With a relentlessness seen in very few places, Portland's citizenry love to discuss and attempt to define Portland. It is an impossible pastime. Still, as part of our two year anniversary PORT asked 7 artists to take a shot at picking what is good and or "definitely Portland" about Portland...

Also, it is a good time to visit Portland with Rembrandt and a lot of other good shows too.



Trash can on N. Mississippi Ave.

Noah Nakell (recently added to the Beppu Wiarda Gallery stable, a nice move for a gallery most known for Arvie Smith)

Favorite Neighborhood(s):
Mississippi, Concordia, Sellwood

Favorite Structures/buildings:
Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave
The Ecotrust Building, 721 NW 9th Ave
My House

Best Coffee House:
Albina Press, 4637 N Albina Ave
Extracto, 2921 NE Killingsworth St
Concordia Coffee House, 2909 NE Alberta St
And, of course, Stumptown, multiple locations...

Best Tea House:
Foxfire Teas, 4605 NE Fremont St

Places to eat:

inexpensive:
Du's Grill, 5365 NE Sandy Blvd
Yam Yams, 7339 NE MLK Blvd
Thien Hong, 6749 NE Sandy Blvd

moderate:
Mio Sushi, 2735 N Killingsworth St
Ya Hala, 8005 SE Stark St

mucho dinero:
Equinox, 830 N Shaver St
Alberta Street Oyster Bar, 2926 NE Alberta St

Music Venue:
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St.

Pick one to five words to describe Portland:
green, blue, white

Favorite touristy spot:
Powell's

Favorite non touristy spot:
You think I'm giving that away?

Favorite Parks:
Fernhill Park, NE 37th Ave & Ainsworth St
Powell Butte, 16160 SE Powell Blvd
Tanner Springs, NW 10th Ave & Marshall St

Favorite Public Artworks:
Da Tung, North Park Blocks
Animal Fountains outside Pioneer Courthouse

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie:
Pearl Bakery, 102 NW 9th Ave

Favorite Art Supply Store:
Collage, 1639 NE Alberta St


Northwest 21st St. (Alphabet District)

Tom Cramer: (Portland's all but official artist laureate, his first show with Laura Russo Gallery will be in October)

Favorite mode of transportation: bicycle- North Vancouver to Broadway Bridge- cross on north side of bridge. to down town... hiking- Forest Park, arboreutum

Favorite Neighborhood(s): NW Portland in general-(NW23rd and 21st- yes its commercial but at least the buildings are old and original and its not trying to be something its not) excluding Pearl District, Forest Park, close in Northeast even though it is bieng ruined by phony hipster PC monoculture), Woodstock- one of the last areas to not be ruined by hipster monoculture.

Favorite quirky landmark: the camerons bookstore sign on sw 3rd and stark street

Favorite Structures/buildings: Pittock Mansion, downtown library, north portland library

Favorite drinks: fox and hounds in chinatown, ringside bar, the benson hotel- the wonder ballroom favorite drinks: screwdriver, long islands, fullsail ipa

Best Coffee House:
Anna Bannanas

Place to eat:
inexpensive: Giovanni's Italian restraunt in downtown Beaverton
moderate: Ringside
mucho dinero: Genoa

Music Venue: Wonder Ballroom, Crystal Ballroom, White Eagle

Theater: Cinema 21- hands down

Favorite Street corner: somewhere in old town, south of burnside

Bookstore: camerons

Pick a few words to describe Portland : hip, funky, trendy, wet, stoner, ex deadhead with money paradise

Favorite touristy spot: Rose Garden in Washington Park

Favorite non touristy spot: lone fir cemetery

Favorite designer or shop: portland outdoor store


Obligatory inclusion of Portland Building

Nat Andreini (1/2 of Sincerely John Head)

Favorite mode of transportation (indicate fave route):
1. cruising in the '77 Ranchero along HWY 101 between Port Angeles, WA and Olympia, WA
2. my walk to work through Buckman. I like Pine street a lot.

Favorite Neighborhood(s):
1. Buckman
2. Industrial inner SE
3. Goose Hollow
4. West Hills
5. Rose City Park
6. Ladd's Addition
7. Montavilla
8. Arbor Lodge
9. North and South Park Blocks

Favorite quirky landmark:
1. Rocky Butte

Favorite Structures/buildings
1. there's a tiny house crammed between two buildings off NE Sandy and NE 24th near all the factories over there. it's cool.

Place to eat:
Inexpensive: Sheridan's market, Slow Bar (BURGERS), Edelweiss, Blue Nile
Moderate: Screen Door, Queen of Sheba

Music Venue:

blackbird (rip)

Band:
1. menomena
2. sandwich


Favorite Street Corner:
N Fremont and N Missouri

Bookstore:
Cowell's, Cameron's


Pick one to five words to describe Portland:
1. close-knit
2. swell
3. druggy


Favorite touristy spot:

Portland City Grill, Rocky Butte

Favorite non touristy spot:
Willamette Drive


The Nite Hawk on N. Interstate is very close to Rock's Box

Patrick Rock (an artist to watch with a new alt venue Rox's Box, his first show Fuck Portland opens July 4th):

Favorite mode of transportation & Route:

Bicycle, via the Interstate Ave. bike lane south to the Eastbank Esplanade crossing over the Steel Bridge (the fucking French rule), south at Tom McCall ("We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven's sake, don't move here to live. Or if you do have to move in to live, don't tell any of your neighbors where you are going.") Waterfront Park, to and over the Hawthorne Bridge (stop and make out with myself and take in the view), to OMSI, gaze upon the floating black phallus, to the Clearwater Trail (stop and pick blackberries), to Oaks Park (pee in the woods and have bad childhood flashbacks), walk it over the bridge that is going to fall down, to the west-side, past the 70's bachelor pads on the river, past the condo towers which house people I will never know, under the tram which is as useless as a penis on me, fall down panting in the green grass at that little park and listen to white people play bad blues music, and then back track the path previously taken, except that I cheat and take the Yellow Line MAX up the hill.

Favorite Neighborhood(s): All of them.

Favorite quirky landmark: THE EMBERS "Never give an inch." Henry Stamper

Favorite Structures/buildings (pick 3): The Steel Bridge going up and down. The glass, bronze and laminated wood, TRIMET bus mall shelters that 'they' tore out. The old Satyricon when the fat angry hung-over Greek poet ran it.

Favorite drinks:

cocktail: Bull Run tap water

beer: Bull Run tap water

wine: The Four Bowled Benson Bubblers

Best Coffee House: My kitchen

Best Coffee House for Scene: My bedroom


Place to eat:
inexpensive: The back of the Panaderia & Tienda/Santa Cruz Taqueria or my backyard BBQ if you like your pork, beef, chicken, and fish, rare.
moderate: Where are you taking me?
mucho dinero: Where are you not taking me?

Bands: The Gossip, Get Hustle, Glass Candy, DAFT PUNK, The Wipers...

Theater: See... http://www.portlandart.net or is that drama?

Favorite Street corner: The pedestrian and bicyclist deadly cluster fuck at Sandy / Burnside / 12th Ave. before they put the ugly plastic rock gym in.

Bookstore: Well now that she gave up 'installation art' and owns "THE CITY OF BOOKS" she is hot! And I am single.

Pick one to five words to describe Portland: 1. cracker 2. cracker 3. passive aggressive 4. beautiful 5. cracker - Am I projecting?

Favorite touristy spot: The Grotto.

Favorite non touristy spot: The Japanese Gardens.

Favorite designer or shop:: Joe Brown's Carmel Corn at the Loyd Center. Live dangerously and get some cheese corn mixed in with it


Portland's Aerial Tram

Scott Wayne Indiana: (creator of the most successful public art project in Portland history, the horse project)

Favorite mode of transportation & route: bike - spring water trail

Favorite Neighborhood(s): woodstock - reed - east moreland

Favorite quirky landmark: horse rings

Favorite structure-ish things:
tram
Ankeny fountain
Portlandia

Favorite drinks:
cocktail: yes (Blue Hour)
beer: yes (Low Brow Lounge)
wine: yes

Best Coffee House:
space monkey (5511 SE 72nd Ave Portland, OR 97206)
for Scene: downtown Stumptown

Place to eat:
Pambiche
inexpensive: Ole Ole, Takahashi SUSHI TRAIN
mucho dinero: ruth's

Music Venue: la luna

Band: Decemberists

Theater: theater theater

Favorite Street corner: corner of 37th and hawthorne (bagdad), or the crazy intersection of burnside and sandy

Bookstore: duh, we should change the name of the city to either Powell, Multnomah, or Cascadia

Words to describe Portland: weird, green, casual, liberal

Favorite touristy spot: Oneonta gorge near Multnomah Falls

Favorite non touristy spot: delta cafe

Favorite designer or shop: bonnie heart clyde


Some of the action on East Burnisde for First Friday (it's often a lot more crowded than this)

Jeff Jahn:

Favorite mode of transportation & route: Walking on Willamette blvd

Favorite Neighborhood(s): Alphabet District, Lower Burnside by the Jupiter Hotel, N. Williams, Arbor Lodge, Belmont

Favorite quirky landmark: Paul Bunyan… I spoke to one of tellers at the Wells Fargo bank behind him and (while giggling) she told me they pretty much have a panoramic view of his ass all day long.

Best Coffee House:
Anna Bannanas NW 21st... laid back but the music ranges from Zorn to ZZ Top... they have the best espresso too. Albina Press is also a standout, Grendel's is a nice change of pace in the Lower Burnside area as well. Portland is a cafe city.

Places to eat:
inexpensive: Burrito Loco… try the $1.35 el loco taco, Le Happy, The Golden Horse, Ken's Artisan Bakery, Pearl Bakery
moderate: Screen Door
mucho dinero: Blue Hour... consistently great + great service (which seems difficult to get in PDX)


Pick a few words to describe Portland: Arty, Conscientious, Green, Tolerant, Evolving (while learning to support its ambitions and leadership role as a model US city)

Favorite touristy spot: Multnomah Falls... the food at the lodge is actually pretty good and I like WPA era "parkitechture"... once you get to the top of the trail it's middle earth

Favorite non-touristy spot: Forest Park.. ok tourists go there too but they are forced to hike, which is different than touring... sort of.


Matt's favorite street corner: Albina & River

Matt McCormick: (filmmaker etc.)

Favorite mode of transportation:
MAX over the steel bridge, tram to the top of pill hill.

Favorite Neighborhood(s):
north portland industrial, south east industrial, ladds addition, and the reading frenzy/half+half/jackpot records neighborhood

Favorite quirky landmark:
the tram

Favorite Structures:
the stockyard building (rip)
fox theatre (rip)
monte carlo building (rip)

Favorite drinks:
cocktail: vodka tonic, the alibi
beer: what ever is on special, my father's place, or stella at alto
wine: something red, on my back porch

Best Coffee House:
for Espresso: no
for Scene: half and half
for Lattes mochas etc.: how 'bout plan ol' coffee? fresh pot.

Place to eat:
inexpensive: mississippi pizza, anything on 'the strip' (SW 5th ave between oak+stark)
moderate: queen of sheeba, delta cafe
mucho dinero: who's buyin?

Music Venue: holocene

Band: adrian orange, the shins, yacht, decembrists, erock, white rainbow.

Theater: cinema 21, laurelhurst, hollywood, clinton street, and where ever cinema project is setting up. and the guild (rip)

Favorite Street corner: albina and north river

Bookstore: reading frenzy

A few words to describe Portland: it's so Portland

Favorite touristy spot: the tram

Favorite non touristy spot: underneath the fremont bridge

Favorite designer or shop: goodwill super store

question....is An Artists Guide to Portland in 2 parts?
part one-male artists guide
part two-female artists guide
wack!
come on JJ u know u want a girls perspective on portland...to keep port chic!?

It wasn't intentional, none of the female artists responded when asked... but of course I'm for it.

How about best place to have your 2D work documented for slides and digital images.

Or is this just an artist's guide in the sense that artists like restaurants, bars and coffee shops? Or, is it meant to be a Guide to Portland by _____, an artist.