OPB's State of Wonder

Mixed Feelings At Portland Hip Hop Day

Mayor Hales declared a day to recognize hip hop artists. Is it more than lip service?

Portland Building Renovation on Council Agenda This Week

Portland City Council is about to consider renovations at one of the city's most iconic buildings. We talk with Randy Gragg of the U of O's Yeon Center for Architecture and the Landscape about what might lie ahead.

Oct. 17: Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi, Portland Building, Disjecta, Greg Robinson & More

This week we tackle the big subjects: the future of the Portland Building, the humor (or lack thereof) of rape jokes, the history of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival & more. Join us! The Future Of Portland's Most Loved/Hated Building This week the Portland City Council will consider legislation to start renovating one of the city’s most recognizable works of architecture: The Portland Building. It's both Portland's most famous building (it's the text book case for postmodern architect) and pe...

Oct. 10, 2015: Blitzen Trapper, Edward Curtis, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Laura Heit

Spoiler alert: This week's State of Wonder includes shocking revelation, ticklish truth, and true-to-life stories of art on the make. Blitzen Trapper Live Last week, Blitzen Trapper unleashed its eighth studio album, All Across This Land. After some fascinating swings across genres, the band has delivered ten songs grounded in the warm, sun-drenched folk-rock that’s always underpinned their sound. The Confessions of Jessica Jackson Hutchins - 8:21 The Portland visual artist talks about works on ...

Showing Edward Curtis

We talk with Atelier 6000’s executive director, Dawn Boone, and Portland Art Museum's curator of Native American Art Deana Dartt and also and PAM's curator of photography, Julia Dolan about the challenges of exhibiting works by photography pioneer Edward Curtis.

The Confessions of Jessica Jackson Hutchins

"I like accident. I like impulse to be reflected in the final product." Are two shows enough to contain all Hutchins' ideas about intimacy, domestic life, and control? Probably not. But Reed College's Cooley Gallery and The Lumber Room are trying. See our website for more info.

Showing Edward Curtis

We talk with Atelier 6000’s executive director, Dawn Boone, and Portland Art Museum's curator of Native American Art Deana Dartt and also and PAM's curator of photography, Julia Dolan about the challenges of exhibiting works by photography pioneer Edward Curtis.

Skeleton Piano Strikes Whimsical Chord With Dance Troupe

Oct 3, 2015: Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Toni Morrison, Vinnie DeWayne, + more

Spoiler alert: this week's State of Wonder includes shocking revelation, ticklish truth, and true-to-life stories of art on the make. Shaking Up Shakespeare - 01:44 Oregon Shakespeare Festival commissions modern-English rewrites of all the plays. Log Love - 05:54 Actor Catherine Coulson, beloved of OSF audiences & Twin Peaks fans, died this week at 71. The Confessions of Jessica Jackson Hutchins - 07:27 The Portland visual artist talks about works on view in "Confessions", an unprecedented s...

Third Angle Merges Sound With Architecture In 'Frozen Music'

Inspired by Goethe’s quote, “music is liquid architecture, and architecture is frozen music,” the Portland new music ensemble Third Angle will team up with the choir group Cappella Romana to transform one of Oregon’s most famous buildings — one you might not even know exists — into an interactive soundscape. The Mount Angel Abbey library in St. Benedict, Oregon, is one of only two buildings in the U.S. designed by noted Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. From its facade, it looks like an unassuming,...

Oregon Shakespeare Festival To Modernize Shakespeare’s Entire Canon

No one debates that Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the English language. What is debatable is just how much today’s audiences actually understand that language. “I'll be really honest to say I can't understand all of it all the time,” says Lue Douthit, the director of literary development and dramaturgy at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival — and she makes her living studying theater. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced today it plans to bridge that comprehension gap with an un...

State of Wonder Podcast 092615

Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do! 00:45-02:58Blitzen Trapper's about to drop a new record! Here's a preview, with Eric Earley telling us about remaining an old logging town for one of the songs, "Cadillac Road". 02:59-12:07Denny Swofford, the co-founder of Cavity Search Records, talks with Matt Drenik (Battleme, Lions) about the label's early days. Their conversation is being released as an opbmusic podcast this week. 12:08-20:20Elizabeth Gilbert talks about coming back from a c...

State of Wonder: Sept 26th 2015 - Tiempo Libre, Elizabeth Gilbert, Wild Ones, + more

Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do! Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do! 01:18-03:31Blitzen Trapper's about to drop a new record! Here's a preview, with Eric Earley telling us about remaining an old logging town for one of the songs, "Cadillac Road". 03:31-12:39Denny Swofford, the co-founder of Cavity Search Records, talks with Matt Drenik (Battleme, Lions) about the label's early days. Their conversation is being released as an opbmusic podcast this week. 12:40-21:0...

Is Portland The Epienter Of A Cool New American Bonsai Movement?

When most Americans think of bonsai — the craft of pruning and shaping small trees — they probably think of an ancient gardening craft practiced by lovers of Japanese culture. Ryan Neil thinks it’s anything but. With a story ripped from the movie “The Karate Kid,” he founded Bonsai Mirai, a leading international school in the hills outside Portland, and he’s partnered with cutting-edge architects and designers in an effort to make bonsai cool for a new generation. From Sept. 25–27, they’re stagi...

Sept 19, 2015: Artists Displaced, Natasha Kmeto, Twilight, High Design Bonsai, Edward Curtis & More

This week: artists get kicked out of Towne Storage, Natasha Kmeto gets vocal, bonsai gets a high design update, vampires get all touristy and so much more. Hundreds Of Artists Lose Their Studios At Towne Storage - 5:08 Towne Storage has occupied a special place in the Central Eastside arts scene, housing hundreds of artists. But now, Towne Storage’s managers have informed everyone they need to be out by November; the building has been sold. Q&A: Commission Nick Fish On Artists' Space - 5:25 ...

Q&A - Commissioner Nick Fish On Affordable Artist Space

Fish talks about the city's toolbox for dealing with a scarcity of maker space.

Towne Storage Closes, Leaving Hundreds Of Artists Looking For New Studios

We meet a few of the artists in the midst of the Towne Storage exodus, and hear about the forces driving the change.

What Are You Looking At: Wendy Red Star Reviews Edward Curtis: Shadow Catcher

A collection of Edward Curtis' portraits of Native people are on view through October 31st at Bend's Atelier 6000. We tagged along with visual artist Wendy Red Star to see the show.

State of Wonder: Sept. 12 2015 - Patrick DeWitt, C. Spike Trotman, Hector Tobar, Bed, & more!

00:52 How a white guy from Indiana tricked his way past northwest poet Sheman Alexie, to get published in Best American Poetry 2015. 04:05 XOXO Fest welcomes C. Spike Trotman to town this weekend. 13:05 Dreamy, resonant sounds from Natasha Kmeto. She gives us a taste of her new release, "Inevitable" 16:30 Novelist Patrick DeWitt sharpened his knives on fairy tale archtypes for his new novel, "Undermajordomo Minor". 23:28 An opbmusic session with Bed, a slo-fi trio that's coming off well-received...

Patrick DeWitt's "Undermajordomo Minor"

DeWitt talks about his newest novel, a propulsive, playful fable for grown-ups. We also get an update on the film treatment of his 2011 runaway hit, "The Sisters Brothers".

One-Woman Publisher C. Spike Trotman Gives Voice To Underrepresented Characters In Comics

C. Spike Trotman got her start in comics with the web series “Templar, Arizona,” about a slightly irregular town filled with junkies, millionaires, strange subcultures, and weird religions. After realizing that no one was publishing the kind of stories she wanted to read — stories about people of color, queer people, people dealing with the everyday issues of being human — she decided to start her own publishing house, Iron Circus Comics. She has since used Kickstarter to raise hundreds of thous...

New Performance Venue In Old Town

We chat up Shelley McClendon about the new performance venue she is preparing for a mid-October opening - The Siren Theater.

Planet-Eating Space Whales And Sartorial Talking Chickens Fill Craig Thompson’s 'Space Dumplins'

n the galaxy of graphic novels, Craig Thompson is a singular talent. His books don’t just tell different stories: they take place in entirely different universes. He burst onto the scene with the semi-autobiographical work about his move to Portland called “Goodbye, Chunky Rice.” Its delightfully quirky writing and cartoony style won him the Harvey Award for Best New Talent. He followed up with the incredible autobiography “Blankets,” about growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family in Wisc...

Sept. 5 - cartoonist Craig Thompson, musician Craig Finn, Astoria Music Festival, Fiddle Camp & More

This week: we travel from the front lines of forest fires to the trailer parks of outer space. It's all in a day's work for the Labor Day weekend. Graphic Novelist Craig Thompson We start with the singular Craig Thompson. His incredible, 600-page autobiography “Blankets,” about growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family in Wisconsin, was a game-changer, sweeping the awards and redefining the literary depths a graphic novel memoir could reach. Then Thompson completely changed gears with “Hab...

Wallowa Fiddle Camp Attracts Pickers, Fiddlers From All Over

One day in July we were driving through the small town of Wallowa in the far Northeast corner of Oregon on our way to Joseph to record a show from the Fishtrap writers’ retreat. As we drove past the school, we couldn’t help but notice the front lawn was filled with tents. What was the reason for a full-scale summer camp out at school? Meet Fiddle Tunes Camp. If you like what you hear, Fiddle Tunes Camp are sponsoring a big music festival in Enterprise this weekend called the Juniper Jam....

A Trace History - A Painter's Take On Change In China

Watercolorist Rachel Davis' graceful meditations on changes in China's built environment. (credit: "Balance", Rachel Davis, 2015. Courtesy of Charles A. Hartmann Fine Art)

You Can Judge Publisher Tin House By Its Covers

The old adage may say, “Don’t judge a book by a cover,” but don’t tell that to the designers at the Tin House. The Portland publisher release about a dozen books a year, and it has started to win attention and awards for its covers. Last year, its illustrated version of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” won one of the more prestigious graphic design awards in the industry: It was selected by the trade group Communication Arts for its 2015 Design Annual for book design, and it was the only book to ...

State of Wonder: Aug. 29, 2015 - "Latino" Vs. "Hispanic", Business & The Arts, Tin House & More

Our "How To" episode: how to design a book cover, how to correctly use the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic,” and how to revive your relationship with the arts. 1:06 - This week, members of the nonprofit Business for Culture and the Arts closed up shop. The group’s members worked for nearly 30 years to build bridges between the arts and business communities. But the board and members voted Thursday to dissolve operations, handing over some of its programs to the Regional Arts and Culture Council, RA...

Time for a Re-Set? Arts-Business Interface in Portland

With a long-time advocacy group winding down operations, what's going to bridge the gap between metro Portland's business and creative communities? Photo credit: Third Rail Repertory Theatre)

Nate Fasold Hunts Down Famous Guitars

As a vintage guitar collector and owner of Black Book Guitars, Nate Fasold is a master excavator. He's dogged, detail-oriented and knows how to stay the course. In fact, treasure hunting runs in the Fasold family. His father, David Fasold, spent his youth in the Merchant Marines. After marrying and settling down to start a family in Key West, Florida, he opened up a marine salvage company that sat out at the end of a long cement pier. There, Fasold's father helped his fellow treasure hunters dre...