The Industry+Art project is a huge commission for the Industry Group "Working Waterfront Coalition" on Swan Island in composed of Vigor Shipbuilders, Schnitzer Steel, Columbia Wire & Iron and Gunderson.
Schnitzer and Gunderson are donating the steel (6"x12"x40' rectangular tube with 1/4" wall) plus the heavy trucking needed to move the steel around. Vigor is donating steel bending, blasting, welding (40 welders over two months) and the coating capabilities. Columbia is donating the fitting, engineering and erection skills.
The sculpture will be shown during late September and into October 2011 during the Industry+Art exhibition. After the exhibition the sculpture will be broken into five sections and reassembled at five schools/parks in the PDX area as playground equipment and armatures for art classes.
early 3D sketch showing welded steel scrap forming a river line
Every year the Industry Group holds an arts exhibition to connect the industrial sector to the general local community. For 2011 the exhibition is called "A River Runs Through Us". In response to that earthAWARE founder Owen William Fritts was asked to conceive and create a signature sculptural element for the exhibition to anchor around. The exhibition will include the work of over 100 Northwest artists and be held in late September 2011 at the Vigor Shipbuilding site on Swan Island in Building 10.
early sketch from above
Starting from an image map of the Willamette River a gestural line was created denoting the rivers path from the Falls at Oregon City to the confluence at the Columbia. That line is to be created in welded, reused steel, blasted clean and coated the blue color of the exhibit logo.
The river takes a softly winding course and has several eddy areas: at the Falls, Ross Island, Swan Island and Sauvies Island before hitting the Columbia, all good spots for the river gestural line to open, spin and become expressive.
The above animation steps you through the process of river to gesture line to steel expression to raising the line to bridge supports to insertion into Building 10
the river gesture running into Building 10
The river gesture line, made of steel, will measure approximately 100' long and flow from a high point inside Building 10 to the ground outside the building. Points where bridges cross the river are used as locations for vertical I-beams to be placed for raising the river gesture line vertically.
iteration composed of many short steel elements combined into the river gesture
Space underneath, inside Building 10, will be used for the exhibition galley. Walls will be created and 2D art will be presented there in the shadow of the river gesture line. Other sculptural art will be presented both inside and outside along with the river line.
view from outside to inside Building 10 with fewer and longer flowing steel elements,
The entire structure is engineered to disassemble after the exhibition so that it may have a second life in use as community playground features. Community will interact with the these smaller installations in play and in creativity as the sculpture will then be useable as an armature for art teachers to teach about assemblage and weaving.
cross section through Building 10