Returns
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29
"A Minor Masterpiece"
"Perugino is itself a minor masterpiece. We
could have easily been in an Italian neighbor
hood or on a fashionable walking street. I
can’t wait for another visit."
Nonie Fish / The Register-Guard
| "Best coffee in town!"
Karen Hagedorn
"A smart little coffeehouse and wine bar.
The Oregonian
767 Willamette Street • Eugene • Tel: 687.9102
IMHBWHiilHM
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QuiztiosSub
MMMM...TOASTYT
A
OVEN TOASIED BY TWO LOCAL GUYS!
TOASTED SUBS • SOUPS • SALADS
UO Campus at 13th & Alder (Inside Starbucks)
5th Street Pualic Market • Gateway Blvd. & Beltline Rd.
The Power of ONE!
Coalition Against
Fnvironmpntal Racism
9th Annual Environmental Justice Conference
January 23-25, 2004
University of Oregon EMU Student Union
The conference is free and open to the public!
For more information please visit our website at
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~caer/.
Art donated by Dylan Freeman and www.dirtline.com
Nemo adds color to local scene
A quirky local artist, known
only as Nemo, uses many
different art styles to show
off his numerous abilities
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
In a town rife with artists, it can of
ten be difficult to get noticed or make
a living as a painter. So it says a lot for
this local artist, known only as Nemo,
to get the attention of so many peo
ple. With regular shows at a number
of venues around Eugene, in addition
to performances at the annual Burn
ing Man Festival and murals painted
on the sides of buildings in North
Carolina, Nemo has made his two
syllable moniker well-known in alter
native culture.
With such a wide range of accom
plishments under his belt, Nemo still
sees the central problem of being an
artist in Eugene as a simple one.
"The greatest challenge is not cre
ativity, but being economically vi
able," he said. "I like inspiring others
to be creative and to make their own
art. But at the same time 1 need to pay
the bills. In that way, Eugene is hard."
To this end, Nemo has found a
number of ways to be creative while
staying afloat in tough economic
times. He has designed concert posters
for bands like the String Cheese Inci
dent and the Greyboy Allstars, he has
put his art on sweatshirts and he has
prints for sale all over town.
"The project I'm working on right
now is the graphic design for a com
pany making a line of pornographic
rolling papers," Nemo said. "My job
is to work with other artists and make
Lauren Wimer Photographer
Nemo’s artwork is sold as prints and on
various clothing at Sweet Potato Pie.
it look pretty."
One of Nemo's strengths is that in the
world of art his technique is atypical.
"1 started by doing marker draw
ings, " he said. "When I started, I had no
clue about painting, what brushes to
buy and all that. So I looked for some
thing familiar, and markers were easy."
But doing work in marker presents
its own difficulties, mostly because
people do not take it seriously, Nemo
said. And while the form is more of
ten found in "disreputable" art forms,
such as comic books and rock poster
art, it is still precise work.
"I can spend 12 hours a day
hunched over a draft table," Nemo
said, adding that he works meditative
ly. "A lot goes into it. I've been doing
more painting recently, and I find
there is more freedom with painting
since it's not as precise. Precision can
often limit freedom."
Another area not often considered
artistically valid, but that Nemo has
come to specialize in, is 3-D art.
"I used to sell paintings by the side
of the road," Nemo said. "What I
found was that people were more
likely to look at my stuff if I gave
them a pair of 3-D glasses to look
through. Sometimes they would be
skeptical, then they would look
through the glasses and see the art
pop out at them."
Performance also plays a role in
Nemo's work. Often at his exhibits,
he will paint a piece in public, work
ing ambidextrously. This eclecticism
as a performer and artist has also
earned him fans, particularly among
Eugene's alternative art galleries.
"I think it has a lot of color and
depth," said Shawn Mediaclast,the
owner of the Museum of Unfine Art
and Record Store. The museum, locat
ed at 537 Willamette St., has shown
Nemo's work in the past.
"The 3-D glasses were a real
bonus. The art really jumps out at
you, literally," he said.
Walt Hunt, owner of New Odyssey
Juice and Java on 1044 Willamette St.,
which also had showings of Nemo's
art, also said good things about
Nemo's work.
"I think that we look for art where
it's not and we find it where we don't
expect it," Hunt said. "That's where
Nemo stands."
Examples of Nemo's art can be found
at his Web site, http://www.nemo.org.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
Celtic rhythms stimulate album
David Helfand will play this
weekend at Cozmic Pizza,
showcasing his new record
and string instruments
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
David Helfand's music often re
flects his journeys. Playing Celtic harp,
mandacello and a variety of other
string instruments, Helfand has creat
ed albums that attempt to evoke the
mood of his experiences and the
places he has visited.
Like so many musicians, Helfand
got started as a drummer for a garage
rock band.
"My big aspiration as a kid was to
be a rock 'n' roll drummer, to the hor
ror of my mother," Helfand said. "At
that particular point I was really in
spired by Ginger Baker from Cream
and Mitch Mitchell, who worked with
Jimi Hendrix,"
Helfand eventually discovered string
instruments when he found a guitar in
his parents' attic that had only three
strings. Allowing two of the strings to
drone on while playing melody on the
third, Helfand had inadvertently creat
ed a sound similar to the sitar. After dis
covering a mandolin in a small music
shop in Ithica, N.Y., he began a love af
fair with stringed instruments that has
yet to cease.
But while Helfand played acoustic
instruments, he was still interested in
big sounds.
"I started getting into 1970s British
progressive rock," Helfand said. "King
Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake and
Palmer and of course Jethro Tull. They
would be doing these really big, the
atrical concept albums and come
around and do them live."
The idea of concept albums stuck
with Helfand, and many of his releas
es deal with larger structural themes.
Helfand's latest release, "At the Edge
of the Cornish Sea," was inspired in
part by an extended trip to England,
Courtesy
String instrumentalist David Heifand says he was influenced by British progressive rock.
as well as his feelings after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11.
The atmosphere of Great Britain in
fected the album, and many of the songs
are inspired by events during the trip.
"The biggest part of the experience
that really seeded the energy of the al
bum was a visit to Tintagel, which is
the ruins of the castle where King
Arthur would have been conceived,"
Helfand said. "It's really where that
story began. It's way up this mountain
bluff overlooking the ocean. It's where
the album begins, with this really in
tense moment."
Helfand's music has attracted a
number of local musicians. Violinist
David Burham, who plays with The
Sugar Beets and the Eugene Sympho
ny, has recorded on a number of
Helfand's albums.
"We speak different musical lan
guages, but somehow we communi
cate," Burham said. "His music is like
Celtic soul moving over expansive
dreamscapes."
Another musician who has worked
closely with Helfand is local bass play
er Jeff Schenck. Schenck and Helfand
have worked together for a number of
years, touring England and collaborat
ing on Helfand's "Cornish" album.
"We met while working for a pro
gram that taught music to at-risk
youth," Schenck said. "As a bass play
er, I'm into a lot of rock and blues,
along with some jazz. Dave got me
into some Celtic and Middle Eastern
styles. His music is really a melange of
those influences, kind of like Celtic
impressionist sound paintings."
In the future, Helfand said he had
hopes to return to Britain in order to
bring back the music inspired by that
country. He also has some plans for
future recorded works.
"I have another idea for a concept
album that I wrote awhile back,"
Helfand said. "I also have just a lot of
odd songs that I've written over the
years that don't fit in with any overlay
ing concept. So I might record an al
bum of just tunes."
Helfand will be performing with a
group at Cozmic Pizza at W. 8th Ave.
and Chamelton Street Saturday at 8
p.m.. Admission will be $7 at the door.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.