RACC Blog

Artist Helen Lessick marks the 30th anniversary of “House for Summer” with a “Tree Celebration” and exhibition

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House for Summer, artist Helen Lessick’s living tree sculpture located within Portland’s Hoyt Arboretum, is turning 30 years old! This captivating installation of birch trees, part of the City of Portland’s public art collection, has been pruned and shaped to take the form of a house, a house that changes with the seasons and is a reflection of the shelter of the forest canopy. House for Summer is a prime example of the work Lessick has done over the past three decades investigating the imagery and metaphor of plants.

Coinciding with this anniversary Lessick’s is having an exhibition at Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art and the Murdoch Exhibition Space. Titled CANOPY, the exhibition showcases Lessick’s recent works with trees across the American west and features a number of her site-specific installations as well as sculpture, artists’ books, and works on paper.

A Tree Celebration: Join us for an on-site event celebrating the 30th anniversary of House for Summer on Wednesday, June 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. The Hoyt Arboretum is located at 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., in Portland—within the Arboretum House for Summer is located adjacent to the intersection of SW Fairview Blvd. and SW Knights Road. Refreshments will be served to honor the trees and will be followed by a human reception at Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art at 6 pm.

Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art and the Murdoch Exhibition Space are located at 2219 NW Raleigh Street, Portland www.jefferythomasfineart.com  For a map to House for Summer contact RACC Collections Manager Keith Lachowicz klachowicz@racc.org  CANOPY runs from June 10 – July 29 with an artist reception on June 10 from 4 to 6 pm.

About the Artist

Helen Lessick is a visual artist working in sculpture, installation, artists’ books and public art. She has received a Pollock Krasner Foundation fellowship, project grants from Art Matters, the Warhol Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission and was the 2000 Bonnie Bronson Foundation fellow. Helen has been honored with solo shows at the Bellevue Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum and the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, she has created commissioned artworks in Europe and Africa as well as across the US. Helen earned her BA in Art from Reed College and her MFA in Studio Art from the University of California Irvine. She maintains her practice in Los Angeles.  helenlessick.net

Artist Crystal Schenk presents “I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy” at the Portland Building Installation Space, June 5 – June 30

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PORTLAND, ORE – RACC is pleased to present a new work by sculptor and installation artist Crystal Schenk in the Installation Space located adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy, opens June 5 and features an arresting sculpture that asks the viewer to look beyond their common understanding into the complexities of the mother/child relationship.

Schenk’s project is an expansive ceramic piece recently completed during her artist residency at Leland Iron Works in Oregon City. The work consists of a field of rocks—each handmade with black clay—which are smooth and satiny, as if tumbled by the sea. Over these rocks large white porcelain barnacles appear to have fastened themselves. The center of the field reveals a sculpture of her three-year-old son, also made in black clay with barnacles growing on his body.

“I like to let one material mimic and charade as another—as the process of discovery lends to an unfolding of understanding.” Schenk says. “Although some species of barnacle are parasitic, most are so harmless their hosts may not even notice them growing to cover their bodies. My relationship to my son has been similar. Starting as an almost unnoticeable seed in my body, he soon grew to take it over—and once on the outside he has been continuously attached to me, even now at three years old. This work was inspired by a moment while we were beachcombing, when he randomly told me, ‘Momma, I’m not a barnacle. I’m just a boy.’ The sculpture exposes my mixed emotions to being a parent, and my bond with this tiny being who is both autonomous and vaguely parasitic.”

About the Artist: Crystal Schenk has a labor-intensive and detail-oriented way of working, in which craftsmanship and material choices play a large role. Her mediums vary as she relies on a combination of material meaning and personal/cultural iconography to build concept. Her work incorporates a wide range of skills, including welding, stained glass, woodworking, crochet, beading, and casting to name a few. Woven through what may initially appear as visually disparate works are common themes of class structure, heritage, and the fluctuating perceptions of memory.

Schenk received an MFA from Portland State University in 2007, and a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon and is an adjunct professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland State University. She was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2006, and was selected as the recipient of ISC’s residency program at Art-st-urban in Switzerland. In 2009 Art-st-urban awarded Schenk with the institution’s first Emerging Sculptor Award, and represented her at Art Basel in 2013 and Open 18 in Venice Italy in 2015. Locally, Schenk’s work was represented at the Oregon biennial, Portland 2010, and has been exhibited at Bullseye and Linfield galleries. This All Happened More or Less, a public art commission Schenk completed with Shelby Davis in SE Portland was recently recognized by Americans for the Arts one of 2014’s top public projects nationwide. www.crystalschenk.com

Meet the Artist: Join us for an opportunity to discuss I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy with Crystal Schenk in person at the Portland Building Installation Space on Thursday, June 8th at 4 PM.

Viewing Hours & Location The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy opens Monday, June 5 and runs through Friday, June 30. For more information on the Installation Space series go to www.racc.org/installationspace.


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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through Work for Art; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and oversees a program to integrate arts and culture into the standard curriculum in public schools through The Right Brain Initiative. RACC values a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences and is working to build a community in which everyone can participate in culture, creativity and the arts. For more information visit racc.org.

Temporary mural wall pilot program Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC and Open Signal, to launch in May

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Local artists will paint temporary murals at Open Signal over the next year

PORTLAND, ORE – Fresh Paint, a temporary mural wall project, begins in mid-May as part of a new professional development initiative of RACC’s Public Art Murals programming. Three artists have been selected to paint a temporary mural on an area of the exterior west-wall of Open Signal facing the highly-visible Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Each mural will be up for a period of four months and then painted over in preparation for the next mural.

The pilot program for Fresh Paint is a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, a community-driven media arts center. Artist participation required living in the Portland metropolitan area, having a consistent studio or mural practice, and not having received any public art commission through RACC nor having created an exterior mural in the City of Portland. The selected artists will receive a stipend for their participation and are offered the opportunity to engage with the myriad of resources at Open Signal.

Public Art Manager Peggy Kendellen elaborates: “This program offers emerging artists the opportunity to work in the public realm—and, in many cases, on a larger scale —with the support of both RACC and Open Signal. The partnership provides artists additional resources that they would not typically have access to as they explore working in the public sector and incorporating new approaches and skills in their artistic practice and experience.”

Open Signal is a 13,000-square foot media arts center that provides the public with easy access to media tools, training, broadcast and opportunities for experimentation. According to Open Signal Executive Director Justen Harn, “We have been working hard this year to reimagine our physical space and connect with the community in new ways through that space. We are thrilled to work with RACC to explore new forms of public engagement.”

Illustrator Molly Mendoza will be the first artist to paint. Her mural is a nod to Open Signal’s youth programs with a vibrant image of Portland youth engaging with the community through broadcasting and video media. It will be painted in mid-late May and remain up through September. The second artist will be Alex Chiu painting in the early October. The third artist will be featured in early 2018.

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About Fresh Paint
Fresh Paint is a temporary mural wall project that furthers mural painting skills and promotes digital media engagement. From May 2017 – May 2018, selected artists are able to showcase their work on an area of the west wall of Open Signal. The program is a partnership between Open Signal and RACC.

About Open Signal, Portland Community Media Center
Open Signal is a media arts center making media production possible for anyone and everyone in Portland, Oregon. Launched in 2017, the center builds upon the 35-year legacy of Portland Community Media to create a resource totally unique in the Pacific Northwest. Open Signal offers media workshops, an equipment library, artist residencies and programs five cable channels with locally produced content. Open Signal delivers media programming with a commitment to creativity, technology and social change. Learn more at opensignalpdx.org.

About RACC
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) was established in 1995 and is funded by public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. RACC provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through workplace giving and other programs; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and integrates the arts into K-8 curriculum through The Right Brain Initiative. Online at racc.org.

PGE Employees Support RACC with a Day of Service

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On April 21st, PGE employees supported RACC’s Public Art department and volunteered to perform maintenance on the Oregon Holocaust Memorial in preparation for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Through a variety of public-private partnerships, RACC helps acquire and maintain community-owned artworks in public places. The Oregon Holocaust Memorial is part of the City of Portland’s Public Art Collection and was funded by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education which donated to the City.

Volunteers helped to hand wash and dry the black polished granite “Memorial Wall”, wash and dry the large plaques, and wash and wax a number of smaller bronze works located on the approach to the memorial wall.

A big thank you from RACC to all of the volunteers from PGE that came ready to work with both care and vigor!

If you are interested in volunteering with RACC you can learn more here.

 

 

 

RACC launches pilot program for temporary murals

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fresh paint, a temporary mural pilot project, begins in mid-May, 2017- April 2018 as part of a new professional development initiative of RACC’s Public Art Murals programming.

For the first year, three artists have been selected to paint a mural on an area of the exterior west wall of Open Signal, 2766 NE Martin Luther King Blvd., Portland.

Each mural will be up for a period of four months and then painted over in preparation for the next mural. The pilot program is a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal: Portland Community Media.

The selected artists will receive a stipend for their participation and are offered the opportunity to engage with the myriad of resources at Open Signal.  Local artist Molly Mendoza will begin painting in May.

Pochas Radicales presents “Nuestrx espacio; soy otro tú” at the Portland Building Installation Space, May 2 – May 26

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Click here for a Spanish version of this press release.

PORTLAND, ORE – Pochas Radicales, a queer Latinx art collective located in Portland, will present a timely, site specific installation in the exhibition space at the Portland Building beginning May 2. The project, titled Nuestrx espacio;soy otro tú, will transform the compact gallery adjacent to the building lobby into a platform that offers an engaging narrative of a young, queer Latinx living in Portland.

Visitors will immediately recognize the layout and furnishings in the room as something familiar, comfortable, and warm. Upon entering, we are lead into the narrative of the young person that created the space. As visitors contemplate the room’s story, the narrative unfolds and we are taken into the mind of this youth, seeing the world as they do and learning the rhythm of their heart. Entonces—who’s room is this?

“We invite the public, employees of the building, and visitors to interact with the space by entering the room, having a seat and making themselves at home. On designated days, there will be café de olla and pan dulce available for participants to enjoy in communion with the artists. The intention of this installation is to personalize the stories of so many people whose lives go unnoticed because they are often reduced to a flash on the evening news with very little context. We want participants to care about this young person as though they were someone very dear to them. They are young, they are queer, they are Latinx, and their story is worth sitting down and listening to. This person could be me, and they could be you. We are highlighting the power of the self-told narrative, and the precious, often overlooked details of human beings that we share space with at work, in our neighborhoods, and throughout our lives.” –Pochas Radicales

About the Artists: Pochas Radicales works to foster community engagement and social justice through art & activism. The collective was founded by Blanca Stacey Villalobos while she was at Portland State University to build community and support for queer Latinxs. Villalobos, along with Andrea Elena Telles form the heart of Pochas Radicales today and the collective has completed an impressive number of projects in a variety of mediums. In 2016 they received a Precipice Fund grant and worked throughout the year on their project echo/hecho. The project included starting a podcast, remodeling a camper trailer and converting it into a mobile gallery, and curating a 3 day event at the end of the year in which featured numerous artists from across Portland. Pochas Radicales also focuses on creating safe spaces for queer and trans people of color throughout Portland and are constantly working to educate themselves and their communities on ways to uplift themselves and one another. Their work challenges archaic notions of gender and sexuality and embraces, validates, and champions the richness of Latin American diaspora. (The term pocha is slang for a Mexican-American person who blends American and Mexican culture; alternately it is a reclaimed term used with pride to validate place and experience in a diverse North American culture.) pochasradicales@gmail.com

Meet the Artists: Join us for a chance to meet Pochas Radicales and discuss their installation in person at the Portland Building on Tuesday, May 2nd at 4 PM.

Drop in Tuesday Mornings: As a way for community and artists to engage in conversation. all are welcome to stop in for hot drinks and sweets with Pochas every Tuesday from 8:15 am – 9:15.

Viewing Hours & Location The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Nuestrx espacio; soy otro tú opens Monday, May 2 and runs through Friday, May 26. For more information on the Installation Space series go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through Work for Art; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and oversees a program to integrate arts and culture into the standard curriculum in public schools through The Right Brain Initiative. RACC values a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences and is working to build a community in which everyone can participate in culture, creativity and the arts. For more information visit racc.org.

Pochas Radicales presents “Nuestrx espacio; soy otro tú” at the Portland Building Installation Space, May 2 – May 26

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Pochas Radicales, a queer Latinx art collective located in Portland, will present a timely, site specific installation in the exhibition space at the Portland Building beginning May 2. The project will transform the compact gallery adjacent to the building lobby into a platform that offers an engaging narrative of a young, queer Latinx living in Portland.

Visitors will immediately recognize the layout and furnishings in the room as something familiar, comfortable, and warm. Upon entering, we are lead into the narrative of the young person that created the space. As visitors contemplate the room’s story, the narrative unfolds and we are taken into the mind of this youth, seeing the world as they do and learning the rhythm of their heart. Entonces—who’s room is this? Where have they gone?

“We invite the public, employees of the building, and visitors to interact with the space by entering the room, having a seat, and making themselves at home. The intention of this installation is to personalize the stories of so many people whose lives go unnoticed because they are often reduced to a flash on the evening news with very little context.” – Pochas Radicales

About the Artists: Pochas Radicales works to foster community engagement and social justice through art & activism. Blanca Stacey Villalobos and Andrea Elena Telles form the heart of Pochas Radicales today and the collective has completed an impressive number of projects in a variety of mediums. Their work challenges archaic notions of gender and sexuality and embraces and champions the richness of Latin American diaspora. pochasradicales@gmail.com

Meet the Artists: Join us for a chance to meet Pochas Radicales and discuss their installation in person at the Portland Building on Tuesday, May 2nd at 4 PM. All are also welcome to stop in for hot drinks and sweets with Pochas every Tuesday morning from 8:15 am – 9:15.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

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SPECIAL NOTE: Portland Building Installation Space Calendar  June – September 2017

The Installation Space will go on hiatus after September 1, 2017 as the Portland Building’s comprehensive two year long renovation project begins. Stay tuned to Art Notes for updates as the renovation proceeds. In the mean time RACC is pleased to be able to present a set of thoughtful and provocative installations throughout this spring and summer:

June 5 –30   Crystal Schenk

Seasoned installation artist and sculptor Crystal Schenk offers visitors a new, site-specific piece that continues her focus on issues of physical and mental health/illness, class, memory, and social interaction.

July 10–August 4  Elijah Hasan

Film maker, writer, composer and educator Elijah Hasan rounds out the summer schedule with the presentation of three of his stunning films. Using Portland as his stage and backdrop Hasan’s work skillfully and poetically explores themes of race, place and social consciousness.

August 14–September 1    A look back at 23 years of  Installation Space exhibitions

“Visual Chronicle of Portland” exhibition opens at the Portland Building, March 28 – April 21

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PORTLAND, ORE – A special exhibition focusing on new acquisitions to the Visual Chronicle of Portland collection opens at the Portland Building on March 28th. The Visual Chronicle of Portland, a collection of original works-on-paper that portray artists’ perceptions of what makes Portland unique, has been steadily growing since its inception in 1985 and now boasts 356 works by over 200 different artists. RACC normally rotates sets of work from this well regarded city-owned collection throughout public spaces in City of Portland and Multnomah County facilities, but this special exhibition offers the public a unique chance to see these recent acquisitions from the 2016/17 purchase in one place.

About the Artists: The Visual Chronicle strives to reflect a diversity of populations, artistic disciplines, and points of view; it represents a living archive that seeks to honestly document life in our city through the eyes of the artists who live here. RACC is committed to engaging and expanding the communities of artists and the range of artistic and cultural expression that it represents. The artists represented in this recent purchase include:

Holly Andres Kristin Kohl
Bobby Abrahamson Eva Lake
Heather Lee Birdsong Christopher Mooney
Alison Foshee Steven Slappe
Joseph Glode Mami Takahashi
Bryan David Griffith

To browse the collection on line visit the RACC website: Public Art Search

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. This exhibition of new acquisitions from the Visual Chronicle of Portland opens Tuesday, March 28th and runs through Friday, April 21st. The exhibition is free and open to the public.