Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Daddy Long Legs

Ok, one more piece of transit mall public art for the evening. This is "Daddy Long Legs" by local sculptor Mel Katz, who also happens to be the ex-husband of a former mayor. I actually don't think that's that weird, as he's been a prominent local artist since slightly before the beginning of time. It's merely a sign that in many ways Portland is still a very small town, or at least the creative and political parts both are.

Daddy Long Legs

TriMet's description tells a bit more about the thing:

In Daddy Long Legs, Mel Katz combines elements of sculpture and painting to create a counterpoint and contrast that add to the complexity of the work. The artist's father was a tailor, and growing up he was influenced by watching him work with templates to cut pattern pieces.

Daddy Long Legs

In any case, the clean, mid-20th-century abstract look is a nice change from the contemporary "Lumpy Little Dudes On Posts" look I've been going on about. It still may, however, have a role in the "Public art come to life" horror movie I keep talking about. It has legs, and some sharp, stabby-looking corners, so it has potential. As a formally abstract being we should probably assume its true motives are unknowable, and furthermore we probably ought to have it attack its victims offscreen, since I have no idea how it would eat, and adding a recognizable mouth to an abstract piece probably counts as a crime against Art, and we certainly can't have that. These complications aside, I feel it would add a touch of class to the film, which I suspect it will desperately need.

Daddy Long Legs

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