In addition to what STOCK has planned for us at our dinner on Friday evening, there will be three short presentations on some examples of Portland’s material/visual culture.
John Fenn, an assistant professor in the UO Arts and Administration Program will talk about how the designing and building of unique or custom guitar effects pedals in small batches has emerged as a vibrant cottage industry over the past decade, with quite a few builders calling Portland home. He will describe how small scale or boutique business practices intersect with aesthetics, creativity, community, and various concepts of sustainability.
Sarah Mirk will talk about the 10 comics on Portland’s history she is writing for the Dill Pickle Club. The first one in the series on the Lone Fir Cemetery is also illustrated by her. Mirk is a reporter for the Portland Mercury.
Ira Ryan of Ryan Cycles is a bike builder who has built over a hundred bicycles since Ryan Cycles opened in 2005. Ryan describes his cycles as the “result of a love affair with the bicycle as a tool for discovery, a vehicle of effiecency and one of the most elegant machines … made.”
