Gateway Island Ashland, Oregon A Public Art Proposal. Pete Beeman NW Lovejoy St Portland, OR (971)

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Gateway Island Ashland, Oregon A Public Art Proposal. Pete Beeman NW Lovejoy St Portland, OR (971)"

Delphia Preston
5 years ago
Views:

1 Gateway Island Ashland, Oregon A Public Art Proposal Pete Beeman NW Lovejoy St Portland, OR pob@petebeeman.com + (971)

Narrative I will build a monumental interactive sculpture to mark the southern entrance to downtown Ashland. The iconic sculpture will be epic in scale yet light and airy.

Some will see a flower, some will see a vessel, some will see a crown, some will see the nib of a fountain pen.

2 Narrative I will build a monumental interactive sculpture to mark the southern entrance to downtown Ashland. The iconic sculpture will be epic in scale yet light and airy. As with much of my work, this sculpture is abstract enough to not represent any specific thing, while suggestive enough that visitors will see many things within its imagery. Some will see a flower, some will see a vessel, some will see a crown, some will see the nib of a fountain pen. The many interpretations of the work will allow people to tie it to the many great things about Ashland: the environment in the flower, the knowledge repository of the University in the vessel, Shakespeare in the crown and quill. The sculpture stands on a central trio of arms fourteen feet tall. The arms extend out radially from the center of the sculpture. Each arm supports a Leaf : a 19 tall curving shell of stainless steel tubes running vertically on a frame of stainless plates. The Leaves are narrow at the bottom, and grow wider at the top before coming to a point. Each Leaf is tipped with small panes of dichroic glass at the top. Dichroic glass appears to change color with change of viewing angle. Visitors to the sculpture will be able to move the Leaves with a simple hand crank at the bottom, causing them to pivot in unison toward and away from the central axis of the tower. This will invite visitors to interact and empower them to make the massive sculpture move with an interaction easy enough for a child to work. The sculpture is in the center of the circle on a small concrete footing. We will create a simple accessible path through the landscape for visitors to approach the sculpture. The sculpture will be lit from below.

In thinking about Ashland, three main ideas percolated to the top, both from my own experience with Ashland, and from the public input the Art Committee elicited.

3 In thinking about Ashland, three main ideas percolated to the top, both from my own experience with Ashland, and from the public input the Art Committee elicited. Community Ashland is a community, its people care about their neighbors and are engaged with each other. Environment This interest ranges from valuing a green and beautiful city core, to serious engagement with the nearby wild spaces, and, not least, a commitment to sustaining the global environment. Culture The cultural and intellectual stakes in Ashland are higher than most any city of its size. SOU and OSF are obvious cornerstones, and perhaps instigators, but Ashland has long drawn people seeking the scale of a smaller city while interested in the level of cultural and intellectual stimulation usually found only in a big city. I see the three part sculpture as a nod to these three forces that keep Ashland the fantastic place that it is. It is in the hands of the people to make these forces work together to form the city, and the sculpture is a simple metaphor for that. As people turn the crank they bring the three Leaves together to form a cohesive whole, and pull them back apart to take in what the world has to offer.

5 Materials and Fabrication Base The 3 legs that support the structure are box girders of 304L stainless steel, welded and ground smooth. Footing - We will install a below-grade concrete footing in the center of the circle, approximately 5 in diameter and 1 deep. Mounting anchors for the sculpture will be cast in place in the footing. Crank - The hand crank is custom built in 5/8 stainless steel, welded to a 1 ¼ diameter stainless steel shaft, born on twin industrial pillow block bearings in a configuration designed to withstand an attack with a baseball bat relatively unscathed. Mechanics - The mechanics are off-the-shelf industrial parts: mounted bearings, sintered bronze bushings, sprockets, drive chain and rod ends. They are designed for long life in industrial use at much higher speeds and loads than they will ever see in this sculpture. They are designed to be easily accessed and replaced. With simple annual maintenance they should last well for dozens of years. Leaves - The leaves are made of welded 304L stainless, except the dichroic glass at the top edge. The dichroic glass is laminated safety glass, so even if one were to break, no pieces will fall to the ground. Weights Leaves: 500 pounds each Base and Mechanics: 1300 pounds Total: 2700 pounds Installation Prior to installation, I will engage a local contractor to install the below-grade concrete footing. For installation we will have one small truck mounted crane or shooting-boom fork lift to lift the elements from their delivery vehicle onto the footing. Once the base is secured to the footing, the same lift will hoist the Leaves into place for fastening. Once the sculpture is secure we will test and tune its function and bolt the skin onto the base. Installation should take place in one day, but I will allow for two. Durability All materials are 304L stainless steel or galvanized steel. Stainless steel is an extremely durable material, great in all weather, difficult to mar, easy to clean of graffiti. The stainless surface is finished with a random orbital sanding that gives a matte finish, smooth to the touch, not too reflective in the sun, with a rich appearance of depth. Galvanized steel is very durable, and much more affordable than stainless, but won t look as good over time, so it is used only for the unseen interior structure. Stainless and galvanized steel are isolated to prevent accelerated galvanic corrosion of the zinc. All mechanical components are off-the-shelf, designed for heavy duty industrial use and abuse at much higher loads and speeds than they will ever see here. For example, the bearings supporting the hand crank are designed to work well under continuous use for 10 years with a 5700 pound load at 5450 RPM, but they will not see more than a 500 pound load at 100 RPM in sporadic use. Because the components are in common use in industry, should they ever need replacing they are easy to find. Properly maintained, the sculpture should last dozens of years with no repair.

6 Maintenance This project comes with an Owner s Manual. The manual contains all the information about the project, including initial proposal, technical drawings, engineering, parts specifications, and maintenance instructions. The maintenance instructions show step by step directions with photos of how to access and lubricate all parts that need it. The instructions specify types of lubricant and materials needed to apply it. All bearings and chain drives will need lubrication. Once annually should be sufficient to maximize the lifespan of the components. This is something one handy person with no special training, a few simple tools, lubes and a ladder should be able to complete in an afternoon. The sculpture can be cleaned by a power washer. Safety The only moving part easily accessible to the public is the hand crank. I have built many similar cranks over the years and have an excellent system with no pinch points or injury concerns. The other parts of the sculpture that move are all at ten foot high and above. That height makes it difficult for anyone to engage with physically. I always assume that at some point a couple of athletic teens with ill intent will decide to climb the sculpture, so I design a slip clutch into the mechanical system, and design the sculpture to support the weight of climbers. The clutch allows the drive crank to slip on the drive system (i.e. not drive the Leaves) if something is in the way. This way if a person should get themselves in the way or a tree limb should fall and wedge itself in the sculpture, turning the crank will not injure the person or the sculpture.

7 BUDGET 75 hourly 600 daily Design 2 weeks Sculpture fabrication units cost per materials leaves (*3) skin ribs spine pivot bearings counterweight dichroic glass hardware drive system hand crank secondary drive disk (HR) central drive disk (HR) bearings crank shafts drive sprockets slip sprocket gear box drive chain main linkages secondary linkage hardware base arms drive cylinder access panels base connection hardware fabrication units days per leaves (*3) skin ribs & spine pivot bearings counterweight dichroic glass hardware

8 drive system hand crank secondary drive disk central drive disk bearings crank shafts drive sprockets slip sprocket gear box drive chain main linkages secondary linkage hardware base arms drive cylinder access panels base connection hardware passivation 600 Structural engineering 3000 crating 1500 Shipping 2000 Site work Installation flights Installation transport Installation hotel concrete sub install crane lighting installation time extra install labor Contingency 10% total

Downtown Rack. Custom logo option available

Downtown Rack. Custom logo option available Custom logo option available Downtown Rack The Downtown Rack uses thick, square-tube construction that can t be cut with a pipe cutter. The extended width of the Downtown Rack makes for easy bike parking