Sunflower rises over Bayside

Art is everywhere in Portland, even on the outside of private homes. Photographer Jay York, who specializes in shooting the work of other local artists, recently installed this massive sunflower sculpture on his house/studio, a converted church on Wilmont Street in Bayside. You can see it from the Whole Foods Market parking lot, and you may be able to catch a glimpse of it as you're zipping past on I-295.

The striking sculpture, which I photographed from Oxford Street, is the work of prolific artist Patrick Plourde of New Gloucester. He's known for using salvaged wood, metal and other objects and transforming them into sleek, organic and sometimes whimsical forms. Pat's furniture can be found in private homes and at restaurants around town, including Street & Co., Standard Baking Company and Whole Foods. Those who collect his work include Ralph Lauren and Robert De Niro.

The sculpture is crafted from a number of salvaged objects. The center is made from an old, overturned steel kettle which has been studded with antique nails. The petals are made from white cedar salvaged from old pickle barrels and covered in a yellow milk wash.

When I asked Jay how he got the sculpture onto the side of his house, he said: "It took three of us, a come-along and a 30-foot ladder."

I'm glad Jay and his crew made the effort, because each time I see this radiant sculpture it makes me smile and reminds me of why I love Portland.

Fading graffiti of history

When the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in 1989, portions of it were distributed to locales around the world to serve as memorials to the Cold War and symbols of democracy's triumph over totalitarianism. Portland was one of the cities that received a portion of the wall and you can find it on Long Wharf, just behind the Gorham Savings Bank and in front of DiMillo's.

Germany's notoriously graffiti covered wall was erected in 1961 and during the following 28 years became the site of numerous killings, as residents of Communist East Berlin attempted to jump the wall and flee into West Berlin. Bullets quickly put an end to their escape.

Today, the writing on Portland's portion of the wall is faded and worn. But it still serves as a reminder of the folly of building walls rather than bridges and offers hope that peace and freedom can prevail in a world full of fear.

More window art on Free Street

After discovering Randy Regier's out-of-this-world window exhibition on Congress Street, I set out to see the other two pieces of this sidewalk show. I found them on Free Street near Cross Jewelers' back entrance and across the street from the Dogfish Bar & Grille.

In two previously vacant windows, artists Andy Rosen and Lydia Badger have created works with the feel of old-school museum dioramas. Each is part of SPACE Gallery's Windowkammers public art show. Since opening in 2002, SPACE has offered a wonderful community service to the pedestrians of Portland in the form of its always eye-catching and thought-provoking window displays in its Congress Street storefront. The Windowkammers project seeks to spread this visual love around town.

Rosen presents a piece titled "Dear, Old Master." It features a man stuck inside a log. The man's two dogs remain close by, with one, for some unexplained reason, wearing his master's boots.

Here's a closer view of Rosen's work.

Lydia Badger's piece "In an Instant" is a classic, albeit a bit whimsical, wildlife diorama, with a lovely array of cute and cuddly creatures.

Here's a closer view of Badger's work.

This street-side exhibition is a wonderful addition to Portland's downtown, and I hope it's an artistic tradition we'll see more of.

Art House in Bakery & a Spacecraft on Congress

Movement is afoot in Portland's gallery scene. The Jameson Gallery has spun off its framing business and Drew Wilen and Graham Wood from the Jameson frame shop have turned it into Art House Picture Frames. Jameson owner Michael Rancourt has moved his gallery to the Bayside space most recently occupied by 3 Fish, and Art House has set up shop in the very cool Bakery Building on Pleasant Street.

I stopped by yesterday and chatted with Drew, who's shown here in front of just some of the frame samples they've moved over from Jameson's Commercial Street space.

All the Jameson frame choices are still available, and Drew and Graham have added locally-made, eco-friendly frames. Frames like these shown here are being crafted from salvaged material and non-toxic finishes in the back room.

The gallery hosts an opening during the upcoming First Friday Art Walk (Feb. 6, 5-8 pm), with a show of small works by Brita Holmquist, Lisa Dombek, Larinda Meade, Tanya Fletcher, Caren-Marie Michel, Suzanne DeLesseps and Andrew Abbott. Here are some of the works waiting to be hung.

You can find the shop at 61 Pleasant St.

Another neat gallery to check out this upcoming First Friday is Constellation Gallery. The new space shows the work of David A. Marshall, Nathan Broaddus and Matthew Isgro. With limited hours right now, the gallery is doing its part to support public art with a window installation that is part of the Windowkammers project sponsored by SPACE Gallery.

I checked out the installation before 10 am this morning when the light made it virtually impossible to take a picture of this fabulous piece called "Now Your Spacecraft Will Be Your Peace" by Randy Regier. Should you be passing by 511 Congress St., take a detour up into the plaza (right next to Thai Chef Buffet) and have a look for yourself.

Skyline is a changing in East End

If you've driven or walked down India or Fore streets lately, you've likely seen the massive new Ocean Gateway parking garage. It's nestled next to long time neighborhood landmark Micucci Grocery and is in the spot where the Breakaway Tavern used to sit. In the distance, you can see a slice of the slanting roof of the actual Ocean Gateway ferry terminal.

On the back of the garage there is a mural painted by Elizabeth Morrill Burke of Peerless Painting of Falmouth. According to The Bollard, the mural was created as a way to make an ugly wall meet the city's design standards. The image is based on historical photos of the Eastern Prom, which may explain why it's rendered in grayscale. Or maybe they were just trying to save money on paint.

Should you come down Middle Street, you can't help but notice another new building rising behind the garage.

Rumor has it that this new building at the corner of Fore and Hancock streets will become a Residence Inn by Marriott.

Hopefully, we can expect more construction in this area soon. Across Middle Street from the garage is the spot where the Village Cafe used to be. It was knocked down in June to make way for the Bay House condos. The website says people will begin moving in next fall. However, when I did a story about the condos for Switch a little over a year ago, I was told construction was going to start at the beginning of this year for a fall 2009 opening. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens to this now vacant lot.

Carrying water, instead of beer

You may have seen the Prohibition drinking tour of Portland I put together for the current edition of Switch. (The print version has a really sweet map that didn't translate to the online version, so be sure to pick up a hard copy.) Since Portland is where this failed social experiment began, our city has many more sites related to Prohibition than the six I was able to include on the tour. And one of them happens to be a piece of public art.

"The Little Water Girl" is a bronze replica of a sculpture by George E. Wade in London. Originally installed as a working fountain in Congress Square in 1917, it was later moved to Deering Oaks in 1929, stored for a while during WWII, reinstalled in Deering Oaks and then finally placed outside of the Portland Public Library on Congress Street, where you can find it today.

So what's the Prohibition connection?

You see, this piece of public art was given to the city in 1917 in honor of Lillian M. N. Stevens and is also known as the Lillian M. N. Stevens Memorial Fountain. A Portland resident, Stevens was a founder of the Maine Woman's Christian Temperance Union, serving as both treasurer and later president for many years. She also served as VP of the national organization. The work of Stevens and her fellow teetotalers lives on in the Neal Dow house museum. Which just happens to be where my boozy tour begins.

Will this art tank?

Yesterday the Art All Around jury announced the winner of the international design competition to paint 16 oil tanks across the river in South Portland. Venezuela-born artist Jaime Gili, who lives in London, now has the challenge of transforming the industrial wasteland that is the Sprague Energy tank farm into something more aesthetically pleasing. His work was selected from a group of five finalists, which were winnowed down from 560 entries. Gili's winning design proposal is pictured above.

As you may have guessed from my posts on this blog, I'm a huge fan of public art. Not only does it make art accessible to a much wider audience, but it imbues a city or locale with a sense of character. However, one downside to public art is the controversy it often attracts.

This has certainly been the case here in Portland in recent years. Both the "Tracing the Fore" installation on Fore Street and the "American Baseball Family Group" sculpture outside the Sea Dog's ballpark have garnered more criticism than praise. Each of these works was created by an artist "from away," and this lack of connection to the local community has been cited as one of the reasons the works haven't fared so well in the court of public opinion. Gili is without a doubt an international artist with an impressive resume, but also one unfamiliar with our local history and quirks.

Will he be able to get the public to embrace his work? Only time will tell. I know in my informal survey of local artists and members of the arts community, I can't find anyone who will give the project an unqualified thumbs up. But maybe this current lack of public enthusiasm doesn't matter. Maybe 25 years from now, when we're zipping across the Casco Bay Bridge or down the highway in our electric cars, we'll look at the abandoned tank farm and its faded murals and fondly remember this time as a bygone era, a brief blip in human history when we weren't ashamed of our strange addiction to foreign oil.

Shaking hands with lobsters

"The Maine Lobsterman" sculpture is a familiar piece of public art to most people who've wandered around Portland. It's located in ... wait for it ... Lobsterman Square! (To be honest I had no idea the plaza in front of the Nickelodeon had a name until I looked it up on the city's official public art list.)

Created by Victor Kahill (1895-1965), the original sculpture was made of plaster and exhibited at the 1939 World's Fair. In 1974 Normal Therrien produced this bronze version, which was installed in 1977 in its current spot in Portland. In 1983, the Maine State Society of Washington, DC had another cast made and installed it on Maine Avenue in Washington, DC. Another duplicate lives in Harpswell, the hometown of model Elroy Johnson.

This work caught my eye because I have lobster on my mind this week. In the current edition of Switch magazine, I wrote a piece about a new trend of selling lobsters directly to the public. I'm constantly amazed by the hard work that goes into pulling these luxury eats from the deep. To me, it seems a far cry from the civilized handshake that appears to be taking place in this work.

The rustle of clouds

New this summer to the Portland public art scene are two sensual sculptures created by Maine artist Vivian Beer. Located in Winslow Park next to Back Cove, "Rustle" and "Cloud Bench" replaced "Milkweed Pod" by Clark Fitzgerald, which was installed there in 1975.

Despite my mad skills with a Google search and my insider access to the Press Herald archives, I can't track down much info about the old Fitzgerald piece. However, I recall hearing that the work had been done collaboratively with a group of students and that the artist was never particularly happy with the results. Could this be why it got kicked to the curb?

Not so, according to Sally Struever, a member of the Public Art Committee and co-chair of the Beer installation.

The Fitzgerald piece "was replaced because it fell down in a storm," Struever tells me.

Made of carved wood and concrete, "Milkweed Pod" was destroyed during its unfortunate encounter with Mother Nature. But no feelings were hurt, because, as Struever explains "it was meant to be a temporary piece."

In contrast, the Beer works are constructed of painted steel and are meant to be permanent. Best of all, the abstract pieces exude an organic, modern feel that fits perfectly with Portland's earthy yet up-to-date vibe.

What the world needs

One of my favorite pieces of public art in this funky city is the ever-changing sign in the window of the Artist Studio Building on Congress Street. Located next to the Maine College of Art and upstairs from SPACE Gallery, this building provides creative digs to dozens of local artists. A couple times a year, the artists welcome in the public for a tour. Mark you calendars: the next open house coincides with the December First Friday Art Walk on Dec. 5.

Until then, just be sure to look up when you pass this building to get a dose of artistic inspiration or creative humor. When I saw today's message, I wondered if it's a not-so-subtle reminder to MECA's returning students that more lucrative employment can be found elsewhere? And while I appreciate an artistically dug ditch as much as the next person, I hope the art students stick to their guns (er ... paint brushes). Because as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as too much art. Especially when it's public.

A little bit of Rome

G&R DiMillo's is getting a new look. I caught the artist in action yesterday afternoon. Looks like Portland is going to have its own piece of Rome. Or at least a very close facsimile.

Graffiti galore

Talented graffiti artists always grab my attention with their electric colors and embrace of the abstract and the surreal. Artist Tim Clorius, working under the name Subone when he hits the streets, does amazing things with an aerosol can. I'm also fond of Murad Sayen's translation of graffiti through the lens of his camera.

Portland is blessed to have a dedicated wall on the Eastern Prom Trail where graffiti artists can legally paint. And there are numerous spots in town where property owners have commissioned a graffiti-style mural.

The most prominent commissioned graffiti mural is located on the side of the Asylum. It was just repainted a few weeks ago by a team of more than 25 local artists, who created a traditional "wall of fame" this year. The previous mural contained war imagery and a large portrait of President Bush. In an unusual move, motivated in part by the public support for the work and its message, the building owners allowed it to remain on view for five years. Typically the works are repainted after about one year.

"Mural art is a direct link to the public," Clorius told me when I asked about the previous mural. "It's one of he ultimate ways of communicating a political statement."

This year the traditional work lacks any overt political message (other than "Trix are for kids".) Instead Clorius says the wall allowed the artists to "show what level they're on and how far they can take it."

Clorius himself worked on the giant guard dogs at the back of the alley. Funny story about those dogs. When I snapped these photos, my co-worker Wendy Almeida generously volunteered to come along and capture me capturing the wall. (You may notice I have a new graffiti-loving graphic at the top of this blog.) Turns out by standing just so in front of the dogs, I succeeded in making a completely unintended statement. Too bad it wasn't political.

Public art primer: "Michael"

Since public art in Portland has suffered its share of controversies in recent years (i.e. "American Baseball Family Group" and "Tracing the Fore"), I felt it was time I get better acquainted with the city's collection. For no particular reason (other than I happened to walk by it the other day), I begin my exploration with "Michael," by John Raimondi. This abstract piece, installed in 1974, sits in a grassy strip where Free Street meets Temple Street and is fabricated out of COR-TEN steel.

Raimondi first attended art school in Portland (at the forerunner to the Maine College of Art) where professor Norman Therrien got him interested in sculpture. Since then, he's gone on to create public art for numerous cities, corporations and museums in the US and Europe.

According to Raimondi's website, his initial works created in the '70s are examples of geometric minimialism, of which "Michael" is a perfect example. As his career progressed, he moved into environmental abstractions, then figurative abstraction, followed by his jazz series and finally his Native American Indian series (in which he is currently working).

Art for oil

One of the very few downsides to living in downtown Portland is the thick, lung-chocking stench of crude oil that sometimes blankets the city. When I lived in the West End, I would frequently wake from a dead sleep because this toxic air had blown in through the open windows. In Bayside, we don't get the foul odor as often, but every few weeks it pollutes our air and drives away the sea salt scented breezes. When I lived on the Hill, I never once smelled this petroleum stench. (But then that part of town has its own odor issues.)

Since the smell is so much stronger and more frequent in the West End, I'm figuring it comes from oil tankers off-loading their ethically-challenged product into the ugly storage tanks on the South Portland side of the Fore River. I keep hoping someone will come up with a solution to this smelly problem. And while I'm still waiting for my oil smell Superman to arrive, someone has come up with an idea to de-uglify the storage tanks themselves.

That someone is the Maine Center for Creativity. Just this week the organization unveiled the five finalists vying to have their designs painted on "the most prominent oil tanks at the Sprague Energy tank farm in South Portland." And while I knew enough not to expect anything political (such as a big "No blood for oil" graphic), I was hoping for humor (something like "Can you smell me now?" would have been good). Instead, these artists are obviously professionals and they all went the graphic and mostly abstract route. (Which means any number of subliminal messages could be hidden within these works, and who could prove it?)

The winner will be selected next month and installation should be complete by 2011. If it was up to me, I'd pick the Catherine Callahan design that looks like an airplane level view of the harbor. Which one would you pick?

Catherine Callahan and Bret LeBleu of South Portland

Holger Friese of Berlin

Jaime Gili of London

Nicole Langille of Columbus, Ohio

Bo Nathan Newsome of Durham, N.C., and Sara Lambert Bloom of South Portland