve Bell is an anthropologist who leads a team of anthropologists who study how people use technology, and how they might use future technology. You can find many videos of her talks by search.

Tonight she speaks about about technology anxiety and coping in a talk - Ducks, Dolls & Robots: a Genealogy of Socio-Technical Anxieties. We will see if she taps narrative as a coping tool.

The talk is at Puppet Labs (thanks Puppet Labs!) 926 NW 13th 2nd floor. Arrive early event could reach capacity. Doors 6:30PM, intro 7, talk follows. $5