Saturday, December 9

Holga toy cameras are the photographic equivalent of Martin Denny LPs -- they used to be cheap and you found them in thrift stores, but now they're available to any hipster with money ($80!) and access to a boutique gift store. In any case, they take wonderful, dreamlike pictures, like these, taken at my favorite Oregon theme park, The Enchanted Forest.
Wednesday, December 6

"Powerbike" is a marvel of metaphoric simplicity. The artist has devised a user-friendly installation that is a mixture of bike and playground slide. Would-be participants are encouraged to mount a ladder whose every step contains words such as "rich," "healthy," "handsome" or "powerful." In doing so, they will eventually reach the photos of "dream girls" on a nearby transparent canvas. However, the effect is entirely the opposite. As the ladder is climbed, the pictures recede from view.

