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Public Art on MAX Green Line

Working in collaboration with project partners, the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the community, TriMet has continued its commitment to public art on the new MAX Green Line.

Portland Mall segment

Christine Bourdette's cairn sculpture at 6th and Glisan marks the arrival and departure point for travelers headed in many directions.

Public art was a key component in the revitalization of the Portland Mall in 2009. Toward that end, approximately $750,000 was allocated to fund the Mall art program based on 1.5 percent of eligible project costs.

The public art sculptures on the former Mall were temporarily removed to protect them during construction. The sculptures were cleaned and refurbished, and have been relocated along the Central Mall at sites more congenial to viewing them in the round.

North Mall

Christine Bourdette was inspired by the man-made stacks of stones that have traditionally served as landmarks for navigation and memorials to create her series of sculptures for the Union Station area. "Cairns" consists of a series of five stacked-slate forms that mark the path to the light rail stations near Glisan at NW 5th and NW 6th.

Daniel Duford has created a multi-part project based on the mythology of the Green Man. Duford draws on the history of Portland to spin his own tale of this legendary forest character through two landmark sculptures at the Old Town/Chinatown stations and a series of eight "story markers" along NW 5th and NW 6th.

Central Mall

Sculpture of the Northwest is the defining characteristic of the Central Mall. Curators from around the region helped to develop a roster of the most significant Northwest sculptors of the last 30 years.

This list formed the basis for adding approximately 10 new sculptures to the Mall to create a more comprehensive collection of regional sculpture in the heart of downtown. Sculptures by Mel Katz, Rick Bartow and Patti Warashina, among others, are included.

South Mall

Michihiro Kosuge developed a series of four abstract sculptures using granite removed from the project as a result of construction.

Portland State University dominates the South Mall and shares with TriMet a deep commitment to sustainability. Fernanda D'Agostino created 12 carved granite sculptures based on microscopic organisms studied to determine the health of a water system. The over-sized "Diatoms" are located in the infiltration strips adjacent to the university.

Michihiro Kosuge developed a series of five abstract sculptures, titled "Continuation", using granite removed from the project as a result of construction. Located in the area of the Hotel Modera, the sculptures imply motion through their changing heights as placed along the streetscape.

Mark Smith designed a series of eight colorful, laminated-glass panels for a fence on NW 5th between Stark and Oak. The two-sided panels feature hundreds of silhouetted figures culled from newspapers and representing a wide variety of people, cultures and social behaviors.

I-205 segment

TriMet allocated $495,000 for the art program for the Green Line's I-205 segment from 1.5 percent of eligible project funds.

The Public Art Advisory Committee selected seven artists to create a wayfinding sculpture at each station along the 6.5-mile extension between Gateway and Clackamas Town Center. In addition, each station features windscreen art glass designed by Kim Hamblin and uniquely colored, glass-tiled shelter columns.

A report on the cultural history of the neighborhoods along the alignment was commissioned by the committee to assist the artists as they developed concepts for the artwork. (See download link at right.)

At the SE Main St Station, Anne Storrs based sculptural elements on the leaves of the gingko tree.

SE Main St Station

Anne Storrs cast abstracted ginko leaves in stone and stacked and interlocked them to form a columnar sculpture on the platform. She also placed individual leaf sculptures near the station entrances.

SE Division St Station

Carolyn Law's sky-blue sculptural fence undulates along the west side of the station platform area.

SE Powell Blvd Station

Combining references to the Han Dynasty "Money Tree" and Douglas fir, Valerie Otani's sculptural tree features designs based on the cut-paper traditions of several cultures.

SE Holgate Blvd Station

Five ornate lanterns developed by Suzanne Lee are the central elements of this multicultural sculpture. Sited above the station platform, the illuminated sculpture appears like a beacon at night.

Lents Town Center/SE Foster Rd Station

Art merges with sustainable technology at this station. The thistle-like tops of three spiraling sculptures by Brian Borrello are animated by the wind and illuminated by the sun via photovoltaic cells.

SE Flavel St Station

Artist Brian Borrello portrays the tributaries of the Johnson Creek watershed in five colored-concrete paving inserts set in the plaza area.

At the Fuller Road station, a tall kinetic sculpture by Pete Beeman has a crank at its base that patrons can turn to wave its wing-like structures.

SE Fuller Rd Station

A tall kinetic sculpture by Pete Beeman at the north end of the station has a crank at its base that patrons can turn to wave its wing-like structures. Artwork by Pete Beeman.

Clackamas Town Center Station and Transit Center

Featuring artwork by Richard C. Elliott, an installation of multi-colored reflectors brightens the glass elevator tower at the parking garage while pioneer quilt patterns are featured in the guardrails. Brickwork on the station platform is based on a Lower Columbian Native American basket weave pattern.

Portland Mall Public Art Advisory Committee

Steve Fosler
Paul Fujita
Bob Hastings
Lee Kelly
Linda Tesner
Dorie Vollum

I-205 Public Art Advisory Committee

Steve Fosler
Junko Iijima
Kate Mytron
Loren Nelson
Tabor Porter
Cheryl Snow