Board of Art at Portland Oregon City Hall

Board of Art at Portland Oregon City Hall - By Kilwag: Posted 8-3-07
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Board of Art Show At Portland City Hall

The City of Portland held it's Skateboarding in Portland retrospective art show last night, titled Board of Art. I'm not sure that description is entirely accurate though, as the "history" aspect of the show seemed to be solely visible in the Burnside documentary trailer. The rest was art on the wall of the City Commissioner's office. Oh yeah, and did I mention, there was a mini ramp in front of City Hall?!! Only in Portland!

Adidas paid for the ramp, and there was a completely neglected Mountain Dew tent off to one side. Theramp was packed, but it was so small that it didn't take much. I'm actually surprised the skateboarding turnout wasn't greater. The session was pretty heated with everyone tryingto get their runs in, often time simultaneously. The event was scheduled from 5:00-8:00. I didn't get there until after 6:00, and my camera battery ran out about 45 minutes later. I left my spare at home. Duh! Speaking of half assed photography, i am going to fail to edit myself again and post a lot of sub par photos. What do you readers think about that? Seriously? I know this is not a print magazine or a commercial/art web site, but is quality really better than quantity in a situation like this? Or, would you rather just get a larger sense for what was going on? In either case, I need to learn how to use a flash better, as you will see in some blow out exposures. Excuse #2: I couldn't get far enough away a lot of the times becasue therejust wasn't room on the crowded deck.

Back to the art show. I decided to actually look at the main event instead of the half pipe side show at about 7:30, but I was disappointed to find that a lot of the art was inaccessable because some of the areas where the art had been hanging was closed off. I'm not sure how long it was visible, but having it available for the published three hours would have been nice. I beleive you will be able to drop by City Hall during regular business hours and view the art as long as it is hanging. And what about the art? Some of it was... well, art. Some of it was what seems to pass for skateboard art these days, mainly a bunch of Gonz-esque scribblings. Some of it didn't seem to be related to skateboarding at all. Some of it I couldn't see. And now it's time to enjoy some decidely un-artsy photos.

Update: Added more photos from MC.

Board of Art at Portland Oregon City Hall - By Kilwag: Posted 8-3-07
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