Chris Bennett
Facing a panorama of technological options unthinkable just 15 years ago, many photographers are looking to the medium's history to mine antique, laborious, and frequently toxic processes of creating photographs. Chris Bennett (of Newspace Center for Photography) is one such artist, creating tintypes in the manner of post-Civil War photographers. Tintypes generally appear in negative tones, but since they're on black metal, they look oddly "correct," emphasis on "oddly." Stumptown (Belmont), 34th & Belmont, through June 30
Bestiary
Froelick Gallery rolls out its annual, reliably fun juried show about the animal kingdom. Among the represented are Marne Lucas, Pat Boas, Heidi Kirkpatrick, and Terrell James. Froelick Gallery, 817 SW 2nd Ave, 222-1142, through June 28
Now
What charges the Center with a sense of possibility is its size and, consequently, its sheer capacity for displaying art. PAC's first group of shows in its new home, though, come off as more than a little anemic. Judging by its first "official" show in its new location, there's a sizable disconnect between the quality of the Portland Art Center's programming and its impressive new home. We'll have to wait and see, though, whether the new Center becomes a focal point of Portland's art scene—or just wasted space. (JM) Portland Art Center, 32 NW 5th, 239-5481, through June 25
Yarn
damali ayo (lowercase sic) resurfaces with an exhibition of four short animated videos and a suite of 12 stills in Yarn. Themes of national and racial identity dominate the work, whose title derives from the tall-tale implication as well as the image of distinct strands forming a stronger, cohesive whole. Mark Woolley Gallery, 120 NW 9th Suite 210, 224-5475, through July 1
Milton Wilson and His Peers: 1960s and 1970s
Shit's getting old skool this month with a throwback to Northwest painters of yesteryear. I smell "earthy palette and responses to nature." Pulliam Deffenbaugh, 929 NW Flanders, 228-6665, through July 1
