Tag: write around PAM

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Write Around PAM: Gonzalo Fonseca

Two Figures with Still Life, Gonzalo Fonseca, 49 1/8 x 35 inches, oil on burlap. A vertical, rectangular painting representing two, geometric, abstract figures. The boxy figures take up most of the painting which is rendered in tones of gray with black outlining. The figure at left has a circle for a head with a small crescent shape positioned just to its left. Squared off shoulders lead into a rectangular body that disappears behind another tall rectangle in front of it. A thin, upright rectangle is positioned separately near the bottom left. At right, another figure has a boxy head and uneven square shoulders with a slim bit of straight body visible behind the rectangle in front of it. That rectangle has a triangular chunk taken out of its lower portion, perhaps suggesting a table leg. A dark gray, slanted square is positioned in its upper portion and contains three small abstract shapes. The figures and the table representation are a pale gray with visible brushwork while the background is rendered in deeper gray.

This Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020, is U.S. Election Day. We Oregonians fill out our ballots at home, return them by mail or by drop box, and then we wait. The results—the decisions we will have made collectively as communities and as a country—will likely have reverberations here at home, at our very own kitchen tables.…  Read more

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Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Malia Jensen

Installation view; Hand, with Plum, Nehalem Estuary, 2019

When was the last time you were able to sit still? The kind of still that allows you to unclench your jaw, let your mind wander, and really rest in the present moment? There is so much important work to do—in our lives, in our communities, and in our world. Alongside this work is the…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Joe Feddersen

Flat Screen, Joe Feddersen, 19 ½ x 25, fused glass. A photo of a vertical, rectangular glass panel showing a simplified humanoid figure with an oversized rectangle for a head. The panel consists of a multitude of small glass rectangles that have been fused together forming the figure in black outline against a brick-like background pattern. The figure’s head is the outline of a large, horizontal rectangle resembling a flat screen TV. The neck, shoulders, arms, hands with thumbs sticking out, a torso, two legs and feet complete the figure. The figure is set against light blue glass rectangles that are stacked to form uneven rows with space between them being black. The piece is edged with a thin, red border.

Screens and our relationships to them continue to evolve and influence all facets of our lives—how we stay informed, how we work and learn and play, how we connect with one another, how we attempt civil discourse, even where in our spaces we spend our time. They can connect us across vast distances, and also…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Carrie Mae Weems

Untitled (Woman with daughter) from the series Kitchen Table, Carrie Mae Weems, each image 27 ¼ x 27 ¼ inches, gelatin silver prints. A series of three black-and-white photographs, positioned side by side, featuring a young Black girl and a Black woman in a room at a large table. The first photo shows the woman with short, dark hair and a dark dress seated at the end of a long, wooden table under a triangular overhead light. She looks down at an open book with her hand at left resting on her cheek and her arm at right resting on the thick book. Beside her to the left sit a notepad and pens. On the right side of the table is a notebook, pen, and a glass of dark liquid. To the left and behind the woman, stands a young girl in a light dress with shoulder straps, her hair up in pigtails. She stands with her arms folded and looks towards the book on the table. At right is a closed door and there are two chairs on either side of the table. The second photo shows the same setting with the woman now standing on the right side of the table leaning forward with her hands on the table. She looks directly at the girl now standing at left with hands clasped and resting on the table. The two stare intensely at each other. The third photo shows the woman back in her seat at the end of the table, left hand on her forehead, a pen in her other hand while she looks down at her book. The child is now seated at the right side of the table and is drawing in the notebook.
Carrie Mae Weems (American, born 1953), Untitled, from the series Kitchen Table, 1990, gelatin silver prints, each image/sheet: 27 1/4 in x 27 1/4 in, Gift of the Contemporary Art Council. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 94.19a-c

Writing continues to be an important way to process, explore, and gain new understanding in these times of upheaval. As fall continues on and communities navigate an especially unusual school year, we were drawn to this piece by Carrie Mae Weems. We imagine that kitchen tables like this one have taken on new roles as…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Yoshida Fujio

Nasturtium, Yoshida Fujio, 14 ¾ x 9 5/8, color woodblock print on paper. A vertical, rectangular print depicting an abstract, closeup view of a nasturtium flower’s petals. Undulating swirls of reds, rusts, yellows and green over a white background fill the print. Starting at top, a large petal folds over itself from the left towards the center. The petal is composed of stripes of yellows, peach, and rust that meet at a point toward the center leaving a large white teardrop shape and a crescent shape in white. At right, a large petal bows towards the center of the print in deep peach and red hues. Its shape is mirrored at left with another petal meeting the other at center in similar colors. Another large teardrop shape is positioned at bottom center. The overall effect is one of swirling, organic shapes and colors

As young children we are often asked what our favorite color is. Colors are some of the first words we learn and they help us describe the world around us. And while we may no longer commit to a “favorite” color, we recognize when we’re drawn to hues and how they make us feel. Colors…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Lillian Pitt

Dancing in the Wind, Lillian Pitt, 14 ¾ x 5 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches, clay, beads, wood, and wire. A photo of a sculpture composed of three main parts: a body, a base, and a finial. The pale-beige clay body is shaped like a vertical rectangle with rounded corners and is highly textured with imprinted patterns. The bottom right corner is rounded off further than the other corners. The imprinted patterns appear to have been made with shells and form concentric semicircles similar to how the bands of a rainbow are arranged. A row each of scallop and nautilus shell imprints form arcs on their sides starting at the top and ending at the bottom. The balance of the body is dotted with the indentations of shell markings overall. Protruding irregularly from the right side of the body are bent copper wires with amber colored beads at the ends. Each wire is bent differently. The body is attached to a thick, chunky wood base by a short, metal rod. The blond wood of the base is traversed with thin dark lines that seem to outline the grain. At top, the finial is connected to the body by clay and is an irregular spherical shape with metal rods radiating out at 9, 12, 2, and 3 o’clock. At 10 o’clock, a copper wire curves into a spiral.

Lillian Pitt, Dancing in the Wind, 1998, clay, beads, wood, and wire, Gift of Allan and Lenore Sindler, © Lillian L. Pitt, 2006.54.4 Even in its stillness, this piece by Lillian Pitt feels alive, full of movement, ready to dance. Our words can also carry motion, inviting us into imaginative spaces where we are floating,…  Read more

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Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Comb Chest

Comb Chest, 11 1/8 in x 10 1/2 in x 11 5/8 inches, persimmon wood with white brass (baekdong) fittings. A photo of a wooden, cube-shaped chest with numerous brass fittings decorating its edges. The chest is a warm brown with dark graining. On the front of the chest, near the top, is a latch in the shape of a turtle on a large smooth plate. The top of the latch is in the shape of the turtle’s head and is attached to the lid by a horizontal hinge. Below the plate, there are two, small drawers adjacent to each other, each with a flat, round pull with a small tail at the bottom pointing toward the outside edge of the chest. Below these drawers is a long drawer with a pull in the shape of a stylized bat, its wings outstretched. The edges of the chest are embellished with triangular fittings that have scalloped edges and tiny, pierced holes. The fittings sit over the corners and edges of the chest at right angles. The chest sits on raised feet connected by a decorative apron.

When crisis strikes, as it has in Oregon over these last weeks with wildfires ravaging communities and smoke blanketing the state, we are reminded of what is most important to us: family, friends, community, pets, items that hold memories and carry meaning, and more. This Comb Chest evokes this same feeling for us: of treasuring…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: Harry Fonseca

Kodoyampeh and the Creation of Plants and Animals # II, Harry Fonesca, 11 5/8 in x 8 5/8 inches, acrylic on canvas. A vertical, rectangular painting featuring simplified depictions of plants and three, horned deer. White paint is thickly applied in a dotted fashion to create the outlines of the deer. Two are stacked one on top of the other just left of center and one is positioned higher and just to the right of center. Their bodies are represented by half oval shapes with legs stretched out in front and behind them, as if running. Small heads with long horns horizontal to their bodies complete the animals. The deer are superimposed over another simplified shape that perhaps represents a human figure with shoulders, torso, neck, and a round, sun-like head complete with rays. Plants are suggested by more dotted-line paintings on each side of the deer and humanoid figure. They have a long center stalk with spiky shoots. All the white-lined figures and shapes are backed and outlined with black. These contrast with the gold background that includes splashes and splatters of black and white paint. The overall effect gives the painting a sense of movement and liveliness.

Nature carries within it profound beauty and immense power. We are often drawn to the tallest trees, the widest fields, the deepest canyons, the bluest lakes, the starriest skies. The cycles of nature provide food, shelter, rest, renewal, and hope. Nature, and our existence in it, is also so fragile, as we continue to see…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Back to School Resources

Jamie Sabo, Age 4, Journal On! Artist

Welcome to a new school year unlike any other! Here at the Museum, we feel sad that we will not see throngs of students jostling to get in the front doors—at least for the foreseeable future. But we are excited to connect with educators, parents, and students at all levels through distance learning resources and…  Read more

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Community Discover Learn

Write Around PAM: C.E.S. WOOD

A blank piece of paper carries in it every possibility. It can take you anywhere you wish to go. We feel this same possibility in this piece by Charles Erskine Scott Wood, with it’s wide open desert and bowl of blue sky. This week, we invite you to go on an adventure on the page,…  Read more