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.
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.
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.
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