Ghost Ship 2001

The “Ghost Ship” sculpture resides on the top of a stone barrier that is uniquely placed between a split section of bike path off the East side of the Willamette River in downtown Portland. Its location and freestanding design allows for all sides to be viewed by pedestrian traffic. Metal and glass were constructed to visually acknowledge ships that have traveled through Portland; specifically ships that have sunk crossing the Columbia River.

Linear lines form a hull around the red-orange glass creating an abstract shape similar to a cargo or steam ship; even the negative space between these bars in conjunction with the red-orange light from the colored glass insinuates the rough look of wooden boards nailed together in unity to form a ship. The massive sold metal under the delicate glass is balanced making the glass seem more weightless under the massive structure of the metal base.

Placing this sculpture next to the river has a specific context that was designed to enlighten the artwork. The scale of the sculpture is much smaller than an actual ship, but standing a few yards to the east of it gives the illusion that it is a massive ship floating out in the river. Also, the sculpture plays a duel role with its slight resemblance to a lighthouse; the red-orange glass illuminated by daylight has a resemblance to a spotlight or fire. This work is appropriate for its location because of its acknowledgment of many years of passing ships and it reminds us of how Portland’s history is uniquely intertwined with the river.

- Harley Wilkins

POD by Powells

"POD" by Pete Beeman and assisted by David Bermudez
Stainless steel, titanium, and bronze.
2002.

"Representing the infrastructure, energy, and vibrancy of Portland, this sculpture is made complete when a passer-by gives the pendulum a push".

While attempting to find a gallery through the Pearl District, I decided upon this sculpture to critique because I had no idea where the galleries were (yay for not thinking ahead), and I was shocked to see that this work moves.

"POD" by Pete Beeman and David Bermudez is a fairly interesting structure. Since this particular part of Downtown Portland is saturated with large, clunky sculpture, this particular piece was really pretty uninteresting the first dozen times I have come across it.

For those who have wandered through Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington, perhaps Beeman's "POD" seemed to invoke the sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen titled "Typewriter Eraser, Scale X" from 1998. Both structures are made out of steel, a common material for many outdoor artworks. They both feature wheels similar to that of shopping carts, the wheel being attached with a part that covers the top of the wheel and connects to the body of the vehicle at the top of the cover. They also both feature long, thick cords that are focused in one single bunch. These large fronds, the typewriter's eraser in Oldenburg and van Bruggen's work and the pendulum in Beeman and Bermudez's, can be considered kinetic in that they do react and sway in the wind.

The largest differences between the two are that Oldenburg and van Bruggen's work is very playful not only with its scale and obvious representation, but also its positioning and placement. The Typewriter Eraser is oriented not along a flat part of the Olympic Sculpture Park, but along a hill connecting the top of the park to the bottom of a highway overpass. Rather than being oriented along a straight vertical axis, Oldenburg and van Bruggen have tilted the Eraser slightly on its side and back so that the Eraser's fronds bend behind it rather that in a random way. This gives the feeling that the Eraser is barrelling down towards the highway even though it is very much stationary.

Beeman and Bermudez's sculpture's tripod work, on the other hand, seems to have no set representation and is very straight and sturdy thanks to the bulky form and evenly placed legs. The straight steel color also makes it very concrete and lackluster in the grey cloudy weather. Because of this, it was truly a joy to find out that the sculpture itself is kinetic.

The pendulum which hangs in the center of the tripod legs requires a very tall person or an assisted person to give the pendulum a good shove. Using what appears to be gyroscopic axle so the pendulum can swing 360 degrees in its doughnut shaped setting. The very large fronds then vivaciously swing about, adding to the motion and creating a more dramatic trajectory.

Seeing such a languid sculpture suddenly burst into dynamic motion created an entirely different feeling. All of a sudden the negative spaces between the legs were changing dramatically and with an impressive ease.

While I am very much untrained in how to properly view contemporary art, I now completely understand the plague's small suggestion to interact with the sculpture and complete it by pushing the pendulum. Truly something very mundane became very fun and a little threatening thanks to the impressive size of the piece.

If you ever find yourself by Powell's and this sculpture is still, do yourself and the people around you a favor and give the pendulum a push. It was very surprising to how something as tiny as an axle can completely change a piece. This is more than likely the most unique bus stop in all of Oregon.

-Emily Codino

Rachel Denny, "Buckshot"

One artist who I really enjoy, is Rachel Denny. Her work, which actually relates to our upcoming trophies project and mold demo, is inspired by nature and recreated with found objects and unexpected materials. One of my favorite works of hers is dubbed "Buckshot", a free-standing, life-size deer for made of lead, nails, foam, wood and steel. What I love about it is the juxtaposition of the manufactured feel of the steel and nails, and the natural form of the deer. This had to be quite an endeavor, and she successfully pulled it off.

The deer form seems to be covered with different geometrical shapes cut out of steel which are then nailed to the form. Leaving the nails exposed gives a seriousness to the piece. The smooth curves of the animal is a stark contrast against the sharp pentagons and squares covering the figure. Even the hammering pattern on the metal adds intentional texture to the piece. Her attention to detail on the face and the muscles of the deer is uncanny and the scale of the animals brings a sharp realism to the work.

It is important to notice Denny's placement and presentation of work in the gallery. Even in "Buckshot" she places brilliantly white textured fabric underneath the sculpture; again, to juxtapose the hard, cold steel. Examining her online portfolio, it is evident that she knew exactly where each piece would go while constructing. They are hanging, mounted on the wall, set on pedestal, or she even creates a structure for it to sit on (check out "Original Sin").

Take a look at her portfolio here.

-Kristen Petsche

Sculpture Review - William Morris Artifact Panel

In 2000 William Morris completed his Artifact Panel that is now installed in the Portland Art Museum. It spans across two floors, and can be seen from each floor by balconies. This piece is a part of their Native American exhibit which is filled with historical artifacts such as clothing, utensils and decorative household items. While William Morris' artifact panel is not composed of authentic, found artifacts, each hand-blown glass 'artifact' is a replica of an actual artifact. The piece is huge, I'm estimating it was about 10 ft. x 15 ft. and contained 399 unique, hand-made artifacts. It's hard to say exactly what the artifacts were but it appears that most of them were prehistoric animal sculptures, fossil-like objects, and ancient vessels.

The piece was presented in a systematic way, evenly spacing the objects over a grid with each object suspended in the air, protruding from the wall by a single wire hook. Just the sheer number of artifacts in this piece makes it very impressive and awe-inspiring. Every artifact presented was unique and they came in all shapes, sizes and colors. Altogether, I think they are a lot more interesting as viewed as a whole, rather than if they were viewed individually.

The most obvious sculptural term I can use for this piece is the use of unity and repetition in the overall piece, and the use of variety in each individual piece. I'm not sure if the term applies but the panel uses approximate symmetry as well. The negative and positive space also plays a big role in this pice. It's interesting the way the shadows are seen behind each object that creates this illusion of space and I wonder what a white background would do for this piece that would make those shadows appear even more. I'd also say this piece is interactive because you get this changing perspective if you view it from either floor. When you're on the bottom floor the pieces seem to be never-ending and appear to be ascending upward and when you're on the upper floor the pieces seem to be cascading downward. I really appreciate the way the artist and the museum thought about the presentation of this piece that allows the viewers perspective to change drastically depending on where you view it. It changes the entire mood of the piece.

It may lessen my interest knowing that these artifacts aren't necessarily real, but contemplating the amount of work that went into it makes it worthy of appreciation. I like the fact that they are all based off of real artifacts but I think it would have been interesting to be able to marvel at all the history displayed and wonder about the background on each piece. I think the emphasis on this piece is placed in the vast number of replicas presented, as well as the implied lines within the grid-like structure, acting as a unifying element between the uniquely different pieces.

I wasn't able to upload my camera-phone pictures and I tried to find pictures of this piece online but unfortunately I only found pictures similar to the one in the Portland Art Museum. This particular Artifact Panel was done in 1998 and is more or less identical to the one in the PAM but the one at PAM had a black background and was vertical, spanning over two floors.

Olivia Serrill

"Capital Grandstanding: A Tragedy in 41 Acts" by Ronna Neuenschwander

The Froelick Gallery held two similar works by Ronna Neuenschwander displayed back-to-back. I chose the larger elongated work titled “Capital Grandstanding: A Tragedy in 41 Acts”. The materials listed for the work are sawdust fired earthenware, shard mosaic, and wood.

A wide variety of textures are present on the piece. The face, hands, and feet appear to be smooth and cool to the touch, while the ‘grout’ highlighting mosaic pieces appears scratchy and rough. There is yet another variation in texture seen in he mosaic tiles themselves appearing sometimes earthy, smooth, and dull, while other variations appearing shiny, new, and vibrant.

The repetition of color and material unifies the entire piece making sure the viewer doesn’t simply focus of the the lively aspects of the figure, but makes it way over the entire body. Instead of stalling at the vibrant red bulls-eye breasts, we are instead guided downward by complementary bules guiding us all the way to base. The same is done with repetition in the use of form and material at the starting point of the head followed by the balanced symmetrical hands and feet of the same style and color.

The piece is bizarrely serious and lively at the same time. This contrast is felt through the artisit’s choice of material and also the form. The use of muted earthy materials for the appendages and head creates a cool and serious feeling when contrasted with the bright lively mosaic pieces playfully arranged in patterns and shapes. I feel as though there is also a childlike defaced element to it as well. Maybe this is just my own mind, but I can picture this as the result of a kid viewing a serious and maybe somewhat boring sculpture and drawing designs on it specifically highlighting the breasts.

The previous humorous feelings are also successful due to the scale of the figure. The work itself is not larger than the viewer, but once it is placed on the the pedestal connected to the object, and then on top of another pillar pedestal display, I find myself feeling as though this funny little form gathered these heightening devices stacking them up and climbing on top to be at the viewers level in order to be taken seriously and show how intimidating it is despite its small bloated size.

There are contrasting element to the figure’s form as well. The same body parts made out of the muted material are somewhat realistic in their form. This is not to say there isn’t a playful element to them, just to a significantly lesser degree. The hands and forearms look silly and doll-like when connected to the ‘wiggly’ muscle-less upper arm. Those same flowing arms frame the figure’s body with a lack of negative space creating a much more pompous feeling rather than proud as the face would suggest it should be. The same can be said of the feet and shins, while not completely life-like when connected to the upper bow-legged thigh I’m left with the humorous feeling at the thought that they could even support such an inflated balloon-like torso. The body itself holds the shape and design of a cartoon owl while the serious characteristically African head sits atop glancing down. The end result of this juxtaposition is confusion over whether I am to take the piece seriously or not.

-Veva Campeau

NH Glass Case Exhibition- moved to this month!

Hi all,
If any of you see this before Monday, bring in your favorite work(s) so far, and we'll start setting up the glass case on Wednesday. We can add trophies if they become your favorites. There has been a switcheroo, which is why we are moved up in time.
Thanks,
Lexa

Lauren Clay

Some colorful fun pieces from Lauren Clay. They are mostly made from paper and paper mache

http://www.laurenclay.com/

-Viv Hsu

A way to look & discuss

Back at CCAC in 1989, the idiosyncratic, fun loving Charles Fisk offered his Ceramic Art History class this article, which has inspires me ever since. Robert L. Scranton's introduction to "Aesthetic Aspects of Ancient Art", titled "The Structure of Style", breaks down the art object into the following for a rather basic & scientific approach to critique:

Elements of the Work of Art:
Material
Conceptual
Sensory
  within each, there is the
  Aesthetic Aspect
  Technical Aspect
  Rational Aspect
Variations in Manipulating the Elements:
1. Ontology
2. Epistemology
3. Signification
4. Definition
5. Configuration
6. Dynamics
7. System
8. Focus
9. Cohesion

May sound complex, but I'd like to institute a clear version of these guidelines in our next critique

Hobo Nickels

I found this a while ago and thought it might be appropriate given our carving demo.

It's relief and not truly in the round sculpture, but I hope you guys might get inspired by it. I certainly want to try it, but how I'm not sure.

http://www.coinlink.com/Resources/unusual-coins/hobo-nickels/

-Emily Codino

Monday: Casting and First Thursday assignments

Just a reminder to bring on Monday:
An object to cast that has a "foot",  or plan on using your hand
A plastic container or carton just a little bigger than your object with a wide opening, for casting our negative mold in alginate and our positive in plaster
Clothes that can get messy


Bring an extra container if you are interested in carving plaster


Post your First Thursday Assignments to the blog- we will go over them together.
Please remember to incorporate as many 3D vocabulary words as possible- this is a chance for you to clearly explain what you saw, and what you think about it. 

Thanks,
Lexa

Train

My dad spent many years working in the display industry and is a very good 3-D artist. Unfortunately, I did not inherit any of his skill. This is a 3/4 scale train that he built in his backyard in his spare time. I find it quite amazing. He just used pieces of things that he had lying around. It has working lights, a bell, a whistle and you can crawl around inside the boiler. He made it as a little clubhouse for the grand kids. I have heard that he has also built a caboose to go with it but I haven't seen it yet.

Richard

Marbles

The shop owner was a little wierd about me taking a picture inside the shop for some reason. I won't ask next time. It just doesn't have the same effect outside. Richard

CupCakes 2

trash can

i left it  in the girl's bathroom next to the real trash can and came back an hour later, someone had already taken it..

Plush iPhone

Alright, so I hauled my giant iPhone out to my local Fred Meyers. My mom was kind enough to be my photographer for the brief run while we were there.

The reaction to my phone was that of how one looks at goldfish in a blender, kind of a disturbed curiosity. This was especially evident at the check out line when I started bashing at the "apps" furiously with my fingertips. I'm pretty sure I convinced the check-out lady that I was bonkers, but oh well. My mom is a very good sport.

Somewhat relevant Bonus Photo time!


-Emily Codino

Public Replica

Replicas Documentation

Here is public interaction and documentation of my replicas project. I had walked around for awhile trying to get birds in the shot or put it in a bird friendly place and just ended up making the birds on this windy cold day even more scarce.

"Put a bird on it!"

Michelle Caldwell

Wednesday's Class

Please bring carving tools (xacto knives, mat knives, lino-cut & woodcut tools, planers, sandpaper...) and something to carve (wood, foam, soap, books (!), .... ?)

I will bring as much as I can to share.

Also, be prepared to have your replicas post on the blog- we will go over these interactions together.

Thanks,
Lexa

Replica Project Performance Piece