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Yesterday, I went up with some friends (including the featured artist) to see the opening of Mike Bragg‘s Pulled from the Ground at OGLE in Portland.  Fun times, too much food, great art, and voodoo donuts were had by all.  If you’re up in Portland within the next two months, go check it out.  It is set up with a great view from the street, too…

MIKE BRAGG
Pulled from the Ground @ Ogle
August 6th to September 26th, 2009
http://www.mikebragg.com/
http://ogleinc.com/
310 NW Broadway
Portland, OR

The images & video below are the intellectual property of Mike Bragg
and are used with promotional intent only.

(click for larger)

The performance piece / video is located at:
Mike Bragg’s Video Archive

Pulled from the Ground is a series comprised of a multi-channel video installation, a single channel video, photographs, drawings and a sound collage. Its foundation imagery centers on a collection of roots and a man’s obsession with them. The symbolization of the roots is seen throughout: they are an anchor of stability, yet at the same time, a literal reminder of the tangling snare of obsessiveness. Pulled from the Ground documents a struggle for stability against the constant flux of existence. The perception of safety and comfort derived from man’s organization and compulsory system of stability are precarious when viewed from within an exaggerated environment.

The elements of this series are designed to operate both autonomously and in conjunction with one another. The main element of the installation is the substantial, obsessive collection of roots. Displayed within the existing space or within a constructed set, the jars of roots are combined with drawings, photographs, videos and sounds to create an overwhelming, claustrophobic effect. In addition to the installation videos, there is a single channel video providing an experimental narrative echoing the themes explored in the installation.

Pulled from the Ground is adaptable to a variety of spaces. The project can be assembled as a full installation, a site specific modified version or as a single channel projection. The full installation includes three monitors situated in a room cluttered with root filled jars. The monitors loop images of pulsating and turning roots synchronized to a cacophony of sounds ranging from deep breathing to frantic mumblings. Almost every space is covered with worn photographs, tattered drawings and jars filled with roots. Other items contribute to the obsessive collection, such as microphones positioned to “capture the sounds of the roots” and a reel-to-reel recorder. A fourth monitor is tethered to the space via an extension cord, distanced somewhat from the cluttered collection and displaying an experimental narrative that documents the themes’ progression.

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And unrelated, but also dark & arty (ok, maybe Anti-Sweden could use Mike Bragg’s accompanying music to sell jeans, too)… drone metal titans Sunn O))) are now being used to sell Anti-Sweden jeans in Norway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxjGPRPODyc

Odd.  I doubt we’ll ever see Sunn O))) used for commercial purposes in the U.S.A.

~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Disfarmer