Awning (sculpture)

Summary

Awning is an outdoor 1976 painted aluminum sculpture by Canadian artist Douglas Senft, located near Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Market Street in downtown Portland, Oregon.[1] The 60-foot (18 m) sculpture was selected and funded by the Portland Development Commission from more than 200 proposals in a request for art intended to "humanize the modern architecture" of the Portland Center. Senft was 26 years old when Awning was installed.[2] It is part of the collection of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.[2][3] The yellow-colored work is mounted to the side of 200 Market along a pedestrian trail that serves as an extension of Third Avenue.

Awning
The sculpture in 2015
Map
Year1976 (1976)
TypeSculpture
MediumAluminum
Dimensions18 m (60 ft)
LocationPortland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates45°30′43″N 122°40′44″W / 45.511930°N 122.678943°W / 45.511930; -122.678943
Websitedouglassenft.com/works/awning/

Reception edit

In 2011, Ben Waterhouse of Willamette Week called Awning an "eyesore" after realizing the sculpture was "not a garish and whimsical air vent, but a work of art".[4] He wrote, "It doesn't help that there is no plaque to be found anywhere in the vicinity to indicate that the sculpture was designed by anyone but an anonymous metalworker. If the Portland Development Commission is going to buy art that looks like ductwork, it should at least be labeled as such. Or is the piece's anonymity intentional, and the indifference of unaware passers-by its real achievement? Oh, my head!"[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Awning, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Public Art Search: Awning". Regional Arts & Culture Council. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "Awning". Public Art Archive. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Waterhouse, Ben (April 8, 2011). "Eyesore of the Week: Oh, It's Art!". Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon: City of Roses Newspapers. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.

External links edit

  • Portland Cultural Tours: Public Art Walking Tour (PDF), Regional Arts & Culture Council
  • Awning; 1976; Senft, Douglas, Art, Architecture and Engineering Library, University of Michigan Library