The Mercury's Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for January 12-18

"The news is bleak, the nights are long. Yet somehow... the calendar is still stacked. January is when culture gets weird in the best way; this week, medieval manuscripts emerge from the vault, and camp horror and queer literature come out to play. Plus, artist Elizabeth Knight presents her dog embroideries, and local hardcore shows up to shred. Don't say we didn't warn you!"

"There's no better time than the dead of winter to sit with a selection of medieval manuscripts. Lewis & Clark College understands this, and leans into the cloistered feeling of the season with Portland's first public exhibition of medieval manuscripts in decades. The college's Aubrey R. Watzek Library will present books from the 13th through 16th centuries, including a "nun's private devotional handbook, a lawyer's manual with amusing doodles for memory aids, a grand choir book, a thirteenth-century Bible, and sumptuous books of hours.""

"Textile artist Elizabeth Knight's new solo show presents an interesting series of embroideries, giving antique images of women and their dogs a raised, jewel-like dimension. Stitching directly onto copies of old photographs, Knight's approach derived from "a strong need to give these long dead 'friends' dimension and color [and] lift them off the flat surface,"

Portland's January lineup includes a public exhibition of 13th–16th century manuscripts at Lewis & Clark College's Aubrey R. Watzek Library, featuring items such as a nun's devotional handbook, a lawyer's manual with doodles, a grand choir book, a thirteenth-century Bible, and sumptuous books of hours. The exhibition examines books' roles in moral development, interiority, and shared worship. Local cinemas screen cult works like Flesh for Frankenstein, produced by Andy Warhol. Textile artist Elizabeth Knight presents embroideries that add raised, jewel-like color to antique photographs of women and their dogs. The week also highlights camp horror, queer literature, and local hardcore music.

Read at Portland Mercury