2GQ ~ 2 Gyrlz Quarterly ~ Portland, Oregon arts, literature, & madness

OREGON LITERARY REVIEW READING: First Wednesday

2GQ director/editor/etceterator Tiffany Lee Brown will read June 4, along with Matt Love, Leah Stenson, and Caitlin Clark.

Blackbird Wineshop and Oregon Literary Review co-host an evening of readings, performances  and video on the first Wednesday of every month, 7-9pm. Blackbird Wineshop is at 3519 NE  44th (off Fremont).503-282-1887.

RAW BEGINNINGS

Ever noticed, especially in Portland, the gap between the worlds of "dance" and "performance"? Tahni Holt is among our fair city's artists who bridge that gap; Holt's work expands well past the borders of pure body-focused movement and dance into creative conceptual explorations.

Non-dancers now have the chance to work with Holt in her "Raw Beginnings" class at Conduit, beginning Monday, May 5. Drop-ins are welcome to check it out for a single evening. —Tiffany Lee Brown  (image: Holt at left and Linda Austin, right)

PERFORMANCE WORKS NW & 2GQ PRESENT "HOUSE BOUND"

A kinesthetic salon of performance, installation, food, and drink by the artists of Works Corps. Tickets cost $5 less if purchased in advance from Brown Paper Tickets online; price includes tea, snacks, and beverages for grownups.

13 April 2008, Sunday
Showtimes 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00, 3:30, and 5:00. Advance reservations recommended.
Tickets: $10-20, advance at  Brown Paper Tickets.

At Performance Works NW
4625 SE 67th Ave, Portland
(half-block north of SE Foster Road).
Reservations & Info: 503 475 2306, housebound@2GQ.org, www.2GQ.org

The artists of Works Corps are (l. to r.): Nora Robertson, Clare Carpenter, Lilian Gael, and Emily Stone; front: Tiffany Lee Brown. Photo by Steve Fritz.

Co-presented by 2GQ and Performance Works NW's Alembic series. 

TONIGHT: 2 GYRLZ BRINGS RON ATHEY TO PORTLAND

2 Gyrlz Performative Arts is proud to present legendary performance artist, Ron Athey, for the first time ever in Portland. This will truly be a rare and exceptional event, in which performance is taken to an edge that 2 Gyrlz and other presenters in this city have rarely dared to visit. This is not about shock, this is about exposing truths and presenting new possibilities.

RON ATHEY (L.A.), SAMANTHA SWEETING (Britain/France), and Portland's own ARIA BENNER and MICAH PERRY of Cliché Au Lait.

First Thursday 03 April Hippodrome, PDX (SE 3rd & Oak)
$8 | 21 + Performances run 8 - 9:30 pm

After Party next door @ BRANX, 320 SE 2nd Ave., with PAN!ZEN Soundsystem (Chromosome 23/Acroyear, Try My Cabbage, Rudement, and b0t23 of Buried in Time/ELM). 21+, 9:30-close, $5 suggested donation or come in from the Ron Athey/ 2 Gyrlz show.

THE VIDEO GENTLEMEN: BYOTV

The Video Gentlemen present BYOTV, kicking off COUTURE08 @ the New American Art Union. Linda Austin's video screens during WEEK ONE: March 22-29.

Reception on Saturday March 22nd from 5-8pm at New American Art Union, 922 SE Ankeny, Portland.

NAAU's stipend recipients for Couture '08 are Rose McCormick, Ty Ennis, Jim Lommasson, Jacqueline Ehlis, TJ Norris, Stephen Slappe, Vanessa Renwick, Laura Fritz, Ethan Jackson, The Video Gentlemen.

BETSY BOYLE'S "RESPITE"

There is a quiet pause in girlhood on the cusp of adolescence. -BB

Knives, beds, a suitcase, a door, Sears gold-rimmed furniture, personal histories, things lost in time. In Betsy Boyle's new collection, "Respite", these things seem to be in limbo, lying in wait to be of use once again. Longing and lonliness. The tones
are rich in color, deep hued greens and red populate a diminishing urban landscape. There are moments of wonder when there are people in the photographs, but it is in the absence of peoplewhich makes the humanity of her work that much stronger. There is a struggle between innocence and adolescence where choice has defined a need to keep from reaching out towards memory, and one's ability to move on into adulthood. Betsy's is a voice which has a deep sense of her own past and is looking for answers in some of the emptiness left in the cobwebs of her childhood memories. What she finds is magic in the inbetween spaces of life. At her best Boyle is an anthropologist of the self, looking within to see herself from the outside.
-John Longstocking

DOMESTIC TERROR: "The Picky House Club" by Kristy Athens

2GQ continues our exploration of home and family with original fiction by Kristy Athens, a writer and editor based in Husum, Washington, also known for her work with Literary Arts.

Our Freezone is named after the creative writing and arts section of Signum Press, the dear departed Internet magazine I edited throughout the late 1990s and early aughts. The Freezone is open for fiction, poetry, performance documentation, visual art galleries, and multimedia extravaganzas. If you'd like to submit materials to our "Domestic Terror" feature, please read the submission guidelines. --TLB

KRISTY ATHENS: Reading in Portland + Original Fiction on 2GQ

Coming up this week, 2GQ’s series “Domestic Terror” showcases short fiction by Kristy Athens. Not to be missed!

She will read in Portland with Shanna Germain and Lara Tribak at a Barnes & Noble reading hosted by Sage Cohen on February 20. Keep reading for details.

FOR THE LOVE OF NYE BEACH...

The literary, littoral, and alimentary delights of Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon, make it a necessary coastal stop for writers and fans thereof. From the author-themed rooms of the Sylvia Beach Hotel to the Nye Beach Writers' Series of readings and events, this calm little tourist hamlet has it going on. And oh, the food!

Keep reading for the upcoming schedule for Writers on the Edge. --Tiffany Lee Brown

NICK CAVE LECTURE & MORE FABULOUS STUFF @ COOLEY

"Working History: African American Objects" finds curator Stephanie Sydner in top form, bringing the work and/or live presences of Kianga Ford, Nick Cave, Adrian Piper, Faith Ringgold, Kara Walker, and many others to Portland, at Cooley.

THE GYRLZ ARE BACK IN TOWN: Rock Fest at Rotture Feb 9th

2 Gyrlz Performative Arts returns to Portland! Our fearless leaders, co-directors Lisa Newman and Llewyn Maire/Yhi, have returned from their year-plus in England, and they've brought us some tasty European treats to savour: Tex Napalm, Dimi Dero, and Anthony Malat. Keep reading for deets.

UPCOMING 2 GYRLZ SHOWS:

Feb 9, Saturday ~ Tex Napalm/Dimi Dero/Anthony Malat; Magick Daggers; and special guests at Rotture, 9 pm, $8

April 3, Thursday ~ Ron Athey performance followed by PanZen party, at Rotture

April 13, Sunday ~ Works Corps performs "HOUSE BOUND" at Performance Works NW, co-presented by 2GQ

THE POOL CLEANER: SHORT FICTION BY JOHN LONGSTOCKING

With short-short fiction by John Longstocking (formerly John Barrios), 2GQ kicks off our Domestic Terror series, featuring fiction, performance documentation, and other art that takes a challenging approach to the well-worn subjects of home and family.

We like Longstocking and his writing so much, in fact, that we've invited him to join 2GQ as a regular writer. Look for him on a blog post near you. And now, onto the story...

NW NOISE MUSICIAN MICHAEL GRIFFIN PASSES AWAY

"Michael Griffin passes on 1/7/08

Early this morning Michael Griffin died. He was the violinist in Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live and played in the noise duo Noggin and many other projects along the way. His contribution to music was very significant as huge proponent of Improvised Noise. Michael encouraged anyone curious about music regardless of talent and got a lot of people started on a path to true creative expression. I am greatly thankful for my experience with Michael as an individual, as a fellow musician and to know his family who have been a family to me when I needed a one that accepted me for who I am without judgement. I am currently working on a documentary about Michael with a friend Peter Rand that hopefully will be completed within the next year. Much Love to you all, I know that Michael believed in Love, - Jordan Rain"