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In the United States we are taught at a young age to desire impractical shiny things under the premise that more luxury equals a life lived successfully. But if our desire for an upper-class aesthetic is a social construct, what part of the goods we consume is real? A sculpture in progress Continue reading
Eugene has an artistic reputation. At least, that’s what Aunia Kahn found when she was researching where to relocate her St. Louis gallery. Kahn had always wanted to live on the West Coast, she says, and after months of research she decided Eugene would be the rightful home of the Alexi Era Gallery. Continue reading
Artist DeeDee Cheriel tells me a story about giving up cigarettes. “I was incredibly grumpy, just more like an animal than a human,” Cheriel says. … Continue reading
Local hardcore punk band Novelas knocks the patches off a typically white-bro dominated scene. The band brings a femme aesthetic, dad jeans and luscious emotional melodies to the table, and they’re returning to Eugene’s music world with gusto after a six-month hiatus. Get out your lipstick, grrrls. Continue reading
Popular Eugene band Fortune’s Folly recently won Hi-Fi Music Hall’s Sun-Sets Summer Concert Series. The prize: recording time at local studio Track Town Records. Fortune’s Folly front-person Calysta Rupert-Anderson credits her fans for the victory. “We weren’t expecting to win,” she says. “Before the show we started promoting it more, and we just had an overwhelming positive response from people.” Continue reading
Local designer Vanessa Froehling has denim on the brain. Stonewashed, herringbone print, chambray, stretch and black denim, to be sure. In her home studio, Froehling flips through hangers of designs, including sailor-style high-waisted women’s shorts, a men’s blazer and a women’s jumpsuit. Continue reading
The Outsiders Ball — a mash-up of art, fashion, music and philanthropy — is about to celebrate its third year. “I really wanted to start helping out abuse shelters,” says Tracy Sydor, host and local photographer (and occasional EW photo contributor), of the benefit’s origins. Sydor discovered Womenspace, a local nonprofit working to end domestic violence, and proceeds from the event have gone to the organization every year. Continue reading
Paris, September 1793: The Bastille has fallen, feudalism’s dead and the Rights of Man have been declared. (That all sounds pretty good, right?) But wait, there’s more: Enter brilliant playwright Lauren Gunderson, who illuminates a murky, muddling moment in history with her bold new play, directed with strength and humor for Oregon Contemporary Theatre by Elizabeth Helman. Continue reading
It makes me all fizzy and giddy to see men dress up like women. There’s something so joyously liberating about it all. And I don’t think I’m the only one who finds female impersonators a total hoot and super sexy. Gay, straight, bi, femme, butch, blah blah blah: Just about everyone I know gets chirpy at the sight of an aging queen squeezed into a sleek satin dress and bellowing “I Will Survive” like a diva in heat. Continue reading
If you’re a sensitive artsy type who swoons over emotional prowess in music, then Laura Marling, a musical folk fairy, is right up your alley. Marling began her career at 16 after gaining a large following on MySpace (ah, the good ’ole days) and her popularity continued when she joined hipster heartthrob band Noah and the Whale in 2006. She took her music in a different direction after splitting with both Noah and the whale by 2008. Five albums later, Marling is kicking folk ass with her solo career. Continue reading