Client: Portland State University

Overview

Powder coated steel, 2017, 8’ x 6’ x 1’, 8’ x 8’ x 1’, 9’ x 6’ x 1’
Date of completion: August 2017 (in process, 18 months from contract to completion)
The project is 3 sculptures cantilevered off the main atrium wall over the grand staircase, using the palette of the building colors to integrate the artwork.

Goals

The sculptures for the atrium makes typologies of everyday consumer items that are often produced in areas of scarcity and sold to areas of abundance, an imbalance often hidden to consumers. One hundred years ago, a Willamette Valley farmer could sell a meteorite on his property – an object of religious significance sacred to the Native people in his community – without repercussion. Today we have a very different understanding of ethics, human rights and trade which affects the business community as much as any other profession.
The floors combine to form a pictographic network, - flattened and standardized as in digital interfaces - to stand in for people and communities as well as the goods they produce and consume.

Process

The work was for a building being designed, so I worked closely with the architects, client and site project managers. Additional collaboration with fabricators and installers required me to be the point person between multiple parties, all with tight deadlines and budgets.