The City of Bend in partnership with Art in Public Places (AiPP) announced the four artists commissioned to create works of art that will be prominently displayed on the City of Bend’s new Public Works campus.
Over the past two years, the City of Bend and Art in Public Places worked together on the selection process, which included a Call to Artists application and a public input display of the designs for community input. The artists were selected by a committee that included representatives from the City of Bend, Art in Public Places, Hennebery Eddy Architects, Central Oregon Community College and Bend- La Pine Schools.
Per City Code, the City of Bend dedicates one percent (1%) of the total eligible costs of improvement projects to the selection, acquisition, fabrication, installation, maintenance, project management, conservation, deaccessioning, community education, documentation and registration of public art. This project is a portion of the 1% for art dedicated to the new campus. These works of art will be part of Bend’s innovative public art collection that includes art installations in over 20 of the City’s roundabouts.
John Fleming from Seattle, WA will fabricate a large-scale work of art extending through three floors in the public lobbies (42 ft. H x 7 ft. W) and out to the terrace (12 ft H x 13.3 ft. W) of the Headquarters building. The title is Water Tapestries and illustrates the Bridge Creek Watershed and the course of the Deschutes River as it flows from Benham Falls through Bend. The Tapestries are made of recycled aluminum traffic signs salvaged from our city’s signage team. The colorful signs will be cut into sections and woven together like a tapestry.
Patrick Marold from Nederland, CO will install two pieces. The first is a sculptural screen (11 ft. H x 250 ft. W) along Cooley Boulevard. The title is Woven Passage, which is a structural array of canted vertical beams that embody the contours of the Deschutes River. The meandering line that represents the river’s passage through Bend is visible through light and shadow, subtly weaving in and out of the viewer’s perspective. A second smaller sculpture of his will be installed along a walking trail on the campus grounds and allows the viewer to experience the space with transitioning shadow and light as you walk through the sculpture.
The commission for the three-site structures was awarded to two artists, both from Bend, OR. Ben Hull’s design, titled Patterns in Place, is drawn from the rugged beauty of central Oregon’s high desert and the ever-shifting character of seasonal change. Patterns within the screen abstractly interpret the shifting textures of our four seasons that will serve as an exterior screening for the Central Utility Plant Enclosure.
Eli Hogan’s designs for the bike shelter and trash enclosure titled The Soul of the High Desert will feature highly detailed close-up of our regional wildlife. On the trash enclosure will be the endangered sage grouse capturing speckled feathers, native vegetation, and mountains. The bike shelter will feature insects, birds, fish, and wildlife from our region. All three designs for the site structures will be laser cut onto Corten steel panels that will serve as an exterior screening for these small buildings on the campus.
The Public Works departments (with over 200 employees) will begin working from the new campus in Fall 2025. The new campus will be home to five Public Works departments: Engineering, Facilities, Fleet Management, Transportation and Mobility, and Water Services. The 35.5-acre site will include offices, meeting spaces, storage facilities, a generalized workshop area, fleet maintenance and the City’s water lab.
