Public Art on MAX Orange Line

Public art helps create a sense of place and adds to the quality of life for the citizens of our region. TriMet continues its commitment to public art on the new MAX Orange Line, working in collaboration with project partners and communities along the alignment.

The Orange Line public art consists of 25 projects with more than 200 separate elements by 26 artists and 57 writers. Goals for the artwork are to express the uniqueness of the individual station areas, encourage environmental stewardship and foster sustainability.

System-wide

Buster Simpson and Peg Butler, Orange Lining: Art Starts Now and Impressed Concrete.

Orange polypropylene fencing, concrete

  • Public call for writing resulted in selection of 102 poetic phrases.
  • Phrases were printed on orange silt fencing and installed temporarily during light rail construction.
  • Phrases are stamped into new concrete sidewalks at 122 locations along the alignment.

Orange Lining: Art Starts NowOrange Lining: Art Starts Now

Orange Lining: Impressed ConcreteOrange Lining: Impressed Concrete

Shelter Windscreens

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Etched glass

Glass pattern is derived from natural forms seen in the flow of water and in wood grain.

Journey Through Time Shelter WindscreenJourney Through Time

 

Lincoln St/SW 3rd Ave Station

Elizabeth Conner, Trio

Stainless and weathering steel

  • Three-part sculpture was inspired by the work of choreographer Anna Halprin and Lawrence Halprin, architect of the adjacent Halprin Fountain Sequence.
  • Illustrated panel by Mayer/Reed provides an introduction to Halprin’s historic series of public plazas.

TrioTrio

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Imagery is loosely based on a drawing by Halprin of his Fountain Sequence.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

South Waterfront/SW Moody Ave Station

Jim Blashfield, Flooded Data Machine

Stainless steel, video

Video screens inside two freestanding enclosures display slow-moving images that allude to the river, local history, cultural institutions and businesses.

Flooded Data Machine sculptureFlooded Data Machine

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

The resemblance of birch tree bark patterns to those of DNA sequencing is explored at the station next to the Collaborative Life Sciences Building.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

OMSI/SE Water Ave Station

Jim Blashfield, Flooded Data Machine

Stainless steel, video

Video screens inside two freestanding enclosures display slow-moving images that allude to the river, local history, cultural institutions and businesses.

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

A tree bark pattern is rendered in various colors of copper, a material associated with industry, near Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People

Anna Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis, Tilikum Light and Sonic Dish

LEDs, stainless steel

  • Programmable lighting on cable stays and piers changes color and motion depending on the natural conditions of the Willamette River.
  • Concave discs in bridge abutment walls amplify sound and reflect the same light program as on the bridge above.

Tilikum LightTilikum Light

Sonic DishSonic Dish

Greg A. Robinson, We Have Always Lived Here

Bronze, basalt

Two traditional Chinook basalt carvings at both ends of the bridge depict a Tayi, or headman, with his people.

Bronze medallion at northeast side of bridge landing features Coyote, humans and Morning Star with her children.

We Have Always Lived Here carvingWe Have Always Lived Here

We Have Always Lived Here medallionWe Have Always Lived Here

 

Clinton St/SE 12th Ave Station

Matthew Passmore, Intersection

Steel

Landmark sculpture constructed of repurposed freight rail references the historic impact of transportation infrastructure on the neighborhood.

IntersectionIntersection

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Falling apples allude to an extensive orchard once planted in the area.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

Powell Blvd Light Rail Overpass

Horatio Law, Velosaurus

Concrete, painted steel

Recycled bicycle and skateboard parts are arranged to look like the skeletal remains of imaginary dinosaurs in a series of eight bas-relief panels.

VelosaurusVelosaurus

 

SE 17th Ave/Rhine St Station

Bill Will, Passage

Steel

Thirty-eight, weathered-steel boat sculptures appear to float in the landscape along 17th Avenue, emphasizing the natural history of “brook land” neighborhood.

PassagePassage

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Iconic boat shapes relate to sculptures along 17th Ave.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

Rhine–Lafayette Pedestrian Overpass

Anne Storrs, Along These Lines

Stainless steel

  • Sculpture and paving medallion at overpass landings draw upon the similarity of trees and root systems to the branching pattern of train tracks.
  • Poetry by Cleveland High School student, Monica Arnone, and Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita, Paulann Peterson, is inscribed in stainless steel rings that encircle both pieces.

Along These LinesAlong These Lines

 

TriMet Bus Maintenance Facility

Blaine Fontana, TRI IT

Paint

Mural with bold graphics illustrates the history of public transportation in Portland.

TRI ITTRI IT

 

SE 17th Ave/Holgate Blvd Station

Bill Will, Passage

Steel

Thirty-eight, weathered-steel boat sculptures appear to float in the landscape along 17th Avenue, emphasizing the natural history of “brook land” neighborhood.

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Roses represent Rose City Transit, predecessor of TriMet, near TriMet’s operations and bus maintenance facilities.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

SE Bybee Blvd Station

Dana Lynn Louis, Crystallization

Screen printed and painted glass, etched glass, light projections

  • Cupola with illuminated image of Crystal Springs serves as a beacon for the station.
  • Drawings abstracted from nature are etched into elevator and windscreen glass.
  • Elevator towers are bathed in colored light at night, and two light projections cast patterns on the platform.

CrystallizationCrystallization

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Floral imagery was inspired by nearby Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

SE Tacoma St/Johnson Creek Station

Thomas Sayre, Kerf

Pigmented cast concrete

Two landmark sculptures, “earth-cast” on site, represent the influence of wheels on the area, from a 19th-century sawmill on Johnson Creek to the wheels of the MAX train.

KerfKerf

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Fish swim in blue waters in recognition of newly restored Johnson Creek.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

Milwaukie/Main St Station

Brian Goldbloom, Threshhold

Granite

  • Carved millstones pay homage to a flour mill formerly on Kellogg Creek.
  • Realistically carved streambed routes stormwater into the landscape on Lake Road.
  • Station platform shelter columns are clad with trompe l’oeil vine maple tree trunks.

ThreshholdThreshhold

 

Kellogg Light Rail Bridge

Andre Caradec and Thom Faulders, Flow-Zone

Powder-coated aluminum, reflectors

Dynamic pattern of “botts” appears to flow along the underside of the light rail bridge where it crosses over the Trolley Trail.

Flow-ZoneFlow-Zone

 

SE Park Ave Station

Susan Zoccola, Bower

Painted and powder-coated steel

Sculpture featuring a canopy of over-sized oak leaves serves as an icon for Oak Grove.

BowerBower

Shelter Columns

Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time

Glass mosaic

Oak trees represent the community of Oak Grove.

Journey Through Time Shelter ColumnJourney Through Time

 

SE Park Ave Park & Ride

Hilary Pfeifer, Allogamy

Western red cedar

Carved and stacked geometric forms are reminiscent of native seeds, nuts and berries.

AllogamyAllogamy

 

Trolley Trail

Patrick Gracewood, To Grandmother’s House

Atlas cedar, paint, weathering steel

Carved female figure protected by a metal treehouse pays tribute to women.

To Grandmother's HouseTo Grandmother’s House

Toby Johnson, Bear Catching Salmon

Sequoia

Sculptural bench with chainsaw-carved animals was inspired by native wildlife.

Bear Catching SalmonBear Catching Salmon

Hilary Pfeifer, Phylogeny

Western red cedar

Contemporary totem honors animals that inhabited this region before and after settlement.

PhylogenyPhylogeny

Kula Design, Flow

Sequoia and steel

Stylized waterwheel symbolizes the hard work of early settlers.

FlowFlow

Chris Papa, Sewn

Cedar, steel cable

Individual wooden panels create a unified structure, just as individuals come together to create community.

SewnSewn

Lee Imonen, One Tree Trestle

Douglas fir, steel

A single tree is repurposed into a trestle, serving as record of nature’s cycle of growth and change.

One Tree TrestleOne Tree Trestle