Public Art Conference Archive—2003

Tour: Downtown Portland

Tour Leaders:
Robert Krueger, Public Art Collections Coordinator, Regional Arts & Culture Council Peter Chausse, Owner/Operator of Peter’s Walking Tours of Portland

Tour Description
Tour participants experienced the range of public art in downtown Portland: historical monuments, gifts to the city, privately and publicly funded projects, sculptures placed along the Transit Mall in the 70’s and contemporary site specific work. The tour included visits to Multnomah County’s first percent for art project, featuring a window by Portland artist Ed Carpenter; the classical sculpture of Portlandia by Raymond Kaskey which hovers over the entryway to the Portland Building, and a temporary installation space, which has been programmed for almost ten years.

The tour also visited Portland City Hall and the Multnomah County Central Library, both of which were historical restorations complemented with contemporary art. Artists Kay Slusarenko and Barbara Eiswerth were present to discuss their works at Central Library.

After the library, participants visited RACC’s most recent public art commission, where artist Sheila Klein was present to talk about her piece, Show and Hide. The tour then visited Pioneer Courthouse Square (the "living room" of downtown Portland), thePortland Centerfor the Performing Arts, Judy Pfaff’s project at the ODS Tower and the infamous Expose Yourself to Art sculpture (aka Kvinneakt by Norman Taylor).

To read detailed descriptions of all of the public art work seen on this tour, including project budgets and locations, read the the public art fact sheets in the public art section of the Regional Arts & Culture Council's website, www.racc.org.