Arts & Culture

The Portland State AB Lobby Gallery will present Venice in Portland, a documentary on the 2011 Venice Biennale by Horia Boboia, PSU assistant professor of art. The film will be shown in conjunction with the art exhibit Made in Italy currently on display in the MK Gallery.

In the film, which has no voiceover, Boboia guides viewers around one of Italy’s oldest artistic gatherings, the Venice Biennale. With Venice in Portland, Boboia seeks to provoke interpretive questions about the nature of art to his viewers. These questions include: What is art? When is art? How is art? Is this art?

The “ordinary man rises to the occasion” trope is a trope for a reason: Though we are all quite ordinary (whether we’ll admit it or not), most of us still secretly hope that somewhere deep down we can be extraordinary when it counts. Whether the last-second gunshot is on the line or a small town has forgotten how to dance, Hollywood loves to give a down-on-his-luck character a chance to prove his mettle.

Formerly local sludge machine Black Elk is returning to Branx with a cast of fellow ear-splitters for its first Portland show since December 2009. Best of all, it’s free.

There was a time, according to Portland musical lore, that the words “Black Elk” were on everyone’s tongue. The band played several high-profile metal shows, signed to Crucial Blast and put out a record. It felt like Black Elk was everywhere in Portland. The band seemed to be playing with every sludgy doom metal band that passed through town.

Guitarist Bruce Windham’s fingers were red and chapped from his time spent in the cold, but they still danced through the chords of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroad Blues” with a veteran’s precision. There weren’t many onlookers on that rainy afternoon, but he kept his spirits high and played on.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are a staple of American food culture, a classic that you can never really tire of. Cheese and bread were just meant to be together. Love at first sight.

Why did the Islamic world during the 19th and 20th centuries have an eye on Japan?

Dr. Ayşe Selçuk Esenbel of Turkey’s Bogaziçi University will discuss the history between Islam and Japan in tomorrow’s on-campus lecture, titled “Japan’s Global Claim to Islam: Transnational Nationalism & World Power 1900–1945.”

“Nothing to be done.”

The opening words, sighed by the listless loiterer Vladimir, illustrate the tone of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play, Waiting for Godot. Described by the playwright as a tragicomedy, Godot is, almost literally, a play about nothing.

The Northwest Film Center will screen a 1961 film adaptation of Godot by Alan Schneider Jan. 19–20 as part of its ongoing “Treasures from the UCLA Film and Television Archive” series.

Italy is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful, evocative locations on earth, especially for artists.

Made in Italy, an art exhibit featuring pieces by graduate and undergraduate students from Portland State, University of Oregon, Southern Oregon and Oakland College in Michigan, is the response of one group of students to their summer trip to the country.

At your next shindig, why not trade in your boring chips and salsa for a tasty appetizer that’s ready in no time? Made with fresh vegetables and baked warm in your oven, this zucchini crostini is a healthy way to satisfy your guests’ empty bellies without forcing them to indulge in empty calories.

Public speaking has always come naturally to Elena Rose.

“My first public political speech was when I was 15 in my hometown,” said Rose, a poet, writer, activist and seminary student. “I was pushed to the front of a pro-choice rally and a speech just came out. I had no idea what I was doing: Words just started coming out, and then all of a sudden people were crying and hugging me.”