The goal is not to capture everything. It is to recognize the moment that carries weight.
Brian McDonnell

The two-story Gardeners & Ranchers Building sits inconspicuously at the foot of the Hawthorne Bridge in Southeast Portland, its name hinting strongly of its original purpose. This sprawling labyrinth has been skillfully repurposed for every imaginable use: art and photo studios, custom furniture manufacturing, tarot readings, fine cabinetry, and various mysterious enterprises  . . .

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Read David’s Art Letter essay:
Diving deep with his camera in Oregon ArtsWatch
Deep With a Camera: A Profile of Photographer Brian McDonnell in Roborant Review

 

How sure are you of what you see? The French phrase, entre chien et loup (between the time of the Dog and the Wolf), refers to the hour after sunset when the sky darkens, and friend can merge with foe and truth with false. . Half hope, half fear can fill our hearts as objects become their own shadow. It is the moment of transformation when the werewolf emerges and fairies dance. . .

 

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Read Art Letter No. 4. 2023 June, An Artist in Three Acts

 

 

Read David’s Art Letter essay, Derek Frankin’s dusky time of evening, featured in Oregon ArtsWatch

 

This is the second of a three-part series commenting on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith. (Read part 1: the new law of creation.)

For most of human history, artists have taken from each other, building new from what they have stolen. Almost all of Andy Warhol’s body of work—including a series of silk-screen prints and drawings of the rock star Prince—is based on photographs taken by others. . .

 

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Read David’s Art Letter essay, Warhol and the Supreme Court, Part 2: The new problem, featured in Oregon ArtsWatch

 

A smile is not a second-tier reaction to life. But, in our distressed world, gentle joy can be dismissed as a weak basis for deep art, unable to hold its ground with intensity, pathos and alienation. I admit I unconsciously shared that prejudice. Kim Murton proves me wrong. . .

 

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Read David’s Art Letter essay, Kay Murton’s clay art: Hug a cartoon, featured in Oregon ArtsWatch

 

Erik Geschke turns the concept of heroic sculpture on its head

With mouth agape, eyes closed and hands slack, Missgeburt rests his weary body against a wall in Clackamas Community College’s Alexander Gallery where I first noticed him dozing last month. Despite being almost twice life-size, he is anything but heroic.

 

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Read David’s Art Letter essay, A monumental snore (with a wink), featured in Oregon ArtsWatch