Sunday, February 6, 2011

"First Thursday Post" by Matthew Lewallen


In downtown Portland there is a white sculpture in large proportions, located by the Standard Insurance Building (formerly the Georgia-Pacific Building; and is located on 900 S.W. Fifth Avenue). It is titled “The Quest” and was created by Count Alexander von Svoboda in the year 1970. “The Quest" (also known as the "Three Groins in a Fountain" by locals) consists of a group of five nude figures, the dimensions of each being five times larger than life. This is a masterpiece carved from a single, 200 ton, block of white Pen telic Greek marble. The inspiration behind the work is Michelangelo. It was quoted from the artist: "It depicts the growth of today and tomorrow and the awakening to the future. I wanted to have complete contrast between this piece of sculpture and the Georgia-Pacific Building. The sculpture is designed to lead the beholder to look towards the middle of the building and then up."( quoted from http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13852)

The reason I chose to research this sculpture, was because I have always be fascinated with it since childhood. I also wondered what the message behind it was.

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