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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2000)
ïh v ^ a rtla u h ffihserm July 12,2000 Focus Page 3 Over 80 artists reflect on today’s entertainment- driven consumer society CONTRIBUTED STORY for T he P ortland O bserver In today’s entertainm ent-driven consumer soc iety we are surrounded by a massive overflow o f visual stimuli - a sea o f images and information generated by television, movies, newspapers, magazines, c a rto o n s, b illb o a rd s and co m m e rc ia l p ack a g in g th at transforms our everyday life into an endless loop o f m ulti-sensory sp e c ta c le s and fic tio n s. T he P o rtla n d A rt M u se u m ’s in tern atio n al e x h ib itio n L e t’s E n te rta in , on view th ro u g h September 17,2000, features work by some artists from 17 countries focused on the influences o f entertainment on art practices. Organized by the Walker A rt C e n te r in M in n e a p o lis, L e t’s Entertain revolves around the complex relationship between pleasure, spectacle, poular cu ltu re and contem porary art through a diverse selection o f artworks incorporating sculpture, painting, video, installation, sound, the Internet, fashion and games. These artists use entertainment strategies as a means o f critiquing our pleasure-based culture, as well as a way to employ a common language, a shared culture. From Cindy Sherman’s seminal series Untitled Film Stills (1977- 1980) to Piotr Uklanski’s disco dance floor, many pieces investigate and challenge the role that popular media and amusements have played in our lives. Also included are episodes o f the cable television programs “Andy W arhol’s TV” (1981) and "Andy Warhol ’s Fifteen M inutes” (1987) that feature 1980s celebrities ranging from Divine to Debbie Harry, and a pioneering video work by Dara Bimbaum, T e c h n o lo g y /T ra n s fo rm a t ion: W onder W om an (1987-1979), which manipulates and reinterprets clips from the popular television series. In the past 25 years, artists have explored entertainment icons as emblems o f voluptous abandon or subtle melancholy. On view in the e x h ib itio n are J e f f K o o n s' polychromed wood Buster Keaton (Please see ‘E n te rta in ’ page 4) «ENMEDY SCHOfti IWeMenamins VL SPECIAL JAZZ TRIBUTE TO MILES DAVIS, CHARLES M ING US and THELONIUS M O N K T h u rsd ay, J u ly 13 • 7pm No Cover • All Ages Kennedy School Gymnasium An Educational Musical Performance by Bryan Dickerson and Friends 5756 \'E 55r<l • Portland, Oregon (505) ¿49-5985 • w w w .m rm cnam ins.rom V,