I really liked Michael Kimmelman's piece on the Elgin Marbles in the Times... for once having New York's supposedly chief art critic in Europe pays off. What's more the writing is sharp, with the kinds of critical angles he seems to soften when writing at home.

Lisa Radon's excellent review of Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulson's Pearl District debut speaks volumes to Portland's sizable booklovers crowd.

Jerry Saltz describes a Portland-esque art experiment... 'cept we've been developing this way for years. Here it isn't a single site, it's the way our scene operates and it is different if the art develops this way instead of an episodic situation.

MoCC's Call and Response website gives everyone a chance to respond to the changes we've seen in the Portland art scene over the past decade. I'll be making a presentation on this at another museum this summer as well, so my response was quite brief.

Jerry gave an example of art selling for 30 bucks as if this was remarble, unusual, refreshing. And you are right, PORT, plenty of work can be had for 30 bucks here; maybe we set the model.

Is this a tend we should be proud of? My life is filled with kchotkes of very dubiest value already. Some the the good artists will be uneffected by it all, while some unknowns can climb upward with this effort - but some face big detours in the cheap piece for cool community project.
Quite a few artists just barely climbed out of the 200 dollar ghetto. They are consumed with making statements inline with lifelog obsessions, inching out substance.
Making social kincknacks for special shows is distractng to a artist still pulling it out for hopefully a run of something substantial. I tried to think of something I could make for one hundred dollars. Been there and did that for decades; maybe it is just a matter of someone esle's turn, but please don't hang it on a our city as a blossoming style or rule....

I too have mixed feelings about the bargain pricing artwork... Im not really certain it conveys the proper sense of responsibility.

There is a story about Clyfford Still refusing to sell Walter Hopps a painting because he wasnt sure he was up to the responsibility. ... very interesting.

Of course, $30 bucks for art isnt new or special anywhere... except maybe in Chelsea.

I can say that prices in Portland have risen to fairer levels in a noticable way over the past decade. But on the flip side I think the store for a month was just trying to be a little experimental and blow off the oppessive economic air.

Overall, I think all art scenes are just trying to find a new normal in the cash flow department.