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Alex V. Cipolle, aka Alexandra Cipolle, was Eugene Weekly's arts editor from 2012 until 2017. She formerly wrote as Alex Notman.
¡Viva La Cultura! If you lived in town for an extended period, you’ll notice a sort of pipeline runs between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Eugene, Oregon, with locals, snowbirds, writers and artists crossing paths back and forth across the border. Additionally, Lane County has a slow-but-steadily growing Hispanic population, increasing from 7.4 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2015, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Continue reading
The day after Erika Fortner graduated from art school in New York, she headed straight to Berlin to work on a $5 million 80-foot long mural for banking behemoth Goldman Sachs. She wasn’t alone; Fortner was one of about 30 art assistants in the employ of abstract painter Julie Mehretu, a 2005 MacArthur “genius” grant awardee who Goldman Sachs commissioned in 2007 to create “Mural.” Continue reading
Local blues institution and Saturday Market staple Eagle Park Slim, né Autry McNeace, passed away at 74 last weekend, leaving behind his partner Gwen Johnson, his son Donnie McNeace, two grandchildren as well as Johnson’s nine children and 16 grandchildren. While Slim has had a history of heart failure, and earlier this summer received a wireless heart-monitoring system implant, Johnson tells EW the results for cause of death are still pending. Continue reading
Mural mania: Eugene is becoming the mural mecca we always hoped it would, catching up to the flourishing walls of downtown Springfield. The Lane Arts Council hosts its 3rd Mural Bike Tour 10 am to noon Saturday, Aug. 20, spinning off at the Whiteaker Carpark South (5th Alley and Blair Boulevard). Continue reading
As cold and verboten as government buildings typically feel, it’s easy to forget that they belong to us, The People — paid for with taxpayer money, and don’t you forget it. Too often these edifices are lifeless, soul-squashing, Orwellian; but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here in Eugene, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, with a board of art advocates, is trying to shift that perspective by transforming the blank walls of the Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse into a home for art exhibits. Continue reading
Pride 2016 is slated to be bigger than ever. “Both the Wayward Lamb and the Pride festival are working together to expand events around Pride,” says Vincent Mays, an organizer for the Eugene/Springfield Pride Festival that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year at Alton Baker Park. The Wayward Lamb kicks off the celebration early with a 21-plus block party 5 to 10 pm Friday, Aug. 12, on Broadway between Olive and Charnelton. Continue reading
A painting by Jam Tolles reminds me of “Las Meninas,” the enigmatic 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, even though visually the two have little in common. Velázquez's oil masterpiece depicts members of the Spanish Court in a grand drawing room with a mirror, the figures peering back at you as if you were some sort of peculiar guest popping in. Tolles filled ketchup bottles with acrylic paint and gooped hundreds of flowers on reflective mylar panels, creating amorphous mirrored pools that reflect the viewer between the blooms. Continue reading
While planning EW’s second annual PRIDE issue, we made no deliberate decision to focus on trans women; the stories just emerged organically. Why? we wondered. The answer was obvious to many trans women, scholars and activists who contributed to this issue. “Trans women are in the spotlight nationally, especially with Caitlyn Jenner and her entire show,” says Jam Tolles, a local artist beginning her transition (see "Contemporary Calico" this issue). Continue reading
Greetings from the dog days of summer: This week, to help pass the warm drowsy evening-time, Eugene offers an eclectic lineup of live music, from the return of L.A.-based freak-folk artist Globelamp to the second local show in less than a year from Portland indie-rock living legends The Dandy Warhols. Globelamp plays with Tashaki Miyaki and Mischief Mistress 5 pm Monday, Aug. 15, at The Boreal; $5, all ages until 7 pm. Continue reading
Pickathon continues to be the best indie music festival under Oregon skies at Happy Valley’s Pendarvis Farm Aug. 5-7. This year’s lineup is a mixture of familiar names like Jeff Tweedy, Wolf Parade, Mac DeMarco, Thee Oh Sees and Thao & The Get Down Stay Down with rising stars — My Bubba, Blossom, Alvvays and Joseph. Continue reading