This content was published: April 25, 2012. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Japanese printmaker is featured artist at 25th Art Beat
Photos and story by James Hill
It’s the 25th year for Portland Community College’s weeklong festival of arts – Art Beat.
During the week of May 7-11, all of PCC’s main campuses will host more than 60 presentations, performances, demonstrations and workshops in music, literature, sculpture and painting. All events, which will feature more than 100 artists, are free and open to the public. Art Beat will spread out over all of the college’s campuses, including Rock Creek (17705 N.W. Springville Road), Sylvania (12000 S.W. 49th Ave.), Cascade (705 N. Killingsworth St.) and the Southeast Center (2305 S.E. 82nd Ave. and Division St.).
Featured artwork titled, “Beet Meets Meat” by Yuji Hiratsuka.
“Art Beat week provides a great opportunity for people to interact directly with local artists,” said Charles Washburn, district Art Beat Chair and ceramics instructor.
This year’s featured artist, internationally recognized printmaker Yuji Hiratsuka, created a special, limited edition print entitled “Beet Meets Meat” exclusively for PCC. The graphic work of Hiratsuka fuses old Japanese ukiyo-e tradition with modern Western elements, resulting in him winning numerous national and international awards. Born in Osaka, he studied at Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei-shi, Tokyo, Japan, graduating in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. He works as an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Oregon State University.
Hiratsuka will discuss his printmaking process from 11 a.m. to noon, Monday, May 7, Room 221, Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building, Cascade Campus; 2-3 p.m., Monday, May 7, The Forum, Building 3, Rock Creek Campus; 9-10 a.m., Wednesday, May 9, Little Theatre, Sylvania Campus; and at the Multi-Disciplinary Art Demo Fair, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, Mt. Tabor’s Great Hall, Southeast Center.
Art Beat Highlights:
Last Regiment-Syncopated Drummers – This entertaining group will perform for Art Beat’s kickoff from 11-11:30 a.m., Monday, May 7, Performing Arts Center Courtyard, Sylvania Campus. Chevrona, an international power folk group, will follow this lively drum group from noon to 1 p.m.
The Northwest Dance Project – They will perform from 1:15-2 p.m., Tuesday, May 8, Performing Arts Center, Sylvania Campus. Northwest Dance Project has established itself as a world-class contemporary dance company.
Dialeto Brasileiro – A Brazilian jazz trio that fuses bossa-nova, samba and baiao, from 12:30-1:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, Fountain Mall, Building 3, Rock Creek Campus. The group formed in mid-2002 in the city of Sao Goncalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and moved to the U.S. in 2009.
Dusu Mali Band-Music Performance –From 1-2 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, Outdoor Mall, Cascade Campus. Fronted by native Malian Ibrahim Kelly, the band combines Malian roots with a Pan African fusion of Jazz, Afro Beat, Blues and Funk.
PCC Art Instructor Mark Smith creates a mural at last year’s Art Beat Festival.
Sealing of Sylvania Time Capsule – Coinciding with PCC’s 50th anniversary, Art Beat’s 25th includes the sealing of a time capsule to opened in 2062. The dedication and sealing will occur at noon, Wednesday, May 9, in the Performing Arts Center Foyer. Students created the time capsule – a bronze cast of a dragon boat.
Artistic Gathering – Cascade Campus hosts Walt Curtis (poetry), Sabrina Guitart (film), Mona Huneidi (animation) and Dylan Lee Johnston (music) for a discussion of their crafts from 5:30-9 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, Auditorium, Moriarty Art and Humanities Building.
The Visual Arts Fair – Artists Michael Robinson, Nancy Prior, Michelle Liccardo and Richey Bellinger will demo their ceramic, printmaking and sculpture skills and invite the public to join in. This fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, Fountain Mall, Building 3, Rock Creek Campus.
Ismet Prcic – The winner of the 2010 NEA Award for fiction will read from his recent novel “Shards” and discusses his creative process from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10, Room 125, Mt Tabor Hall, Southeast Center.
Juried Student Art History Pieces – Art Beat’s first off-campus event showcases PCC’s Honors Art History students, who have crafted juried historical critiques that will be displayed in the Portland Art Museum (1219 S.W. Park Ave.) next to the Medieval and Renaissance art that inspired them. The students will discuss their creations at 5 p.m., Friday, May 11 at the museum. Free admission via Museum’s College Art Pass for those with a valid PCC I.D. card through August 2012.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »
good job.
[…] the average citizen as the creator/artist. As part of Portland Community College’s annual Art Beat Festival, the center of the Cascade Campus will be filled with a mass of 26 “blackboards” — 4 feet […]