PORTLAND, ORE – Accounting for Public Interest, a playful interactive poll by artists Travis Neel and Erin Charpentier (a.k.a. Guestwork), opens at the Portland Building January 11^th. The project examines the relationship between Portland residents and their ideal city and engages visitors in a game of critical thinking that guides participants through a series of exercises that compare and contrast a Portland of the past, present, and future. At designated hours throughout the duration of the exhibition Guestwork will perform as pollsters and conduct their survey in person, but the installation will also include voting booths, ballots, questionnaires and signage to be interacted with when the artists are not present. In the final week of the exhibition, a series of graphics with the results of the survey will be installed.

“The questionnaire will contain a series of predetermined binary questions such as ‘Would you rather have a city of private property or a city of commonwealth?’ and ‘Would you rather have a revolutionary city or a city of consistency?’ After voting, participants will cast their questionnaire into a ballot box. The votes will be counted, compiled and displayed as infographics.” — Guestwork

Using the familiar mechanism of voting Accounting for Public Interest works to thoughtfully and whimsically examine the way Portland functions as a civic body; through the exploration of civic language, affects, and gestures, the game facilitates a critical examination of the relationship of the citizen to private ownership, public authority, and the commons.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in down-town Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. Accounting for Public Interest runs from January 11^th through February 5^th, 2016.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council will be hosting the 19th annual City of Portland and Multnomah County employee art exhibit, all the art that fits, opening on Thursday, December 3rd. The exhibit takes place in the Portland Building lobby Installation Space and is a yearly favorite for both the artists and regular visitors. All types of 2-dimensional artworks are displayed “salon style” in the show, which is a delightful mix of beauty, whimsy, thoughtfulness, and charm.

RACC invites visitors to vote for their favorite artwork as part of the People’s Choice Award. This year’s winner will receive a gift from the Northwest Film Center for the Portland International Film Festival, generously donated for this event. The exhibition will run through Monday, January 4th, and the People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on January 5th, 2016.

Only original artwork created by current employees of the City or County is eligible to be included. All the artwork submitted will be installed wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. For those eligible and interested in participating, submissions must be dropped off Wednesday, December 2, between 8:00 and 10:00 am, to the Portland Building lobby located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue between SW Main and SW Madison. For further information please see the exhibition guidelines on the RACC website below.

Viewing Hours & Location: The exhibition is free and open to the public 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland. The exhibition will run from December 3, 2015 to January 4, 2016.

PORTLAND, ORE — To honor the legacy of Portland’s longstanding and nationally respected public art program, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) presents Celebrate Public Art, an exhibition at Portland City Hall November 12th through December 4th.

The impetus for the exhibit is the 35th anniversary of the Percent for Art ordinance in Portland. All four floors of City Hall will be decked out with colorful banners showcasing all of the city’s public art collections maintained by RACC, including the Portable Works Collection, the Visual Chronicle of Portland, the Portland Building Installation Space, in situ PORTLAND, the Public Art Murals Program, and intersections artist residencies. The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular building hours, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

The public is also invited to a reception on Thursday, November 19th, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm with live music and refreshments. A special toast will be given at 6:00 pm.

“2015 is a big year for public art in Portland,” said Portland Arts Commissioner Nick Fish. “Thanks to our team at RACC, we’re showcasing our public art collection at City Hall, and declaring November 2015 to be ‘Public Art Month’ in the City of Roses.”

The exhibition is sponsored in part by Push Dot Studio.
 
 

MEDIA ALERT AND PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

WHO: RACC

WHAT: James Lee Hansen’s public art sculpture, Talos No. 2, is being reinstalled

WHEN: Friday, October 30, 2015. Public art staff will be on site until 12:15pm.

WHERE: SW 6th Avenue at Stark Street in downtown Portland

Talos No. 2, a sculpture by artist James Lee Hansen that was violently knocked down by a vandal in July, is returning today to its pedestal at the corner of SW 6th & Stark.

Talos No. 2 has been absent from its pedestal since July 8.

Working with art local conservator Robert Krueger and expert welders from Art & Design Works, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) coordinated a complete repair of the seven foot tall bronze that has overlooked the Transit Mall since 1977. The three month restoration process began with the precise physical reconnection of the five pieces the 400 pound sculpture broke into when it hit the sidewalk. Once positioned, the adjacent edges were ground to expose clean metal, welded, and then delicately “chased” to create a joint surface with texture indistinguishable from adjacent areas. The repaired areas were then treated chemically to match the overall bronze patina.

The City of Portland’s Fine Arts Insurance policy paid for a portion of the repair, and several donors have made small gifts to help cover the $2,500 deductible. Additional donations can be made at www.racc.org/donate. For more information contact Public Art Collections Manager Keith Lachowicz at 503-823-5404 orklachowicz@racc.org or visit http://racc.org/public-art/search.

PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council is pleased to present the 2nd annual Día de los Muertos installation at the Portland Building beginning October 28th and running through November 4th. This year the display has been organized by muralist Rodolfo Serna. Known for his large collaborative mural projects, Serna is working with young artists from the Boys & Girls Club to create large scale images on the walls while members of Portland’s Mexica Tiahui Aztec Dance Group set up traditionalofrendas (altar) in the center of the exhibition space adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. The Día de los Muertos holiday is focused on commemorating ancestors, family, and friends that have died, and serves to remind us the natural part death plays in the cycle of life. The holiday originated in Mexico, but has expanded over time and is now celebrated throughout the U.S. and beyond.

“This installation is a tradition we bring from across the border that has been part of the indigenous cultures there for thousands of years…we see this as a day and night of reconnecting with our ancestors, the Mexica people; every year we set up an alter in a community space where we can all gather and celebrate.”

– Rodolfo Serna

About the Artists:  Rodolfo Serna is a muralist who works in the tradition of his ancestors, he sees the arts as a way of bringing balance and confidence to people’s lives. Serna has created over 30 youth-collaborative murals in greater Portland, joining forces with numerous service organizations, educational institutions, and local businesses in the process. For the last 10 years Serna has worked extensively with at-risk and homeless youth communities in Portland. Mexica Tiahui is a traditional Aztec dance circle established over 10 years ago in Oregon with the mission of continuing the traditions, ceremonies, and culture related to Mexican indigenous roots. The organization carries its educational commitment to communities in the Northwest with the goal of lifting consciousness by focusing on the importance of retaining cultural heritage.

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 – Friday. The Día de los Muertos installation runs from October 28th through November 4th.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

PORTLAND, ORE — The public is invited to attend a free party in celebration of Portlandia’s 30th birthday onThursday, October 8th from noon-1:30pm at The Standard Insurance Plaza across from the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Avenue.

Portlandia, designed and constructed by Raymond Kaskey, is made of hammered copper sheeting about the thickness of a dime formed around a steel armature. She took three years to complete and is one-third the size of the Statue of Liberty, the only larger statue of this kind in the nation. The sculpture was funded through the city’s percent-for-art requirement related to the construction of The Portland Building. The building’s architect, Michael Graves, had suggested a statue of Lady Commerce (from Portland’s City Seal) as part of his design for the building; Kaskey won the $198,000 commission and named the sculpture “Portlandia.”  

Upon her completion in 1985, Portlandia was shipped across the country by rail, from Maryland to Oregon, in eight pieces. After being reassembled in a local shipyard, she rode by river barge and truck to her final destination, welcomed by 10,000 Portland residents along the riverbank, streets, and bridges. 

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Arts Commissioner Nick Fish, and former mayor Bud Clark will be on hand to help RACC celebrate. Rose High Bear from Wisdom of the Elders will provide a Native blessing, and Storm Large will sing “Happy Birthday” to the copper goddess with students from Chapman Elementary School. Other festivities include games, photo opportunities and ‘80s music. Refreshments will be served. 

“Thirty years ago, Mayor Bud Clark paddled down the Willamette to welcome Portlandia to the City of Roses,” said Commissioner Nick Fish. “I’m proud to join Bud, the great Storm Large, my Council colleagues, the Regional Arts & Culture Council family, and the community to wish our copper goddess happy birthday.”

Portlandia’s 30th birthday party is presented by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, which maintains the city’s public art collection, and is sponsored in part by The Standard and Cupcake Jones.

PORTLAND, ORE – The Anthropocene: a term increasingly used to describe a new epoch in which human activity exerts significant influence on global environmental conditions.

This allegorical apothecary installation by artist Deanna Pindell presents a summons to reconsider our heretofore casual relationship with our mortal existence on the planet. Can the looming climate and environmental crisis we appear to be headed for be cured by self-reflection, personal responsibility, and widespread cultural change? To help explore where we stand as a species with the environment that sustains us, Pindell will present viewers with a set of riddles written on the walls of the Portland Building Installation Space. Clues for these riddles come in the form of over 100 mason jars mounted on shelves. Each jar contains a relic, or some form of physical artifact that references a single environmental choice our society has decided to make, consciously or unconsciously—a jar full of genetically modified corn seeds, a tiny bird skull, coupons from Walmart. The riddles and their enigmatic clues are crafted to provoke us into directly considering these decisions, and whether or not, taken together, they accumulate into environmental disaster.

• Who was number 316? (clue – a jar that contains an ear tag for a “factory cow.”)
• How to kill an albatross?  (a jar with spent shotgun cartridge wads consumed by sea birds.)
• Several slender hopes for the future? (a jar containing organic heritage squash seeds.)

The project will include an intimate journal visitors can examine and add their own comments to while seated in a comfortable vintage chair. Attentive journal readers will also discover a set of answers to the riddles, short poetic essays, and technical information on the jar specimens.

About the Artist: Deanna Pindell practices permaculture with a plethora of critters and conifers in Port Hadlock, Washington. A graduate of the Interdisciplinary Art M.F.A. program at Goddard College, she is the veteran of numerous public art projects and exhibitions throughout the US. She currently teaches at Olympic College in Bremerton, and was the Environmental Artist-in-Residence at the McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012.

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 – Friday.  Apothecary for the Anthropocene opens September 28th and runs through October 23rd, 2015.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.