Perpetuity (sculpture)

Last updated
Perpetuity
Artist Alexander von Svoboda
Year1970 (1970)
TypeSculpture
MediumBronze, redwood
Dimensions3.0 m× 3.0 m× 0.91 m(10 ft× 10 ft× 3 ft);9.8 m diameter (32 ft)
Location Portland, Oregon, United States
Owner World Forestry Center

Perpetuity is an outdoor 1970 sculpture by Alexander von Svoboda, located in Portland, Oregon.

Contents

Description and history

External image
Searchtool.svg Standard Insurance Center (Portland, Oregon) by Marion Dean Ross (June 6, 1970), University of Oregon Libraries

Perpetuity is a sculpture by Alexander von Svoboda, completed in 1970. It consists of a bronze "seedling" inside a hollowed-out cross section of a 350 feet (110 m), Giant Sequoia tree. [1] [2] The seedling is suspended by bronze shafts that pierce the wood and extend several feet beyond, creating a "sunburst" effect. [1] The sculpture measures approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) x 3 feet (0.91 m), has a 32-foot (9.8 m) diameter, and weighs 13.5 tons. [1] [2] It rests on a concrete base which measures approximately 85 inches (220 cm) x 38 inches (97 cm) x 38 inches (97 cm). The Smithsonian Institution categorizes the piece as abstract and allegorical ("time", "eternity"). [1]

According to Svoboda, the work symbolizes "growth, regeneration and the perpetual cycle of life". [2] Smithsonian offers the following remark by Svoboda: "This is perpetual, the beginning and end of life, or to say it another way, there is no end and no beginning..." [1] The sculpture was surveyed and considered "treatment urgent" by Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993. [1] By then, the sculpture was owned by the World Forestry Center and installed in front of its Merlo Hall, having been donated by Standard Insurance Company. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Quest</i> (Portland, Oregon) Sculpture and fountain in Portland, Oregon

The Quest, sometimes referred to as Saturday Night at the Y or Three Groins in a Fountain, is an outdoor marble sculpture and fountain designed by Count Alexander von Svoboda, located in Portland, Oregon in the United States. The sculpture, carved in Italy from a single 200-ton block of white Pentelic marble quarried in Greece, was commissioned by Georgia-Pacific in 1967 and installed in front of the Standard Insurance Center in 1970. It depicts five nude figures, including three females, one male and one child. According to the artist, the subjects represent man's eternal search for brotherhood and enlightenment.

Mimir is an outdoor bronze and concrete sculpture by Keith Jellum, installed in northwest Portland, Oregon, United States. The 1980 sculpture was commissioned by the Portland Development Commission and Tom Walsh of Tom Walsh Construction, and is part of the City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

<i>Pioneer Woman</i> (Littman) Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

Pioneer Woman, also known as Joy, Joy (Pioneer Woman), the Laberee Memorial Fountain, Mother/Child and Young Pioneer Woman, is an outdoor 1956 bronze sculpture and drinking fountain by American artist Frederic Littman, located at Council Crest Park in Portland, Oregon.

<i>The Promised Land</i> (sculpture) Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

The Promised Land is an outdoor bronze sculpture by David Manuel, de-accessioned in 2020, formerly located in Chapman Square, in Portland, Oregon.

<i>Running Horses</i> Sculpture in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Running Horses is an outdoor 1986 bronze sculpture by Tom Hardy, located on the Transit Mall in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is part of the City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

<i>Ideals</i> (sculpture) Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

Ideals is an outdoor 1992 bronze sculpture by Muriel Castanis, located outside the Portland State Office Building in northeast Portland, Oregon.

<i>Triad</i> (sculpture) Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

Triad is an outdoor sculpture by German American artist Evelyn Franz, located in Laurelhurst Park in southeast Portland, Oregon.

<i>Loyal B. Stearns Memorial Fountain</i> Fountain in Portland, Oregon

The Loyal B. Stearns Memorial Fountain, also known as the Judge Loyal B. Stearns Memorial Fountain, is an outdoor 1941 drinking fountain and sculpture by the design firm A. E. Doyle and Associates, located in Portland, Oregon. It was erected in Washington Park in honor of the former Oregon judge Loyal B. Stearns.

<i>River Legend</i> Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

River Legend is an outdoor 1976 basalt sculpture by American artist Dimitri Hadzi, located outside of the Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of John McLoughlin</span> Sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor

John McLoughlin, also known as Dr. John McLoughlin, is a bronze sculpture of John McLoughlin by Alexander Phimister Proctor and completed by his son Gifford MacGregor Proctor. One statue is installed at the Oregon State Capitol grounds in Salem, Oregon; another is installed in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.

<i>Thomas Jefferson</i> (Bitter) Statue by Karl Bitter

Thomas Jefferson is a 1911 bronze statue of a seated Thomas Jefferson created by Karl Bitter for the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Jason Lee</span> Sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor

Jason Lee, also known as Reverend Jason Lee, is an outdoor bronze sculpture of Jason Lee, located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It was designed by Alexander Phimister Proctor, who died in 1950 when only the work's model was finished. His son Gifford MacGregor Proctor completed the sculpture between 1950 and 1953. The one installed on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol is a duplicate of a bronze statue unveiled in the United States Capitol in 1952.

<i>Folly Bollards</i> Sculpture series in Portland, Oregon

Folly Bollards is a series of outdoor 1998 bronze bollard sculptures by Valerie Otani, installed along Southwest Main between Broadway and Park in Portland, Oregon, United States.

<i>Big Red</i> (sculpture) Sculpture in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Big Red, also known as Red, is an outdoor 1974 steel sculpture by Bruce Beasley, installed at West 7th Avenue between Washington and Jefferson streets in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

<i>A Donkey, 3 Rocks, and a Bird.</i> Sculpture in West Haven-Sylvan, Oregon, U.S.

A Donkey, 3 Rocks, and a Bird., also known as Donkey, Bird and Rocks and Donkey, Three Rocks, and a Bird, is an outdoor 1992 sculpture by Brad Rude, installed at Catlin Gabel School in West Haven-Sylvan, a census-designated place in Washington County and the Portland metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Oregon.

<i>Untitled</i> (Hardy) Fountain and sculpture by Tom Hardy in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Untitled is an outdoor 1952 fountain and sculpture by Tom Hardy, installed at the Park Blocks in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

<i>Wind-Rain Song</i> Sculpture in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Wind-Rain Song is an outdoor 1982 bronze sculpture by Weltzin Blix, installed at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States.

<i>From Within Shalom</i> Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

From Within Shalom, or From Within, Shalom, is an outdoor 1984 granite sculpture by Steve Gillman, installed outside St. James Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.

<i>The Falconer</i> (Hansen) Bronze sculpture by J.L. Hansen in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

The Falconer is a bronze sculpture by James Lee Hansen. Dates for the abstract piece range from the 1960s to 1973.

<i>Oregon Landscape</i> Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

Oregon Landscape is a 1962 bronze sculpture by Tom Hardy, installed on the southern exterior wall of the Science Research and Teaching Center, on the Portland State University campus in Portland, Oregon, United States. Previously, the artwork was installed on Fariborz Maseeh Hall's western facade.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Perpetuity, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Perpetuity". alexvonsvoboda.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2014.