Mapping the Emotional Landscape of Portland, Oregon

How do you get to know a place through the eyes of the people who live there? How do you discover the nuances that only a resident would know?

Zakary Zide and I have been asking ourselves this question as we prep for a road trip to Oregon this week. So, we devised a fun little game to help us get to know our destination city, Portland, through the perspective of locals (rather than a guidebook).

We’re inviting Portlanders to participate in a behind-the-curtain-scavenger-hunt that will reveal the emotional geography of the city. Here’s how the game works:

(Please share with cool, fun, open people in Portland that you think would enjoy sharing their city with us in this way)

The Time:
Friday, September 3rd, 2010. MEET US at 3pm.

The Place:
Barista cafe (PEARL DISTRICT)
539 NW 13TH AVE, Portland, Oregon

You Get:
We’ll buy you a cup of coffee (not a fancy coffee, just a coffee).

The Materials:
We’ll give you a cute little flag on a toothpick and a small piece of clay.

The Task:
1. You have 20 minutes to place the cute toothpick flag in a spot within a mile of the cafe that holds special significance to you.
  It can either be a spot that you think other people overlook (that you take special pleasure in looking at), or a spot where something special has happened to you (the spot where you first kissed your husband, or the spot where you once found 20 bucks). See below for some examples.

2. After you place the flag, you text message us the location of the flag and a sentence or 2 about why the spot is significant to you.

3. We’ll be waiting for your text at Barista cafe. As soon as we get your text, the game is on and we’ll race to find your flags!  We’ll document what we find and make something creative in response to your special spot (and post via our blogs).

The possibilities, Portland, are endless.
Our experience will be completely determined by what you choose to share with us.
…………………………………

Here are some examples of tiny flag special spots where we’re from:

Location: Howard Street, underneath the overpass between Main Street and Beale Street, San Francisco
Why: I look forward to seeing this graffiti every day when I head home from work.  It reminds me not to take my worries too seriously.

Location: Natoma Street next to the Transbay Terminal, San Francisco
Why: Sometimes when you look up into the sky, you can catch clusters of birds riding a circular current for long periods of time, hovering in that one spot like a weird, undulating amoeba.
(Image source: http://www.networke9.com/archives/author/marc-johnson)

Location: Florida Street, the chairs inside Circolo restaurant, San Francisco
Why: The spot where Zak and I first met!

We look forward to playing with you!
Teresa + Zak

Plums

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

– William Carlos Williams

Flense?

“Flense?” he said. “What is flense?”

“It’s what whalers used to do to whale carcasses when they got them on board,” I said. “They would strip off the skin and blubber and meat right down to the skeleton. I do that in my head to people – get rid of the meat so I can see nothing but their souls. Then I forgive them.”

From “Bluebeard” by Kurt Vonnegut

I Have A Thing for Shadows

I don’t know why exactly, but I’m so drawn to shadows. I often find them more compelling than the object that casts them.

Trust Your Struggle…

Found this on my way home:

Universe Closed, Use Rainbow

[An actual street sign, referring to actual street names.]

Source: http://www.mobypicture.com/user/twittelator/view/7260843

13.

At the beginning of each session in my art studio, I read one poem – something interesting to ruminate over while I make. This practice also helps me quickly shift into creative head space; it’s my green “go” light signaling a crossover from daily life distractions to the quiet of my inner sanctum. Last night, I read a poem I especially liked, entitled .13 by Britta Austin.

Spiders are weary of being objects of fear. Good girls are tired of being good, and bad ones long to simply rest their heads upon a shoulder without implication. Black cats wonder why you cross the street, and ladders wish to fall on the next poor sap who goes out of his way to avoid walking beneath one. The word “fuck” longs to be held lovingly on the tongue, is tired of the way it is always spat. Birds wish they could swim, and stars are sick of being wished upon. Bottles fear being emptied. Words are buckling under the burden of meaning. Silence is only a theory. Everyone, everything, is tired.

- By Britta Austin from “Artifacts”

.13 comes from a project titled notecards: a living museum, a collection of prose pieces typed on 3″x5″ index cards using a Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriter over the course of one and a half years. Austin began the project in 2006, and in June 2008 the entire collection was the basis of an exhibition at San Fancisco’s Intersection of the Arts gallery, where contributing artists collectively transformed the gallery into a life-sized, multimedia diorama in reaction to the work. The notecards inspired both visual and performance artists to create original works based on the wide range of themes, ideas, images, and concepts within. (From the foreword of “Artifacts”)

Remnants of the Weekend

It’s Tuesday, and I’m wishing it was still Saturday…

Sightings

Puddle Song Selected for the 7th Annual Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema

Exciting news: My film Puddle Song was selected to be screened at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema!

With an expansive definition of dance and an appreciation for highly experimental and interdisciplinary forms, this unique festival exposes diverse audiences to a variety of film, video, and performance possibilities. The festival will have two evenings of dance cinema shorts, including a live multi-media dance performance, and installations to peruse prior to the screenings. Additionally, on Saturday, there will be a documentary screenings and a scholarly paper panel.

The Festival will be held on Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11, 2010, in the Black Box Theatre of the Atlas Building at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

About Puddle Song

Puddle Song was conceived and directed by artist Teresa Brazen as part of an ongoing body of work, The Daydream Series. Each tone poem in this series explores human behavior and emotion within the framework of a single moment or situation.

Puddle Song’s intention is to playfully explore creative expression, judgment, and censorship. Soon after the work’s protagonist innocently loses herself in a moment of wonder and joy, she realizes she is being watched. Her perception of the judgmental gaze of another person imposes on her excitement, and puts an abrupt end to her spontaneous creativity.

Produced in 2009, this project was created in an unusual way: all nine crew members donated their time, equipment, and expertise via an entirely community-driven film cooperative, Scary Cow. As a result, no monies were spent on production. Video was shot with a Sony EX-1 camera using a Letus Extreme 35 mm adapter to give a more film-like aesthetic. The footage was edited in Final Cut Pro and After Effects. Sound Editor Brandon Hopp created the original music score and most of the sound in his home recording studio.