Author: Alex V. Cipolle

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

The Oregon Arts Commission, in conjunction with The Ford Family Foundation, announced the names of 23 artists who will receive Career Opportunity Grants with a total of $61,744 awarded. Scottish-born, Portland-based fiber artist Jo Hamilton received $1,500 for the Contemporary Northwest Visions exhibit and accompanying catalog opening April 1 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Although Hamilton paints as well, her crochet “paintings” of people and cityscapes are her signature work. Got grant envy? Continue reading →

Don’t miss: The blues-folk-rock of The Wood Brothers

Music

This Sunday, Feb. 9, would have been the 26th annual Eugene Record Convention. With the passing of the convention’s beloved founder Bill Finneran in October, the reins have passed to Thomas Jones of Portland. Jones, owner of Crossroads Music (a Portland record shop), has been frequenting the event since 1997 and this year, he hosts a continuation of the convention, the Eugene Record Show, 10 am to 5 pm Feb. 9, at the Eugene Hilton; $3 (or $15 for early entry 7 to 10 am). Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Oscar prep: Who has two hours for a movie anymore (or three hours, ahem, The Wolf of Wall Street)? Bijou Art Cinemas (on 13th) and the Bijou Metro (downtown) begin screening 2014 Oscar-nominated short films Jan. 31, including animated, live action and documentary films. EW picks: The Lady in Number 6 about Alice Herz Sommer, the world’s oldest pianist and Holocaust survivor at 109 years old; the Steampunk-inspired animated hijinx of Mr. Continue reading →

Matt Knight Arena has booked Grammy-winning rock group Tool and pop king Bruno Mars

Music

Matt Knight Arena has booked Grammy-winning rock group Tool for March 7 and pop king Bruno Mars for Aug. 11. We’re glad to see these big names in music coming to Eugene, but besides these two concerts, a handful of UO basketball games and monster truck rumbles, Matt Knight’s event calendar is glaringly empty for 2014. What happened to concerts being a crucial source of revenue? And why is one of the country’s most expensive basketball arenas ($200 million-plus) sitting empty most of the year when it could be booking bigger music acts? Continue reading →

Reggae Brewhaha

Music
Passafire

For a town who voted Sol Seed EW’s Next Big Thing 2013, and whose big summer concerts included Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution and Matisyahu, the Passafire-Ballyhoo! double bill Feb. 6 at Cozmic is bound to be a big show.  Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Eugene’s biggest dance event of the year, Dance for a Reason (DFAR), celebrates its 20th year 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 24, at the Hult; $20. This year the nonprofit recital will benefit the School Garden Project and feature more than 20 dance organizations and groups including Kindrid Tribal Belly Dance, Crazy Diamond Hoop Troupe, Kings Krew and Ballet Fantastique. Continue reading →

Thank Dog for Mike Birbiglia

Comedy
Mike Birbiglia

Birbiglia became the poster boy for REM (rapid eye movement) behavior disorder and self-deprecating laughs after cataloging his slumbering escapades (like jumping through a second-story window) in Sleepwalk With Me. Now, Birbiglia is on a 100-city tour — his biggest yet — for the new comedy special Thank God for Jokes; he’s still making the everyday hilarious, e.g., kissing is weird when you really think about it. EW caught up with the comedian on the road.   What’s on your mind today? Continue reading →

The Art of Black History

The Jordan Schnitzer’s Kara Walker exhibit opens up a local dialogue about race, history and moving forward

Arts

The burden of the history is something to keep in mind when face to face with Kara Walker’s elegant, complex and challenging silhouettes depicting the horrors of the antebellum South — images that have been described as an “apocalyptic carnival” — that will be on display for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibit Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power opening 6 pm Friday, Jan. 24. Emancipating the Past is the first-ever solo exhibit by an African-American artist at the JSMA.   Continue reading →