Where did the idea for PORT come from?
ARMBRUST: I was regularly reading two art blogs: Tyler Green's "Modern Art Notes" and "Art Blogging LA." The immediacy and accessibility of these weblogs made them very appealing to me as a way to create a critical forum and gain a much broader audience for a regional arts community. I began talking to Jeff [Jahn] about a Portland art blog sometime last year. We want to push the boundaries of the format, applying a more traditional form of art writing, while maintaining a level of friendly informality to create a portal where we would be exporting Portland art information and importing national and international discussions, thus placing Portland within the broader context.
As Tyler Green asked: Is macroblogging a city's art scene the future of arts journalism?
JAHN: We are really flattered that Tyler asked the question. The blogis a very efficient information disseminator and we set out to evolve pre-existing journal-style city art blogs into something more serious and comprehensive. PORT is a targeted publication with an international reach, the world has shrunk and in a sense, everything is local in the blog-osphere.
Is there pressure to keep up with Jeff, who is one of the city's most aggressive writers?
BOVEE: Jeff isn't as much an aggressive writer as a prolific writer. In terms of content, it is important to note that PORT's regular contributors were chosen strategically to represent four very different stances, reflected not only in our writing styles, but in our other involvements within Portland's art scene.
How do you feel PORT is going to best serve the local scene?
DELUCA: I feel PORT will serve the Portland art community with fresh voices, immediacy, and an opportunity for reader feedback. My only goal is the pleasure of looking at new (and old) art and giving my impression of it. I hope our readers enjoy what I say as much as I do saying it.
