Lead Pencil Studio. Inversion +/-. Steel angle iron. 2012. 80 x 80 feet; height: variable, 45-60 feet.
The form of the sculpture is derived from several buildings that were demolished as part of 1950’s highway construction along Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., including a cast-iron foundry, warehouse, and an apartment building. Created in three parts and appearing at the foot of two bridge approaches (Morrison & Hawthorne), the sculpture explores the scale and complexity of the lost civic fabric, suggesting an alternate reading of history or a future not yet formed. In reconstructing remnants from the lost neighborhood and building-out to the previous property line corners, a call and response is developed across the distance of several blocks-a spatial void and a solid rendered translucently.
As artists we have a deep affinity for the character and function of this light manufacturing/warehouse neighborhood, having lived, worked and studied in the neighborhood in the early 1990’s and again in 2013. The entire project was fabricated in Portland with a Portland-based crew and utilized the resources of over 40 local businesses during its making.
Courtesy of Regional Arts & Culture Council Percent for Art Program. © the Artist.
Artist Credit: Lead Pencil Studio, Dan Mihalyo, Annie Han
Exhibition: Regional Arts & Culture Council Percent for Art Program