NEWS/ARTS ARTS/VISUAL
POETIC GRAFFITI Big Tree Arts’ poetry slams offer outreach and an outlet JACLYN BRANDT
TREASURE YOUR BEER Forget the muses of old. Languid reclining nudes with padded ivory hips and blushing nipples are a thing of the past. The new inspirational form is a testament to modern consumerism—steely smooth curves with dewy beads of cool sweat. Though beer has always been bottled inspiration for artists, PBR’s annual “PB-Arts Contest” has moved the can to the forefront. Each year, the contest encourages artists to submit PBR-inspired work in four categories—photography, painting, sculpture and poetry—and then awards a grand prize of $1,893 in cash and a year’s supply of PBR, and a runner-up prize of $631 in cash and a four-month supply of PBR, in each category. Last year, PBR painted a few of the top contest winners in mural form on the sides of four downtown Boise buildings—the Davies Reid building, the side of Neurolux, the Linen Building and the side of Mack & Charlie’s facing Addie’s. Josh Udesen from Boise was one of this year’s winners, and his work will be displayed in Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Portland, Ore. For more information and to see the complete PBart gallery “like an art museum without all the wimpy hush hush,” visit pbart.com. Now, something for the kiddos. Idaho Performing Arts recently released a call to artists for the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of Treasure Island. MCT, the largest touring children’s theater in the country, will show up in Boise with a wagon full of sets, lights, costumes and make-up. All they need to complete the production is a cast of local kids aged 6 to 18. Each child actor pays a $95 participation fee and then is cast in a specific role—Jim Hawkins, the Pirate Crew, Jim’s Ruffian Friends, Villagers or cuddly Gulls. Rehearsals take place Monday, July 26, through Friday, July 30, from 1-5 p.m. at Camille Beckman in Eagle, and the play’s performance is on Saturday, July 31, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Eagle Nazarene Church. For more information, call Kim Hasenoehrl at 208-602-8796 or e-mail kim@kimhazdesign.com. —Tara Morgan
32 | JULY 7–13, 2010 | BOISEweekly
LAU RIE PEARMAN
Josh Udesen’s ode to PBR.
on the whole time, I’d consider that workout said. “It might be scrawled on the back of a Last month, Boise Weekly ran a story about a love poem.” menu by a teenager. It could be a song sung a local business owner who was hiring graffiti While the group is funded by a few donaa cappella. It’s all ‘slam poetry.’ It’s the lack artists to decorate his restaurants. While many of limitations on the form that make it so awe- tions, its budget is mostly made up of grants, might argue about whether or not graffiti is including one from Idaho Commission on the some and also so variable.” art, it brings to light the questions of not only Arts. Big Tree Arts’ youth outreach program is Poetry is definitely considered an art form, ‘what is art’ but who decides what is art? Is it funded thanks to such grants. art academics or the working artists? There has been some controversy, Isaac Grambo is involved in both however, surrounding government payof those worlds. In his day job, he ing for arts. KBOI-TV did a story on teaches Art and Communication at the issue in January, with one source usBoise State. But at night he is the event ing Big Tree Arts as an example of why coordinator for the slam poetry orgaarts should not receive state funding. nization Big Tree Arts. “You can have the stance of governSlam poetry has endured many of ment shouldn’t pay for arts. However the same battles over legitimacy that if the government doesn’t do it, what graffiti artists go through to define happens?” Grambo said. “If we don’t their art form. get the $3,000 that helps make it “I hear a lot of people lamenting possible to send two poets to these the divide between page poetry and at-risk students to help them with that performance poetry. Academic poets sort of stuff, then they don’t have that distance themselves from this popular outlet. Then culture starts to sort of medium, and being an art professor I dwindle. We don’t have money to bring can kind of liken that to other things,” in featured poets. The interest in slam Grambo said. “I was just talking today in Boise starts to wane. And then slam about pottery with my Art 100 class, stops. And one of the things I like about and I was talking about how academic Boise is that there is a pretty thriving artists think pottery has a use value arts culture—in music, in visual arts, in and is therefore craft, and therefore is poetry slam—and people are active in not high art. But whatever, it is making it. And people would like to continue beautiful objects.” that, but you need money to do it.” Founded in 2002 by Jeanne Huff Big Tree Arts has two regular events and Bob Neal as Boise Poetry Slam, each month: one all-ages event at Womthe group was later renamed Big Tree an of Steel Gallery every first Tuesday of Arts as a non-profit, run by Huff, Neal the month, and another over-21 event and Cheryl Maddalena. The organizaat Neurolux every third Monday of the tion has one goal in mind, according month. EJ Pettinger, Neurolux general to Maddalena: “creating a stable founmanager, sees a mixed audience. dation for the art form of performance “There are some of our regulars in poetry in Idaho.” that mix, but there’s also a lot of people Slam poetry is a competition performance event that was started in 1986 Isaac Grambo is master of yet another sub-genre: alley slam poetry. we don’t see everyday.” That mix has been more beneficial in Chicago by a construction worker than Big Tree Arts originally imagined. tired of the lack of time limits associ“Neurolux has been fantastic because but some people may disagree that the subated with open mic nights. Slam poetry has people are going to go to Neurolux anyway, genre of slam poetry is art as well. few rules: participants have a three-minute not just to go to a poetry show. It has been “The argument about poetry has come time limit and may not use costumes, props or a way to at least introduce people [to slam up,” Grambo said. “One audience memmusical accompaniment. poetry],” Grambo said. ber once said, ‘I sure heard a lot of spoken According to Conor Harris, a recent addiAs for the all-ages show, it’s a way not word but not a lot of poetry.’ But this is tion to Big Tree Arts, the organization makes only to allow anyone to perform, but also to performance poetry, and what is poetry? it easy to perform. provide youth outreach, an important part of What is art? Who cares? This is a venue for “At the art gallery ... anybody can sign up, the organization. people to speak and and it’s a very open and “Younger people have a lot of emotions perform their original inclusive environment. All ages slams: first Tuesday of each month, and want to say things, and you give them whatever. While there The regular poets, and 7 p.m., $5, $1 with student ID, Woman of some sort of avenue to do that,” Grambo said. are some parameters, the MC and Isaac, are Steel Gallery, 3640 Chinden Blvd. Maddalena agrees. anything goes.” quite frankly bonkers. 21 and older slams: third Monday of each “Being able to support our all-ages work“As for the poems And I love it. They are month, 8 p.m., $5, Neurolux, 113 N. 11th St. shops and youth outreach events with local themselves, and the nutty and witty and boisepoetry.com poets is a huge milestone for us, as this kind definition of a slam not afraid to include of work also helps our local poets to continue poem, it’s really kind anybody in it.” to critique and analyze their own work in of up to you,” Harris said. “I consider a Performers may interpret poetry however increasingly effective ways, and thus buoys poem to be an artistic expression of one’s they choose. feelings. I’m a runner, and when I run a great our whole creative community to ever-higher “It might be great work on the page writlevels of performance.” workout and think of the girl I have a crush ten as a part of an MFA’s thesis,” Maddalena WWW. B O I S E WE E KLY. C O M