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Go Far Enough West and You'll Be Headed East
By Jeff Jahn
As I've noted before, in many ways West Coast cities in the Americas are more influenced by Asia than the American East. Situated on the so-called "Pacific Rim," these cities enjoy Asia not only as a major partner in commerce, but also in culture.
Despite the fact that Portland may be less ethnically diverse than, say, San Francisco or Los Angeles, the city is no stranger or exception to the Pacific Rim factor. Not only is it one of the most active ports of commerce between Asia and the United States, but it has also become home to vast waves of Asian immigrants.
One thing that makes the Portland connection to the Asias unique is its tendency towards the floral. Being the furthest metropolis south of the cascade range bearing the trademark rainfall and volcanic soil, it should shock no one that Portland is a city of hyperactive botanics.
This natural profusion in relation to the human inhabitants is reminiscent of Japan or Indonesia, where nearly every city is near a volcano. In fact, Portland is the only major US city with an extinct volcano within its city limits. (Most Portlanders know about Mt. Tabor - which houses a basketball court and an outdoor amphitheatre in the remaining crater - but there are several other vents in the West Hills and Mt. Scott, not to mention Mt. Saint Helens in close proximity.)
In conjunction with the neverending profusion of ground cover, foliage, and other types of botanical encroachment upon the city, one might say that nature never lets Portlanders forget who is boss.
Speaking in more cultural terms, Portland has its own classical Chinese and Japanese gardens, a flourishing and influential Asian population, and, with the historical specter of a Japanese internment camp within city limits as well as a vibrant Chinatown, the city states a strong case for a provocative east-meets-west conversation.
Therefore, it is not surprising that one of the hotbeds of Portland's artistic scenes lies smack in the middle of the city's cozy Chinatown, where both current and ancient Asian influences meet Americana to form a unique cultural stew.
"Chinatown"
Photo Courtesy and Copyright Jeff Jahn
Geographic sister to the much younger Pearl District, Portland's Chinatown has been home to distinct galleries for a long time (especially when compared to the recent Chinatown renaissance in Los Angeles), including the famous Portland Center for the Visual Arts (PCVA) which showed the likes of Richard Long, Dan Flavin, and Chris Burden during the 70s and 80s.
The newer Chinatown galleries - such as Motel, Compound and Backspace - are, by and large, either directly or closely related to the Superflat trend, a movement started by Tokyo-bred artist Takashi Murakami, where design, commerce and high art are seen without hierarchy
Compound Gallery, for example, is situated upstairs inside the Just Be Toys design store. Here you will find a wide selection of Anime, toys from Japan, and t-shirts from just about everywhere. In keeping with the theme of the store below, the gallery space showcases art with high design content, such as that of Shin Tanaka, who enjoyed his first solo show at Compound this past month. On First Thursdays no gallery is consistently quite as busy, and with the odd Japanese television crew filming the crowd every now and then, the whole scene is very Superflat.
"T-Boy" Series at Compound Gallery, Portland
Photo Courtesy Jeff Jahn and Compound Gallery
Next door, Backspace provides an often chaotic mélange of computer gaming mecca slash coffee house slash art gallery. The environs are busy, urban, and usually not ideal for art viewing. Nonetheless, the space is often populated by young artists seeking exposure, some of whom have ended up with shows in the more visible Pearl District galleries, which speaks of a porousness that contributes to making the Portland art scene so dynamic.
Another jewel of Chinatown (and in the very same vicinity) is Motel Gallery, run by Jennifer Armbrust, who is also co-owner (along with myself) of the Portland macro-blog PORT. Motel itself focuses on artists such as Portland's Carson Ellis or Megan Whimarsh and Rachel Sumpter (both from LA), most of whom have a relationship to Japanese otaku (geek) culture's fabulous attention to design detail. Motel, like Compound, is a hybrid space selling both hand-made retail items and art, a pairing that fits nicely into the Superflat paradigm.
"The Future Remnants of Dreamvilles"
Jesse Rose Vala and Emily Counts
Motel Gallery Installation 2005
Last stop in Chinatown is the brand new Portland Art Center, which seeks to fill an 8,000 sq ft space right next to Chinatown's trademark gate. With window galleries as well as interior spaces and a focus on emerging installation art, it's a much needed mattress-factory-meets-exit-art style institution that promises to bring the neighborhood a much-needed art venue anchor.
By way of conclusion, it is perhaps notable to mention that during the early days of Modernism the influence of Polynesian and Japanese art helped French painters like Matisse and Gauguin break down the existing rigidities of Western thought through art.
I'm pleased to note that this cross-cultural trade is alive and well in Portland today.
