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Daily Art Moment: Rick Bartow

A photo of a rough, oval-shaped mask of a human face with closed eyes, open mouth, and flared nostrils. Closed eyelids are defined by simple scored lines with the eye on the right positioned at the far edge of the mask. The mouth is open creating a gash with the right side drooping lower than the left. Smudged reddish pigment is visible around the mouth especially on the upper lip. The texture of the mask is rough with ragged edges, scattered scoring and markings and varies in color from beige to brown to dark gray. The Roman numerals II and V are seen beside the mouth and on the right cheek. Overall, the mask seems to have a flattened appearance.

“In these recent weeks, I have been thinking about the idea of shedding: such as, the peeling away and casting off of what is no longer useful or functional, but also shedding as in shedding light to illuminate and make clear. Rick Bartow’s After the Fall III is a wonderfully unguarded study in the artist’s…  Read more

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New Ways of Seeing: Swallow

From Amy Dotson, NWFC Director and PAM Curator, Film & New Media SwallowDirected by Carlo Mirabella-DavisSwallow is available to stream online via Amazon Prime. I have always been a sucker for a cult movie, something under the radar that feels like sharing a secret amongst friends. So I’m whispering to you now: ‘Swallow’ is astonishing. When…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Navajo artist

A photo of a silver bird shaped pin with wings open to each side. Its head and beak are shown in profile, facing left. The body of the bird is adorned with round turquoise stones set in an inverted triangle pattern. In the center is a small stamp of a thunderbird with its wings pointed down, head and beak facing right. Two small, stylized crosses are positioned on either side of the turquoise triangle. Just below this triangle is a small, stamped, inverted triangle with detailed decoration. There are single turquoise stones at the tip of each wing. The tail is depicted by three feathers with rounded tips and accented with three more turquoise stones in a row. Two vertical incised lines delineate the bird's tail feathers. Small, stamped, inverted triangles edge the wings and tail. Two rows of four larger inverted triangles appear on the wings parallel to edging stamps. The stamped detail is a darker shade of silver color than the rest of the metal. The turquoise stones vary in color from pale blue to blue-green and have different veining and patterns including deep blue, white, brown, and green.

“Silver and turquoise jewelry plays a special role in Navajo families. They are passed on from one generation to the next and worn for all types of special occasions. Apart from personal connections to our family members who wore the jewelry before us, they connect us to our heritage as masters of silverwork and are…  Read more

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Cinema Unbound Drive-In at Zidell Yards

The Northwest Film Center and Portland Art Museum are creatively collaborating during these socially distanced times to connect with audiences and bring innovative film and new media exhibitions to our community. The Cinema Unbound Drive-In, running August 6–September 27, 2020, welcomes guests to safely gather and experience the power that truly radical and entertaining cinematic…  Read more

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Isaka Shamsud-Din Walk-through

Join Grace Kook-Anderson, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art, for a deeper look into Rock of Ages, an exhibition highlighting the work of Portland artist Isaka Shamsud-Din. Even though the Museum has reopened, this exhibition is in a gallery that is still temporarily closed. However, you have likely seen Shamsud-Din’s work around…  Read more

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Art of Reading Walk-through

The artistic poster first flourished in the United States in the 1890s. Initially following design trends pioneered in Europe, American artists soon created their own unique style. Magazines were among the first to adopt this new form of advertising, employing outstanding designers such as Will Bradley, Edward Penfield, and Maxfield Parrish to advertise periodicals including…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Bruce Davidson

A horizontal rectangular black-and-white photograph of a young Black woman being detained by two male police officers. The woman is at center, flanked by the officers. Each holds the woman by her outstretched arms. The woman faces front but her head is turned to the right. She has dark skin, short wavy hair and wears a bright white, round earring. Her expression is neutral. Over her dark dress, she wears a light-colored cardigan sweater which is torn at the shoulder and front. The officers wear their police uniform of light shirts, dark pants, helmets, dark bow ties, duty belts with straps crossing the chest from shoulder to belt, holsters, and guns. The officer at left uses two hands to hold the woman’s arms, one hand on her upper arm and one hand on her wrist. The officer at right holds the woman’s wrist. Behind the three figures we see cars of the time, and a large movie marquee. The marquee reads “SUSPENSE! EXCITEMENT! SUSAN HAYWARD IN ‘BACK STREET ‘ AND ‘DAMN THE DEFIANT.' " People are crowded beneath the marquee.

“Last week, when federal troops entered Portland and began injuring and detaining protestors, I was already thinking about the deeply important but dangerous and ethically complex work of photographing at protests. It is critical to bear witness to the struggle for Black lives and record protests for the world to see, but law enforcement organizations…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Isaka Shamsud-Din

A vertical, rectangular painting showing three African American men. Two of the men are shown in the center of the painting almost filling the height of the work. The figure on the left is standing, arms crossing over his chest. He has dark skin, glasses, short cropped black hair and smiles broadly. He wears a red vest over white short sleeved shirt and greenish pants. To the right is a seated figure with dark skin and a beard. He looks toward the viewer/artist. He wears a light cream, short-sleeved shirt with brown striped pants and a flat cap. His hand at left rests on his knee and his hand at right raised near his chin. To the far right sits another dark-skinned man, sitting on the edge of a bed while appearing to read from a red book. This figure wears glasses, a flat cap and has a beard. He wears a tan and brown jacket and brown pants. There are pillows and blankets behind him. A green, red, and black striped Pan African flag with a black star hangs over the bed at upper right. At far left of the work is a table with dominoes scattered on top along with a flower filled vase. Behind the two central figures is a zebra; part of the head and ears of the animal is depicted in red outline only and is transparent. The neck and upper torso are fully rendered in black and white stripes. Behind the zebra is an open door showing a landscape of water and mountains and a golden yellow sky. The artist uses many colors to depict each shade sometimes combining complementary colors and layering and blending color to create a mottled or variegated effect. Red brushstrokes outline many of the details such as the zebra, the men’s arms, the table and a pair of glasses.

Art is a rich source of inspiration for our own writing, which in turn invites us deeper into our own stories and the stories of those around us. We invite you to write with us today using this exercise inspired by Isaka Shamsud-Din’s “Hare, Lion and Spider.” Before or after you write, take some time…  Read more

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Museum Supports Youth Art Experiences This Summer

This month the Portland Art Museum will begin to distribute several thousand art kits to youth throughout the Portland region as well as into more rural communities of the Columbia River Gorge. The art kits complement Journal On!, a recently launched community art and writing project developed in partnership with Portland Public Schools and Create…  Read more

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New Ways of Seeing: The Assistant

From Amy Dotson, NWFC Director and PAM Curator, Film & New MediaThe AssistantDirector: dir. Kitty Green, United StatesAvailable on Amazon Prime Kitty Green’s razor-sharp and all-too-true account of a day in the life of a new assistant to a powerful movie executive is once threatening, tense, and at times terrifying. But this is no ordinary horror…  Read more