Designed to prove that football players are more than screws in a corporate bulwark, those who play for University of Oregon have self-portraits in green and yellow adorning a wall of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum. The portraits show men who will hold onto their jerseys even after the ecdysis of graduation has shed the jersey of its purpose. The exhibit is a sad mythopoeia of the present that will soon pass.
The Shedd Institute and Oregon Contemporary Theatre both display Robert Canaga’s “abstract” paintings. Unlike the visceral intellection of Mark Rothko’s primary swatches or the melancholic turmoil of incomprehension evidenced in the abstract work of Philip Guston, Robert Canaga’s anachronistically abstract style is necessitated by his talentlessness. The paintings should all be titled “Still Life With My Arrogance.”
Finally, in the EWEB building on 4th Avenue there is a painting of a red chair. One of the clerks told me it’s “very controversial,” and when I asked why, she said, “Because it’s a chair.”
Lucian Freud slumped the cudgels of flesh he’d maul in paint with a pallet knife onto the seat of one red chair. His painting of the un-languored-upon chair is a lovely ode, sympathetic to the tedium that imbues life with meaning.
The EWEB painting is controversial because it’s hideous and deranged. The left half of the canvas (with unhealed staple wounds along each edge) is dominated by a scratchy slab of black awkwardly imprisoning the ergonomically impossible chair in the right. It is Lynchian in the worst way.
Bryce Jones
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519