Tom Cramer Lecture at Laura Russo in October 2009

Tom Cramer gave a artist lecture this past Saturday (17-Oct) at Laura Russo Gallery (805 NW 21st, Portland, OR) where he discussed his work in his current show. There was a lot of interaction and questions on a wide range of topics. A good-sized crowd heard and inspiring talk about Tom’s work and his influences.

Tom Cramer Lecture

Tom’s new rebellion… is leading a cause to be ultra positive in these times. This is not a blind positivism but a thoughtful positivism.

Tom Rebelling

Another part of this is a deep responsibility for all of us. He talked about his reading of Schopenhauer and the need for each of us to “Think for Yourself”

Tom Cramer & the front row

He is also rebelling against “1-liner” art. In my mind a lot of 1-liner art has jumped the shark. Life is richer than that.

Tom Cramer

Below are some random thoughts from the lecture:

Art is a verb.

Music activates other senses

Tom Cramer's Scent (detail)

Other influences… Heidegger, Blake, Pacific Rim artists, poets, writers, Maurer and many others.

Tom Cramer's Scent

Especially in America he wants more support for non-mediocracy.

…more images from the show in upcoming posts.  I’m behind on posting images from October’s First Thursday’s shows, I’ll try to catch up before long…

Chas talked about the Ballen’s and how his work builds on a myriad of photographic traditions. Chas approached this at several levels from the fundamental subjective, textural, and compositional comparisons to the deeper aesthetic and more complex psychological connections. Chas used lesser-known historical images to various well-known classics.

Some of the many photographs he discussed were August Sander, Shelby Lee Adams, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum portraits (Physiognomy), Roger Fenton’s “The Queen’s Target” (1860), Wallace Berman, Frederick Sommer, and Thomas Smillie’s “Komodo Dragon and Keeper, Roy Jennier, at the National Zoo” (1891).

Chas also discussed Physiognomy theories and early photography. He discussed how this work was used to judge by the veneer and how this has often been often perverted and abused by various power structures.

Ballen’s work started with a much more Arbus-esque documentary style and has evolved to have a much more enigmatic theatrical tone. I personally lie the more theatrical work.

Chas also has a new blog called That’s a Negative, that is always worth a read.

Unfortunately I had to leave early for an appointment, so I don’t know if Bowie’s essay is destined for print.

Roger Ballen as a new book called “Roger Ballen’s Shadow Chamber“.  I think you can also buy this book at Quality Pictures.  PORT did a review of the Ballen show at: http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2008/06/the_intrinsic_n.html

An image from this show and Portland’s other May shows at:
http://bradcarlile.com/blog/first-thursday/portland’s-may-first-thursday-gallery-openings/

Hap gave an energetic uplifting lecture. His work focuses on the beauty of light and its connection in our minds with the subjective infinities. He distinguished this from the analytical infinities that we learn in mathematics. Talking about the infinities we experience when we look up at the deep blue sky. These subjective infinities are the kind referred to in the Buddhist sutras.

Hap often used examples from the Diamond Sutra and its influence on his work. The works are not one-to-one relationships with their subjects (landscape, etc.) but are move of a relation to our experience of the subject. The works use vibrant spectral colors which are not static when we perceive them, they change move and pulsate due to our shifting perception.

Below is Hap’s “Mahakala Red Again”. He mentioned that when he created in the late night and first lit it, it scared him. When he described it to his wife she suggested that it was connected to Budhism’s Mahakala, which can be a fierce protector of one and it should be scary.

Hap is very interested that his work must engage in the neutral unlit state, Mahakala is shown in this state below.

Hap mentioned that he often watching lots of surfing movies, having recently seen a really wild big wave surf video, I wished I would have had the chance to ask: “Since you like surfing and surfers at the top of their game often take of risks, which of your current works do you consider the riskiest?”. Hap, if you care to leave a comment, that would be cool!

I showed some of Hap’s light paintings in last month’s 1st Thursday openings.

After that lecture I headed over to a show with a completely different subject: WAR.

Jim Riswold curated the “War” show at Guestroom Gallery (4114 N Vancouver Ave., Portland OR). The show combined the work of eight artists. I recommend a visit.

I really enjoyed reading Riswold’s artist statement with his large photos of Hitler and Mussolini figurines. They offer interesting commentary on war and those many tiny despots who feel power from war.

An amazing photograph (and a famous one) at the show is by WWII photojournalist, Dmitri Baltermants “Grief” (1941) is simply gripping. It was taken after a huge slaugher of civilians in a Crimean city. As a wonderful counter point on the right side of this image is John Wesley’s “Panoply” prints.

At the left I show the detail of “Grief”.

It froze me in my tracks during the opening.

Personal aside: My Russian grandmother was a very young nurse in WWI, she saw the many horrors of everything dealing with war. She was a very strong 4′ 10″woman.

When I saw this image all I could hear was her cries when my mother told her that her oldest son (my uncle) had died.

My heart is very heavy thinking about the millions of crying people left in the aftermath of any war.

Susan Seubert has some powerful works including “Iraqi Extraction”, but you need to be careful about your preconceptions of these teeth removed from Iraqis. Next to this image is Susan’s 100 Cheerleaders, which you may have seen at Froelick Gallery last month.

Also at the show are two works from Eva Lake’s “Joe” series. You can see a preview of two of those images at her blog: evalake.blogspot.com/2008/01/war-at-guestroom.html

[click here for this Falls's PSU lectures] Harrell Fletcher, Portland State University art professor (PSU), hosts a series of free lectures that are open to the public at 7:30p Mondays. Harrell always has an interesting series.

PSU Art Lectures 7:30PM
5th Avenue Cinema Room 92
510 SW Hall St (corner SW 5th & Hall, on PSU Campus) Portland, OR

Winter Quarter
Jan 14th: Amy Franceschini
Jan 21st: {…holiday no lecture}
Jan 28th: Andrew Dickson
Feb 4th: Kate Pocrass
Feb 11th: Emily Prince
Feb 18th: Center for Land Use Interpretation
Feb 25th: Andrea Bowers
Mar 3rd: Julio Morales
Mar 10th: Anissa Mack

Spring Quarter
Mar 31st: Keegan McHargue
Apr 7th: Hamza Walker
Apr 14th: Marie Watt (portland)
Apr 21st: Regine Basha
Apr 28th: Y0UNG-HAE CHANG (HEAVY INDUSTRIES)
May 5th: Rebecca Ripple
May 12th: Edgar Heap of Birds
May 19th: Karen Yasinsky
May 26th: {…holiday no lecture}
June 2nd: Amy Yoes
June 8th: John Malpede

…very exciting lineup, I’m looking forward to seen many of these.

Tom reads and thinks about many things as he touched on topics of the cosmology, the world situation, Miles Davis, Bruckner, pop culture, art history, technique, his artistic trajectory, and many other things. Tom said that two things that have an influence his work is travel and music. He has been doing a lot of traveling in the past several years (India, Austria, etc.).

He mentions that the work on wood has many many layers of paint and it is work that he spends a lot of time to create. These works are multi-dimensional in both form and layers of meaning. I think he is successful in creating works that involve the viewer for a long time as well. Tom said “The work on wood have both a physical weight as well an emotional weight – in a good way”. He compared them to symphonies and his work on the wood burned surfaces more like chamber pieces. In both he wants them to be hyper-alive. Even with the world circumstances being were they are, he choses to create optimistic work.

He also had a bit of great advice for any artist, learn to be a very good editor of your work.

PORT had this preview podcast before the show opened, unfortunately it is nowhere as deep or interesting as the lecture, but it is a bit of a sample: PORT podcast

PSU Art Lectures 7:30PM
5th Avenue Cinema Room 92
510 SW Hall St (corner SW 5th & Hall, on PSU Campus) Portland, OR

Fall Quarter
Oct 1st: Corin Hewitt (project TOAD IN A HOLE is at small A projects)
Oct 8th: Jean Marie Casbarian (installation)
Oct 15th: Allan McCollum (NYC)
Oct 22nd: Steve Badaness
Oct 29th: Fritz Haeg
Nov 5th: Brad Adkins
Nov 12: {…holiday no lecture}
Nov 19th: Arthur Bradford
Nov 26th: Jay Boss Rubin

Winter Quarter
Jan 7th: Marc Fisher from Temporary Services
Jan 14th: Amy Franceschini
Jan 21st: {…holiday no lecture}
Jan 28th: Andrew Dickson
Feb 4th: Kate Pocrass
Feb 11th: Emily Prince
Feb 18th: Center for Land Use Interpretation
Feb 25th: Andrea Bowers
Mar 3rd: Julio Morales
Mar 10th: Anissa Mack

Spring Quarter
Mar 31st: Keegan McHargue
Apr 7th: Hamza Walker
Apr 14th: Marie Watt (portland)
Apr 21st: Regine Basha
Apr 28th: Y0UNG-HAE CHANG (HEAVY INDUSTRIES)
May 5th: Rebecca Ripple
May 12th: Edgar Heap of Birds
May 19th: Karen Yasinsky
May 26th: {…holiday no lecture}
June 2nd: Amy Yoes
June 8th: John Malpede

…very exciting lineup, I’m looking forward to seen many of these.

Frida Kahlo: Her Life and Art
Art Historian Hayden Herrera Lectures
SUN AUG 12, 2 PM Art historian Hayden Herrera discusses the life and art of Frida Kahlo, one of Mexico’s most famous female artists. Along with her husband Diego Rivera, Kahlo helped define Mexican art during the 20th century. Herrera, who has published several books on Kahlo, wrote narration for the documentary film entitled Portrait of an Artist: Frida Kahlo, which won the prize for Best Biographical Film at the Montreal Film Festival.

Members: $5; Non-members: $10. Tickets are required and available in advance at portlandartmuseum.org, or 503.226.0973. Seating is limited. Ticket holders are asked to be seated ten minutes prior to lecture, or seat may be re-ticketed.

…and the Kehinde rescheduled lecture:

Special Lecture with Artist Kehinde Wiley
SAT AUG 18, 2 PM Reserve your tickets now for the exclusive opportunity to see renowned artist Kehinde Wiley in person at the Portland Art Museum. Wiley’s lecture, which promises to be a sold-out event, focuses on his work featured in the latest exhibition in the Miller Meigs Contemporary Art Series. This event was originally scheduled for July 14. Tickets already purchased will remain valid for the rescheduled date. Members: $5; Non-members: $10. Tickets are required and available in advance online at portlandartmuseum.org, or 503.226.0973.