As a journalist, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing photographers, pros who could take what I saw as a simple, even uninspiring, scene and render it into a work of pure art — often in the most fleeting of moments, or brutal circumstances. Those are the photos that make you want to take a second and third look, the photos that keep you returning over and over again.
That’s what juror and world-renowned artist Robert Adams looked for in selecting pictures for a new show, The Sacred, at the LightBox Photographic Gallery in Astoria. A total of 165 camera buffs submitted their work; 52 made the cut. Here’s how Adams described his choices:
“The photographer Dorothea Lange said that she wanted to make pictures that are ‘second-lookers’ – pictures that reward repeated viewings. It has been my privilege to assemble an exhibition made up of such photographs. The pictures record what is ‘entitled to reverence,’ as the dictionary defines the word ‘sacred’ – times and places and people that point beyond themselves. We stand today in particular need of such testaments. I was asked to select a few of the photographs for ‘honorable mention,’ but this seems unnecessary. As is apparent, the photographers brought honor to themselves by first selflessly honoring their subjects.”
The show opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, and runs through Sept. 5.
The Coaster Theatre is promising a night of music and merriment at its Cannon Beach Hootenanny on Aug. 25. The evening of folk, blues and rock ‘n’ roll showcases local musicians: Adams & Costello, The Floating Glass Balls, Maggie & the Katz, and Thistle & Rose. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $15 and can be purchased online, at the box office or by calling 503-436-1242.
Ongoing at The Coaster, two light-hearted productions play through the summer: The Musical of Musicals: The Musical! a parody of musicals told in five versions; and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, offering “a whimsical spin on a classic Holmes mystery.”
In Manzanita, August marks the opening of a five-artist show at the Hoffman Center for the Arts on the theme Sea. The display showcases works by Kyla and Shane Sjogren, Lloyd Lindley II, Nicole Hummel, and Barry Calvarese.
The Sjogrens’ Fire, Fauna, and Fiber blends materials, environment, proximity and the dialogue between the Seaside couple. The result, as described in the Center’s press release, is a “culmination of both artists observing each other’s work and watching it become more and more embedded in the culture of the north coast of Oregon.”
Surrealism of the Sea features paintings by Lloyd Lindley II of Manzanita; Imaginative and Functional Slip-Decorated Ceramics presents works by Nicole Hummel and Barry Calvarese shows his work in Ceramic Art. Admission is free.
Ongoing at the center:
- Conversations and workshops revolving around the topics of aging and dying. The programs alternate on two Wednesdays per month.
- Free Summer Sunday concerts by local artists in the Center garden, from 1 to 3 p.m.
In Lincoln City, Bossa PDX pays tribute to the masters of the bossa nova era on Aug. 30 at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. Tickets are $22 for adults.
A new exhibit of Rick Bartow’s work at the Newport Visual Arts Center runs through Sept. 29. The exhibit, From the Heart: Author Drawings by Rick Bartow, features 17 original works on paper that Bartow, who died in 2016, donated to the Newport Public Library in 2000. Most of the work, which includes portraits of authors ranging from Edgar Allen Poe to Elinor Wylie, have not been previously exhibited in public.
Ongoing at the center:
- Henk Pander’s exhibit of new large-scale watercolors from his series War Memories, Liberty Ships and the Climate Refugees of Vanport continues through Sept. 2, Pander will give an artist talk at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11.
- Cannon Beach artist Elizabeth “Libby” Pattison’s show featuring jewelry of polished Oregon stones and small oil paintings continues through Sept. 1.
ELSEWHERE around the coast:
- The indoor/outdoor art show Celebrating Renewal: Visions in the Forest at the Tillamook Forest Center by Oregon artists Elaine Treadwell and Beth O’Mahony runs through Sept. 3.
- And Astor Street Opry Company continues the 34th season of Shanghaied in Astoria, a “live, award-winning, family-friendly, historical and hysterical; part-vaudeville, part soap opera and an entertaining look at cultural folklore on the Columbia River” through Sept. 1.
