News and Culture

People do weird things with their copies of Willamette Week. We were so intrigued by the photos a local artist named Klutch sent us earlier this summer showing the artworks he created by doodling on his new copy of WW at Meat Cheese Bread each week that we decided to mount an entire gallery show devoted to trashing our newspaper covers.

With help from Klutch and WW vis arts critic Richard Speer, we picked a handful of local artists, from painters Alexis Mollomo and Josh Arseneau to installation master and tattoo artist Dan Gilsdorf, gave then the choice of using of one of five Willamette Week covers and told them they had three weeks to embellish, trash, tear apart and re-use it in any way they liked. As long as their art project used the original newspaper cover in some way, it was cool with us. Check out artist Pedro Dorsey’s version of our March 25, 2009 “Pet Sounds” cover, above.

You can check out the rest of the project’s startlingly creative results, which involve everything from oil paints and thread to wood blocks and tiny clay skeletons, when the show opens tonight at Backspace. Klutch even remixed an entire WW blue box for the show (scroll down for photos). A bunch of the show’s artists will be on hand to explain exactly how and why they totally trashed Willamette Week.

A huge thank you to all the participating artists: Josh Arseneau, Tom Cramer, Lydia Crumbley, Pedro Dorsey, Tripper Dunnigan, Dan Gilsdorf, Jason Graham, Chris Haberman, Klutch, Eva Lake, Alexis Mollomo, J. Shea, Brett Superstar.

GO: Trashed @ 35: A gallery showing of Willamette Week newspaper covers—remixed by local artists, shows at Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. Opening reception 5:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 5. Show closes Nov. 30.

Klutch’s Trashed @ 35 Willamette Week box:

1. WTF of the Month: Thermals and YACHT at Backspace…and it’s Free!? God damn,
2. TBA DIARIES: Opening Night Party Photos 11 pm Thur
3. The Thermals & YACHT Nov. 30 at Backspace YACHT and
4. Trashed in the Rose Quarter [NEWS ST
5. Night Avenger • Microphone Fiends: MC Cipher at Backspace [Nightli

Tags: blue box, gallery, trashed, Visual Arts, WW

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Culture, Visual Arts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.