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Visual Art: Dance: Books: Wine:
Excellent
Design, Exquisite Exhibits The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the UO is starting its fall season with a bang — and a decidedly Asian focus.
Oct. 8 will be a quadruple opening event. Together with two new temporary exhibitions ("Inside the Floating World" and "Ukiyo-e Outside In"), the museum is re-opening its Chinese and Japanese galleries with exquisitely designed inaugural installations. Soreng Gallery for Chinese Art Originally, the museum was built to house the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art. Since it first opened in 1932, the "throne room" has been devoted to works from late Imperial China (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911), one of the JSMA greatest collection strengths. The new installation remains faithful to the original focus and intent, but its excellent design enhances our experience and understanding of the artifacts. The exhibit space itself is greatly improved. Removing one of the two thrones that stood at opposite ends and moving the other to the west wall changed the room orientation and balanced its dimensions. Extensive use of deep red on the coved ceiling perceptually lowers the ceiling, making the room warmer and more intimate without compromising spaciousness. The woodwork contributes its own reddish accents. The ceiling's red and gold scheme also functions thematically. The auspicious color red is widely used in China for decoration, and only the emperor wore yellow, the royal symbol of the Qings. Special attention to the vertical dimension of the layout links floor and ceiling. The throne is backed by high silk panels. Along the center of the room, tall glass cases display garments, suspended from the ceiling by steel cables. Much credit goes to Kurt Neugebauer, JSMA exhibition designer, who worked in close partnership with Charles Lachman, JSMA curator of Asian art and UO art history professor. "Originally, all the objects were encased in glass and pushed back against the wall," Lachman said. "Kurt wanted to eliminate the use of traditional cases as much as possible and decided to use platforms instead. These set the objects back a little from the viewers, but without creating a barrier. On the other hand, his use of glass to show off garments allows you to get closer and see them from both sides." To house the rich array of decorative objects in jade, glass, bronze, and ceramic, Neugebauer came up with the idea and basic design of the treasure wall, which Creswell furniture-maker Erik Shumate created out of golden chestnut (or chinquapin, a native evergreen) that grew on his property. A state-of-the-art, user-friendly touch-screen console by Eugene media company InterVision provides information about the treasure wall artifacts. (It is worth noting that all outsourced works were undertaken by local firms, including Presentation Design Group, Gibson Steel and Multicraft Plastics among others.) Providing a unifying rhythm to the whole gallery, the various installations, including the treasure wall itself, follow one of the traditional Chinese landscape patterns, based on a guest-host relationship metaphor, with a host peak flanked by two lower guest mountains.
"Our policy," Lachman said, "is to evoke a sense of how these objects would have been experienced without duplicating a specific setting." The arrangement of ritual bronze funerary garniture (a tripod incense burner flanked by candle holders and vases atop an altar table), is thus meant to evoke how such individual pieces would traditionally relate to each other in China.
Lachman's thematic approach focuses on the visual projection of status and authority in imperial China. The throne installation and the emperor's symbolic representation in the dragon figure are emblems of his absolute power, while the architecture of the Forbidden City manifests imperial authority in its cosmogonic layout. Ritual objects and iconography, including an unusually large model pagoda, remind us of the Son of Heaven's role as spiritual authority in all three religions: Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Art fulfilled extensive ceremonial and decorative requirements in the imperial community. The Qing emperors were keen art collectors, and the treasure wall bears testimony to their patronage. "The emperor had an active role in the arts and created taste," Lachman said. "He had a say in the ceramics workshops at court, indicating what kind of shape or motif was to be created. This is a testimony of his taste and subtle understanding of the beautiful objects he collected." Finally, richly decorated court robes, uniforms, accessories and badges display the complex semiotics of the strict imperial social hierarchy. The JSMA collection of Chinese costumes is considered one of the most significant in North America. The Preble/Murphy Wing for Japanese Art While the Chinese room is about imperial splendor, the Japanese gallery focuses on Art and Everyday Life in Japan. Here, the aesthetic is spare, the color scheme cool and restful. The coved ceiling is now indigo blue, echoing the blue of woodblock prints and fabric dye. Walls are celadon, evoking the green of tea and tea-ware. Honey-colored woodwork recalls the unvarnished wood of Japanese interiors. The minimalist blue and gold geometry of one casing houses a black, blue and gold suit of armor shining like the exoskeleton of an oversized coleoptera (beetle). Nearby, a bare sword-blade arcs over a chest originally designed for a scholar's implements. Simplicity of form balances intricacy of construction and lacquered detail — so many drawers in so many sizes, and surely a few hidden ones?
On the far wall, a busy street scene printed from one of Mrs. Warner's lantern slides provides a lacquered and gilded palanquin with a pertinent backdrop but unfortunate camouflage. The palanquin's elegant shape and elaborate motifs deserve a plain background. As does the transom openwork carving above the entry to the netsuke alcove. In terms of theme, motifs (longevity, tea ceremony) and color, the three indigo futon covers on the wall do fit but breach the rule of restraint. Their lines interfere with the partitions' planes. Clutter threatens. Not so in the well-proportioned display of coats, jackets, and humble tea ceremony objects. If symmetry is central to Chinese artifacts, asymmetry is crucial to Japanese aesthetics, testifying to a radically different relationship between human and object. The Chinese vase of carved jade functions as a sign. It represents an idea of order and an ideal of power. It bears the name of its owner, not its maker. The imperfect bowl of the Japanese tea ceremony possesses intrinsic value. It is loved for itself, for its very individuality – hence the importance of its slight imperfection. The Japanese artifact bears the name of its maker and is itself named: South-Facing, tea scoop. Other lovely displays in this inaugural exhibit include lacquerware sprinkled with gold (maki-e); modern ceramics by Kanjiro Kawai, one of the major forces in the mingei (folk art) revival in the early 20th century; folding-screens depicting craftsmen at work; and recreation scenes; plus a netsuke (carved toggles) case. Despite the attraction of the new, don't forget "The Art of Death in China" and "True Views: Traditions of Korean Painting" in this same Asian wing. They bear seeing again. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, UO Chinese and Japanese Galleries October 8, 2005-January 8, 2006 NOTE: All art reproduced here belongs to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and is also part of the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art unless otherwise indicated.
Dancing
On My Grave Fantastical, supernatural Giselle ain't no wimpy fairy story. With an original libretto by Théophile Gautier, the production has been the consummate, romantic classical ballet since it premiered at the Paris Opera in 1841.
By the time Giselle was written, however, its themes had become a mite formulaic: "Disguised male suitor seeks lovely lady of the spirit realm for creepy walks in haunted forest ..." But Giselle's innovations find their origins not only in unparalleled footwork but also in the spooky Slavonic tales of the Wilis. Legend tells us these gals — chilly maidens who died before their wedding day — now haunt the forests of the night and excise their jilted fury through dancing. Eugene Ballet takes on this macabre fable with grace and finesse Oct. 8 (8 pm) and Oct. 9 (2:30 pm) at the Hult Center Silva Hall. For new members of the company, Giselle proves to be a fertile ground to explore both technical and dramatic expression. Heather Wallace, 19, has just joined the company. Even after all-day rehearsals, she still musters great enthusiasm for the ballet's beauty. "The style is soft, romantic, correct," she says. Her roommate, Elizabeth Belyea, 20, also new to the company, echoes Wallace's appreciation. "Giselle is different, because in so many roles, you're just there to smile and look pretty. But in playing the Wilis, we're cold, alienating and meticulous. The Wilis are elegant, almost regal in their movement." The story opens in the German Rhine. Giselle, an innocent peasant maiden, catches the eye of a new fella in town, Loys. Now, this girl comes from a good home, where Mom frets that Giselle's penchant for dancing will send her to an unseemly future as a Wili. And in this case, mom's right. In the era of Romanticism, the "innocent peasant maiden" moniker does not usually bode well for a long and prosperous future. As Giselle's courtship with Loys blossoms into real love, she's devastated to find out that he is actually Count Albrecht, a philandering churl already betrothed to a princess! Shocked by betrayal and seemingly unaware there might be more than one fish in the sea, Giselle succumbs to madness and dances herself into a deranged state and ultimately to her death. Act II finds Count Albrecht haunted by his role in sweet Giselle's crack-up, and he visits her forest grave to reconcile himself. There he finds the Wilis and their queen Myrtha on New Wili Networking Night. The Wilis ensnare Albrecht's trusty sidekick, Hilarion, who actually wanted Giselle to himself, and we're left wondering if Albrecht will be saved by Giselle's undying love. Will the Wilis force this scum to dance to his own demise? Will Albrecht be left alone to ruminate on his lost love? Or will he return to his princess, put his feet up, and try to forget the whole thing ever happened? Haunted houses are more fun in the dark, and as my Halloween treat to you, I'll let you find out what damp, dramatic, vampirous musings come crawling out of the grave on this October night.
Sugar at Cottage Theatre Opens Friday, Oct. 7 Based on the hit 1959 comedy film Some Like It Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, Sugar chronicles the mishaps of two men in prohibition America, who are forced to disguise themselves as women after witnessing a mob hit. Hilarity ensues when they join an all-girl band and both find themselves attracted to Sugar, the band's sexy ukulele player. The theater adaptation includes the music of composers Jule Styne and Bob Merill. The show runs Oct. 7-9,14-16, 21-23, 28 and 29. Purchase tickets by calling 942-9195, or visit www.cottagetheatre.org
Strange
Magic MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS, short stories by Kelly Link. Small Beer Press, 2005. Hardcover, $24. Kelly Link writes stories about things most people are familiar with: loss, fear, missed communications, storytelling, retail jobs, revenge. She also writes stories — the same stories — about zombies, haunted houses, magical TV shows, talking cats and small men astride rabbits. Her enchanted, frightening tales have garnered her more quotes from well-regarded authors than most writers collect in a lifetime. She and her husband co-own Small Beer Press, the tiny, selective press that published her first collection, the immensely imaginative Stranger Things Happen, and her newest, Magic for Beginners. Stranger Things Happen is a strange book. How did this small collection get so widely noticed? The fact that it's stunning, that Link has mastered the combination of subtle horror, the everyday magic of fairytales and the small, momentous events in seemingly ordinary lives — well, that makes it less surprising that the book got so much publicity, but it doesn't explain it entirely. Small press books, like great small movies and great underwatched TV shows, don't necessarily get noticed based on how good they are. Except when they do. Link is, in her way, unmatched: Her strength is not just in her prodigious imaginative powers but in her simple, flowing prose and her knack for the most telling detail. "Promise me you won't believe a single word," says Zofia, the owner of a enticingly mystical tote in "The Faery Handbag," but Link might be speaking for herself: Some of her stories have the weight of urban legend, the nonsensical layers of a dream that you can't quite shake but you almost, against your better judgement, believe. And then there are the characters. Sometimes the most heartbreaking people in Link's stories hardly speak, like Charley, the animal shelter employee in "The Hortlak." Two convenience-store workers live in a lonely market on the edge of a chasm, selling soda to joggers, truckers and Canadians. Zombies live in the chasm; sometimes they come up and wander through the store, but they seem to be harmless. It's Charley who wounds us, both the reader and Eric, who wants to run away with her. She has to put dogs to sleep, but she takes each one for a drive first, the dog happily hanging its head out the window, ignorant of what's to come. "Whatever you do, don't get in the car with her," says Eric's coworker, Batu. He doesn't trust the dog ghosts. The most magical of these magical stories is the titular tale, one of several stories-within-a-story and something of a paean to temples of knowledge. "The Library" is a TV show watched religiously by teenagers. Maybe. The show is irregular, the actors unknown, the main character never played by the same person. The action takes place in the Free People's World Tree Library, which is "full of all the sorts of things that one usually has to go outside to enjoy: trees and lakes and grottoes and fields and mountains and precipices (and full of indoor things as well, like books, of course)." Link's stories are beginning to stretch out, which is, perhaps, their weakness — some magic can't be sustained. "The Cannon" and "Lull" drag a bit, the lack of resolution that works so well in other stories turning against the narrative when Link's not careful. The missteps are few, though, and only a small complaint in a book like this. While Magic for Beginners doesn't carry the same weight of discovery of a first read through Stranger Things Happen, it is nonetheless a stunning trip through a unique imagination, and well worth a read — or several.
BOOK NOTES: "The Princess in the Library: The Uses and Limitations of Narrative Form in Fiction," lecture by Tracy Daugherty, 6:30 pm 10/6, Baker Downtown Center. $10 donation for non-Mid-Valley Willamette Writers members … Zadie Smith reads, 7:30 pm 10/6, First Unitarian Church, Portland … Mary Engelbreit signs, 7 pm 10/6, Powell's in Beaverton … Banned Books Week kicks off 10/7 with a presentation at 7:30 pm at the Downtown Library in which local actors bring to life the words of authors and characters some people don't want you to know about … Julia Powell reads from Julie and Julia, 7 pm 10/7, Powell's Books for Cooks and Gardeners, Portland … Michael Connellly reads, 7:30 pm 10/7, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Brian Jacques reads, 2 pm 10/8, Barnes & Noble … Patti Smith reads, 3 pm 10/8, Powell's on Burnside … "Seven Sherpas for the Novelist and Memoirist," a seminar with Elizabeth Lyon, Anna Maria Creekside Retirement Resort, Medford. For details call Lori, 955-9365 … Dan Savage reads, 7:30 pm 10/9, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Alex Sanchez reads, 7:30 pm 10/10, Powell's on Hawthorne, Portland … Oregonian film critic Shawn Levy reads, 7:30 pm 10/10, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Laura LeHew, Gary Lark, and Sara Burant read, 7 pm 10/11, Springfield Library … Gary Willis speaks, 7:30 pm 10/11, First Congregational Church, Portland. $12, $8 college/seniors, $5 youth … Rick Moody reads, 7:30 pm 10/11, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Haiku Showdown, 9 pm 10/12, Sam Bond's Garage. 21+. $3 … A Celebration of Khalil Gibran, 8 pm 10/12, Luna. $3-$5 … Tim Winton reads, 7:30 pm 10/12, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Lisa Jackson, Carly Alexander and Nancy Bush sign, noon 10/13, Thurston Book Exchange, Spfd. The authors also drop in at Barnes & Noble at 3 pm … Pattiann Rogers reads, 7:30 pm 10/13, Corvallis Arts Center … Ha Jin reads, 7:30 pm 10/13, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Signing and wine-tasting to celebrate the release of The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, with Jim Carpenter, David Dodd and Alan Trist, 4:30 pm 10/14, Tsunami Books … John Daniel reads and discusses Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone, 5 pm 10/16, Tsunami Books … Mary Roach reads, 7:30 pm 10/17, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Lex Runciman and Carol Ann Bassett read, 7 pm 10/18, Downtown Library … John Berendt reads, 7:30 pm 10/18, First Unitarian Church, Portland … A Celebration of Women Poets, 8 pm 10/19, Luna. $3-$5. … Nina Marie Martinez reads, 10/19, Annie Bloom's Bookstore, Portland … Laura M. MacDonald reads, 7:30 pm 10/19, Powell's on Burnside, Portland … Oregon Book Awards Author Tour, time TBA 10/20, Tsunami Books … Alice Fulton speaks, 7:30 pm 10/20, Valley Library, OSU, Corvallis … Simon Winchester speaks, 7:30 pm 10/20, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland. $25, college/seniors $18, high school $5 … Myla Goldberg reads, 7:30 pm 10/20, Powell's on Burnside, Portland.
Circling
Hyenas While the world burns, floods, gets blown up or blown away, I'm here writing about wine. This fact sometimes drives me nuts, makes me feel like I'm playing marimbas in the orchestra of the Titanic. But it helps, in times of madness and corruption on a biblical scale, to recall that wine is, generally, a simple and honest product that brings pleasure to millions of lives every day. In fact, grape growers and wine makers are among the most sensitive cultivators of the earth; many practice growing techniques that are more extremely careful (e.g., biodynamics) than the strictest organic standards. And in Oregon especially, many of the growers take special pains to provide their employees — whether permanent or migrant — with fair and livable wages, safe housing and access to medical care. In short, it feels OK to support this business. Of course, as in any business, wine gets its occasional crook or fraud. Some greedhead will package nasty schlock and market it as the real deal, but such behavior is fairly rare, and the industry watchdogs can impose severe sanctions when they find such malfeasance. In the wine world, we've never seen anything like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Halliburton or the last presidential election (OK, I'll concede the white zinfandel scam). In wine, we might get the rare weasel but not the hyenas we encountered at Enron. Far as I'm concerned, anyone who heard the recordings of Enron sales reps laughing about ripping off poor California grandmas and did NOT feel outraged oughta get out of the human gene pool. I hope such folks, next time we get a tsunami warning, will rush to the beach to watch the wave. Being the victim of fraud feels nasty. Consider some of the terms we use: cheated, shucked, punked, conned, foxed, gouged, bilked, finagled and so many more. Part of the nasty feeling derives not only from having been ripped off but also from feeling like a fool (greenhorn, dupe, dope, pushover, mark, gull, sucker). Feels worst when we find we've been japed by someone we trusted, or at least wanted to trust, a friend, a pal, a family member, a priest or pastor. Unfamiliar with the feeling? Been hiding? Well, over the next few months, follow the 50 billion federal tax dollars going to the recovery of New Orleans. The hustle has already begun, and the hyenas are circling the weak and wounded city. We're gonna need some honest wines. Luckily, some are available: The zinfandel grape is big, dark, juicy, related to some old European grapes like the Italian primitivo, but transformed into a distinctly American wine grape — robust, kinda raw, sometimes awkwardly exuberant, high in alcohol, explosive in flavors and spice, the wine equivalent of bull-riding. Some years ago, some wily marketeers tried to tame the big red, dress it in a new suit, call it Bordeaux-like. What a goof. Want an honest zin? Find Big Ass Zin 2002 Napa Valley ($13); it's rowdy, cowboy zin, mebbe not the type to take home to Mom, but it jumps in the mouth with flavors of blackberries, black currants, sandalwood, spice, pepper. Probably best served with sautéed gila monster or raw jackal. Maybe it's just their attitude, but I really like the line-up from Portland's Hip Chicks Do Wine. Coupla bad girls — Laurie Lewis, bills herself as Wine Goddess, and Renée Neely, Wine Maven — who think wine oughta reach even jaded Gen X'ers, produce a line wearing labels like Wine Bunny Blanc, Drop Dead Red, Sweet Wine. Fun-loving chic, seriously good juice, like Riot Girl Rosé 2004 Oregon ($14); it's 100 percent pinot noir and a case study in effects of temperature. Most folks will chill rosés to near death, losing flavor in the process. Served too cold, Riot Girl Rosé seems sorta blah; well — duh! — let it warm up and suddenly it's a light-bodied pinot noir with complex cherry/raspberry flavors and good balance, really delish with casual foods like cheesy pizza. Check out their site at www.hipchicksdowine.com Find some honest fun. I admit to a serious weakness for pinot noir; no, to be honest, I'm a documented pinotphiliac, but my tastes often exceed my budget: I'd likes me a Ferrari, but I drives an old Toyota. But some Oregon producers are releasing good, slurpable pinots priced for normal people and everyday drinking. Rachel's Cellars 2003 Willamette Pinot Noir ($11) is affordable and the genuine article, with nice cherry flavors, with tingles of spice, smooth but structured enough for service with lighter meats and full-flavored fish. Same goes for Sheppard Vineyards 2003 Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($11.50) – true varietal flavors, well-made, honest pricing. Russ Rainey is one of Oregon's most respected winemakers, guy who prides himself on being able to make what he calls a "pure" wine. By that he means a wine that delivers aromas and flavors distinctive of the grapes and of the place where they're grown. Rainey bottles wines for a range of budgets, but whatever the price they're all straight-ahead, no- jive. Evesham Wood 2004 Blanc de Puits Sec ($11) is a dry white, blended of organically grown pinot gris and gewürztraminer; its pale-old color is deceptive only in the sense that the ripe flavors and aromas (floral, citrus, melon) are so up-front. Marry this to some spicy Asian fish dish, oh my. About had enough of Tom DeLay, Karl Rove and that whole herd of double-dealing, two-faced hypocrites and humbugs? Pop a cork or twist a cap on an honest vino, raise a glass with friends. We've been punked, sure, but only some of the people and not all the time. We're going to get through this. Honest.
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