Discovery

Sculpture at Lewis and Clark Elementary

Discovery is a public art sculpture installed at the Lewis and Clark Elementary and Intermediate School in St. Helens, Oregon. This piece was completed and installed in 2001.

The 27-foot long sculpture harkens a long canoe form and is made of aluminum tubing, silk and cast fiberglass resin. The piece is suspended from two-story tall ceiling in the atrium of the school using traditional boat rigging hardware. When the students arrive at school they enter through the front doors and pass through the atrium underneath the sculpture.

The sculpture is passively kinetic. When the doors open, ambient air turbulence is introduced into the space. As the air currents shift through the space, the silk sheer cross-sections begin to flit and flutter in the breeze. And when the air currents are just right, the canoe appears to be moving through invisible waters.

I named this piece Discovery for two reasons: in honor of the bicentennial anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition which fell just after the completion of this piece; and for the discoveries that await the students, faculty and administrators who come together in this space to teach, learn and grow from one another.