Participatory Art Event
South Waterfront Artist in Residence, Colin Ives

December 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th
7:30 PM at the John Ross Artist in Residence Studio
To reserve a spot email: ives@uoregon.edu

You are invited to an interactive event where you get to walk a virtual salmon along the banks of the Willamette River and amongst the buildings of the South Waterfront. See a video of a trial run.

The New America Pastoral
Machine in the Garden – Final Exhibition

Friday 12.04.09
6 to 8 PM at the John Ross Artist in Residence Studio

Show of the final work produced from the Machine in the Garden studio at the University of Oregon in Portland. During the Fall term and interdisciplinary group of student and faculty explored the many ways our culture is attempting to find a new balance in our relationship with nature. Portland’s South Waterfront has been the muse and base of activity for the studio, who are attempting to find their own place of understanding, engagement and intervention.

I did not get a chance to post from Hong Kong, but I thought I would let you all know that it went great. My work Nocturne was well received and during the conference I talked about the Southwater Front development. They thought it was very progressive. It was interesting to be in the most densely populated city on earth and to be talking our attempts at living more greenly here in Portland.

Here is another Machine in the Garden Lecture by George Gessert. 12 to 1 at the White Stag
Event Room, 70 couch street portland.

For the lecture Ornamental Plant Breeding for the 21st Century, Gessert will discuss past and current uses of biotechnology to create new kinds of ornamental plants. Oregon is playing an important role in these efforts because of the red iris project, initiated by Cooleys Irises in Silverton. Engineered ornamentals such as the red iris raise many questions, but he will focus on just one: what aesthetic criteria or assumptions are shaping the new plants? Answers to this question suggest that the time is long overdue for ornamental plant breeding to beconsidered an art.

Here is a link to more information: poster

I want to invite you all for another lecture for the Machine in the Garden Series at 70 NW couch street, room 150, from 12:00 to 1:00. The Lecture by UO’s Roxi Thoren might be of interest to residence of SWF because of her expertise on Green Roofs and Green Walls.

Also please feel welcome to drop in and talk to some of the students in our Machine in the Garden class who are coming down to my artist in residence studio here in the John Ross every friday afternoon.

cheers,

Colin

I want to invited all the residents of swf to another of The Machine in the Garden lecture series. Friday 12 to 1, in the event room at 70 couch (UO’s White Stag Block). It is a panel discussion about Portland’s Urban Wilderness featuring : Deborah Lev, Claire Puchy, Bob Sallinger, Lynn Barlow.

For more info see poster link.

cheers, colin

This Friday my Machine in the Garden class were given a great tour of the SWF by Nicole Peterson. She spoke from the stand point of the ecological design that went into the planning process and from the prospective of a resident of SWF who cares deeply about the issues. It was a perfect introduction for students who will be using swf as a muse and an off campus site this term.

I wanted to let everyone know about the first up coming lecture of the series that I developed for my UO studio The Machine in the Garden: Rethinking urban gardens in the 21st century. The class will be working down here in the afternoons but I want to invite any of you who are interested to come up to the White Stag for the lectures. The first will the presentation of “case studies” from the work of the primary teachers of the class. Myself, Tad Hirsch an intel researcher, Liska Chan from Landscape, and John Arndt from Product Design. Here is a link to the poster. It is a great group to be working with!

…had to be in Eugene for a few days, I was crowned the Director of Digital Arts, a new addition to my title here at UO.  I am following a great artist and director, Colin Ives.  He is really responsible for getting our whole Portland White Stag program off the ground.  If you saw any of my students speak at the swf studio, he can take the credit for having helped launched their thesis research back in september.  I understand Colin Ives to be the next artist-in residence at the swf starting in the fall.  Residents can look forward to a depth of insight concerning the environment, combined with high technology, during his stay at the John Ross.  As for me, I get back the John Ross friday and I will be in the home stretch of my installation.  3-4 long days.  I swing back home early next week to go to my kid’s end of school picnic, and then return from the opening-closing-unveiling-release-launch by thurs eveing at 6pm.  I believe Jeremy will be manning the grill serving up hot dogs, a perfect compliment to my work.  In attendance that night will be our UO art department’s friends and collaborators from the ShanDong University of Art and Design.  These are faculty from China with whom we had a fruitful and fascinating relationship with over the past few years.  Help us greet them to the USA, help me by checking out the show, and help Jeremy by eating hot dogs.

I have a very large outdoor sculpture being produced in Sophia, Bulgaria and the timing required me to jet there while I am still in Brussels preparing for this thursday’s opening of my show.  The image is from the studio where the piece is being fabricated.