Exploring the Ted-Gordon Connection

Posted inCulture

When the Circus Comes to Town: The wonderful world of Gil Bruvel

Intern

Multiple, by Gil bruvelGil Bruvel's work is otherworldly. His artwork references a mystical, circus-like environment, full of fantastic jugglers, women balancing on the backs of majestic horses, masked lovelies lounging while he paints their portraits. His paintings remind me of vignettes from an abstract ballet, with stages set in slightly twisted yet welcoming landscapes.

 His sculptures bring fantasy into the physical realm, as with the life-sized mermaid that will be on display this week at Lahaina Galleries in the Old Mill.
His functional sculptures are the furniture of a wine-soaked dream: a bench titled "Found in Oz" implies that the artist doesn't just imagine other worlds … he goes to them often. How does one artist ask to be invited on a tour to the 'other worlds' of another artist, especially over the phone? It's a touchy subject to ask an artist about his influences, even touchier to assume such influences exist, but Bruvel's paintings are unabashedly surrealist, a modern tradition that has influenced music, literature and film. That was the starting point of our conversation.
 "I, of course, was fascinated with the surrealists: Dali, Max Ernst, Miro-but also Klee and Kandinsky for compositions," Bruvel answers with a French accent that makes the conversation feel quite cosmopolitan.

Posted inOutside

Out with a Bang: The day the Mesozoic world ended

Jim Anderson

Reuben and Caleb Anderson meet T. rex at an exhibit at OMSI in the 90s.It is always best – if possible – to turn problems into opportunities, which is what I did recently when my poor old VW "Westy" blew her engine over in Ontario.
With my wife, Sue, the tow truck driver and yours truly stuffed in the cab, all I could do was watch a lot of beautiful Oregon go by, and read a good book.
What I choose to read is the subject for this week's column: "T. Rex and the Crater of Doom," by Walter Alvarez. The book is a revelation, right from the cover painting, which is spectacular, to the last exciting chapter about a comet striking Jupiter.
Most of the objects from outer space – such as comets and meteorites – come streaking into our atmosphere at about three meters per second, but burn up before they strike Earth. However, once every 60 millions years or so, a Big One gets through and slams into our Home Planet like a sledgehammer. The famous Arizona Meteor Crater east of Flagstaff is proof that it happens. Furthermore, it is not a question of "will it happen again," rather it's a question of "when."

Posted inOutside

Code Red : Trail survival, the politics of surfing, and some hardware

Pam Stevenson

What would happen if you broke your leg out there?A SWEET SPOT

Laurie Fox decided to go for a run on Kent's Trail with her dog Lyle one December afternoon three and a half years ago. Unexpectedly, a few miles out, she slipped on some black ice and fell hard, cracking her ankle. Laurie is an experienced outdoorswoman; she attempted to fashion a splint from some sticks and she started crawling toward the trailhead, but she had no cell phone, night was falling and she was losing body heat quickly. Luckily, Laurie had a husband back home who knew where she had gone and that she was late returning. Also luckily for Laurie, a homeless man on his bike came across her and was able to build a fire and call 911. Laurie was rescued, but she has looked at her outings differently ever since. "I always have a pack with a whistle, some matches and a cell phone, at the very least."
Ironically, a similar accident happened to Karen Johnson, another experienced outdoorswoman, two Februarys ago. She headed out for her usual run with her dogs on Phil's Trail on a cold, foggy morning before work. She was aware of the ice on the trail and was running cautiously, but suddenly slammed to the ground. She remembers the loud cracking sound of the compound fracture of her tibia and fibula and the intense pain. "Jake is no Lassie," she said of her dog, but she did have her cell phone with her. She pulled it out, but could not get a signal. She could barely crawl, so she tried waving it over her head and luckily managed to get a call through to her partner Ken. "I'm above the chicken and below the rock and I broke my leg," is all she needed to say. Ken and Search and Rescue were able to save Karen, but she believes she would have died from hypothermia otherwise.

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