How To Spend Your Time-Based Art

A practical guide to PICA’s annual contemporary arts festival The 13th Annual T:BA Festival launches its ten-day mission on Thursday. I have lived through eight of these, seeing well over a hundred different works. It was the first assignment of this magazine, and it was the first I ever made for myself, in 2008, on …

Milk Crates and Paper Towels at T:BA:14

Days 9 & 11 at T:BA:14 Day 9 I got to the workshop with Larry Arrington and Ruairi Donovan a little bit late. Everyone was seated on the floor in the space just outside (inside) the studio. Sitting in a circle, people took turns randomly sharing the skills/things they are good at/can offer. Ruairi wrote down …

Unknown Bodies

Days 6 ~ 8 at T:BA:14 Day 6 Tuesday was a day for reflection and rest. After work I finished up the review that I started in the morning and then headed over to Conduit for the Luke George & Collaborators performance, Not About Face. As I enter the space I notice people lining up behind …

What We See Through the Looking Glass

Days 6-8 at T:BA:14 Time-Based Dementia appears to be what I am going through at this point. Existential crankiness because you need a nap is not necessarily unpleasant. It is simply another affect of post-modern performance. Writing now, I am sitting inside PICA and Angela Mattox is explaining to someone how she keeps herself on …

Is This Festival in the Act of Audiencing?

Day 5 at T:BA:14 has begun. Today marks the halfway point for T:BA:14. This evening I will be attending the U.S. Premiere of Luke George & Collaborators Not About Face. I attended the workshop he facilitated last year and have been looking forward to participating in this “choreographic experiment in anonymous intimacy and fake belief”. …

No Better Time to Transcend

Days 4-5 at T:BA:14 There is a transformative effect about the Time-Based Art Festival and many travellers are caught by the sirens song. These sirens are the curators and artists. Once drawn in to the siren’s world by their eloquent song, many remain bound. They are met with challenges and pursuits that are ultimately illusory …

Love and Loneliness: Days 3-4 at T:BA:14

Day 3 Yesterday was a very intense lineup for me. Each piece seemed to dive deep into charged emotions and social/cultural notions, inviting serious reflection. I’m still left digesting and investigating…. I started out the evening at Imago Theatre for Tahni Holt’s Duet Love. I was intrigued by the description for this performance, questions about …

Inspirations and Invocations: My First Days at T:BA:14

This year my birthday was on a full moon! There were dinosaurs and karaoke songs, old friends and new admirers of my amazing karaoke powers… I got to meet one of my biggest crushes in the entertainment industry the day after my birthday! I gave Tim Heidecker a squash at the farmers market! I’m writing …

Don’t Be Afraid to Use Your Voice

The real first day of T:BA is the second one. A launch party and some gallery shows are good and revealing, but the curation is not exposed until Portland’s theaters are brimming with activity. In my How-To Guide for T:BA, I neglect to mention a strategy for getting between theaters and what to expect from …