"Breathing Post", Peter Beeman
Breathing Post, a 14-foot tall kinetic sculpture by Pete Beeman, with a turn crank at its base, was an interactive addition to the OASF Sculpture Now! Exhibit, the 5th in its annual series. Passers-by are invited to activate the sculpture, using a crank to move its horizontal arms. When the hand crank at the bottom is turned, the wing/rib forms at the top rise and fall together, as though the post is flying, breathing or waving. Breathing Post lived from 2004-2006 on the streets of downtown Lake Oswego, from 2007-2013 at The Art Center in Corvallis, and was purchased at a cost of $15,000 and installed at the Salem Convention Center in June, 2013. A formal dedication occurred on July 3, 2013.
A Portland native, Pete Beeman builds sculpture in Portland, Oregon and New York City. Educated at Brown and Stanford Universities in art, engineering, and design, his work is often kinetic and interactive, industrial and playful. He builds useless but functional objects, and thinks a lot about how our culture rates the utility and necessity of an object.
Much of Beeman’s work is permanent public art. One of his most visible works is Pod, a 15 foot, stainless steel, titanium, and bronze piece designed to represent the infrastructure, energy, and vibrancy of Portland. Pod is made complete when passersby give the pendulum a push – on West Burnside across the street from Powell’s Books in Portland.
