Nuts and Bolts of Proposing and Completing Public Art Commissions Workshop, March 9

The Nuts and Bolts of Proposing and Completing Public Art Commissions - March 9, 11 am - 3:30 pm, LCC Building 10/109. LCC will be hosting a free public art workshop sponsored by the Oregon Arts Commission. The workshop is open to all, student and public, and will cover a variety of topics covered by guest speakers including professional artists, arts administrators and digital media professionals. Contact: Lee Imonen, 541-463-5412 or Art office at 541-463-5409.

Public Works and Private Thoughts, Lee Imonen Exhibit, 2/27-3/22

The Lane Community College Art Gallery is proud to present the exhibition, Public Works and Private Thoughts, by sculptor and Art instructor, Lee Imonen.  The show runs from February 27^th to March 22^nd. A lecture will take place on Thursday, March 1^st, beginning at 4:30 with a reception immediately following. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Lee Imonen is a well-known Northwest sculptor with many public works throughout the state of Oregon. This exhibition will showcase work and reflections compiled from a recent sabbatical. As stated by the artist, “Public Work & Private Thoughts brings together two separate but related directions in my studio practice over the past decade.” 

In discussing both aspects for this exhibition Lee had this to say in regards to the public work aspect, “I have begun thinking about my public sculptures as research projects; opportunities for understanding a place, material, culture or organization in a more comprehensive way. My goal is to shift the direction of public work away from sculpture that is simply placed in the public realm, to work that not only engages the public, but equally speaks of its physical, historical and cultural environment.”

The intent of the pieces representing private thoughts, Imonen feels, ”these pieces are more intimate, often showing only a framed portion of the original object, like sculptural snapshots taken from close-up.”

The gallery is located in Building 11 on the main campus of Lane Community College, 4000 E. 30th Avenue. There is no charge for admission. The Art and Applied Design Department phone number is 541-463-5409.

LEE IMONEN - "BASIN" DEDICATED OCTOBER 15th, 2011

 

This landscape referred to as “The Basin”, a term which upon reflection becomes more than a simple description, but functions as a structure, a key to its many histories and a metaphor for the delicate balance of today’s resources.

  ­­­­- Lee Imonen

 Lane community College Art and Applied Design Department congratulates Lee Imonen on the recent dedication of “BASIN, a public art commission from the Civil Engineering department at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Imonen, who has a master of fine arts from the University of Oregon and a bachelor of arts from Willamette University, teaches sculpture at Lane Community College. The 26’X25’ steel and aluminum sculpture functions as an outdoor classroom as well as a general meeting place and land mark, while adding to the visual dynamics of OIT’s campus.

For a more detailed description of Imonen's sculpture and design, along with additional information on funding visit the Oregon instate of technology press release at

http://www.oit.edu/news/10-12-2011/oregon_tech_dedicates_basin_sculpture_saturday_october_15_2011.aspx

Bike Corrals Designed by Lane Students

Eugene area bike riders will be able to experience a little art when they park their bikes at two downtown locations. The City of Eugene partnered with Lane art instructor Lee Imonen and his students over the past year to design and create three artistic bike corrals for downtown. Two of the corrals were dedicated with their first bike locking on Thursday, September 8.

Mayor Kitty Piercy gave an address in front of the Morning Glory Restaurant across from the train station at 450 Willamette Street. A bicycle group then traveled over to the Kiva grocery store at 11th and Olive to dedicate the second piece.

“The work is fabulous and the students deserve a round of applause for their efforts,” says Imonen.

Students in last fall’s Art 117: Three Dimensional Basic Design came up with nine different designs for the downtown bike corrals. The public reviewed and commented on the designs while they were on display in the Atrium and the Eugene Public Library during January and February. A selection committee composed of the City’s Public Art Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and other stakeholders reviewed public input and determined the winning designs.

The project was funded by the city and in-kind donations including the design work and thousands of hours of labor from Imonen and his students.

The bike corrals were featured in an article in Eugene's Register/Guard newspaper on September 8. Art of the Bike Rack

Designer Racks Art Opening - January 7

Designer Racks Art Opening Reception, January 7, 5:00-7:00 pm, Atrium Building, 10th and Olive in downtown Eugene. 

Join us for an evening of reviewing and commenting on design proposals from LCC's 3D design class.  Meet the artists and see a variety of site specific concepts for three downtown bike corrals.

The designs for sculptural bicycle racks by students from the Fall 3D design class will be on display in downtown Eugene.  For the month of January, they will be at the Atrium Building.  In February, they will move to the Eugene Public Library.

Contact:  Lee Imonen, 463-5412.  Art and Applied Design office:  463-5409.

Lee Imonen Sculpture "Bountiful" at Delta Ponds

Lee Imonen, sculpture instructor, has just installed his sculpture "Bountiful" next to the new Delta Ponds Pedestrian Bridge in Eugene. He was featured in a recent piece on KEZI-TV, a local Eugene television station. The sculpture refers to a Native American fishing method with poles and a fishing net. Imonen states: "I want the net to look full, like it's just been pulled out of the water. And so it's this bountiful harvest that signifies that return and reinvestment of Eugene to this natural area." The sculpture is part of the city's 2010 Public Art Plan.

Read the article and watch the news clip at: http://kezi.com/news/local/187443

LEE IMONEN - ODOT BRIDGE ART PROJECT

Lane sculpture instructor Lee Imonen is among the artists chosen to help the Oregon Department of Transportation develop design enhancements for the Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge replacement project. Lee is partnering with GreenWorks and artists Adam Kuby and Suzanne Lee to design a south bank interpretive area, which includes the old Eugene Millrace, river channel restoration, and the south bank bicycle and pedestrian path, underpass and viaduct. Conceptual plans will be developed this fall and winter, and unveiled during Eugene’s First Friday Gallery Walk on Feb. 5. The artist and design teams were selected by ODOT’s design enhancement panel for the I-5 Willamette River Bridge project.

Lee Imonen Receives Faculty Recognition Award

Lee Imonen, instructor of sculpture, has been presented with the Spring term Faculty Recognition Award. The award was based on nominations from students, staff, faculty, and alumni.

As part of the application, Lee's students write, "Lee is an artists’ artist. As an instructor he instills a deep sense of commitment to the learning of skills, creative research and process, critiques, and outcomes of student's art projects. He is tireless in providing technical expertise, artistic concepts and historical references to art making. Indeed, Lee has not only helped students strive for higher goals but works to inspire a strong work ethic... so important to producing fine art for personal enjoyment, cultural inspiration, and for the uniqueness of gallery installation as well as for reproduction. He brings out the best qualities in his own students, in the students of other classes and their studio interaction."

Congratulations to Lee!

ARC: Sculpture of LCC Faculty & Students Exhibit, May 8-June 13

The Jacobs Gallery presents an exhibition titled ARC: The Sculpture of LCC Faculty and Students - May 8 -June 13. Artists in the exhibition are Kate Ali, Amelia Beiderwell, Lee Imonen, Laree Morgenstern, Virgil Newton, Andreas Salzman, Eric Schults, Deborah Taube, and Ellen Tykeson.

The Artists' Insight Gallery Talk will be held on Friday, May 8, 3:30 - 4:30 pm.

The Opening Reception will be on Friday, May 8, 5:30-8:30 pm.

The exhibit will be one of the stops on the Lane Arts Council First Friday ArtWalk on Friday, June 5, 5:30-8:30 pm.

The Jacobs Gallery is located on the lower level of the Hult Center in downtown Eugene. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, noon to 4:00 pm; Saturday, 11:00 am-3:00 pm; and one hour prior to and during all Hult Center performances. Contact the Jacobs Gallery at 684-5635, http://www.jacobsgallery.org/. Contact LCC Art & Applied Design Department at 463-5409.

Lee Imonen Chosen for Forest Art Installation

Lane sculpture instructor Lee Imonen is one of five Northwest artists chosen for the forest art installation, Natural Cycles: A Celebration of Art in the Forest, on the Trillium Trail at Tryon Creek State Park in Portland. The purpose of the exhibit is to stimulate an awareness of how nature and art are intertwined. The temporary artworks will be on display for a year during regular park hours.

Imonen's work is called the Source Series and has three pieces, Picket Fence, Pine Box, and Lumber Unit, each made from a single salvaged or windfall tree. Half of each log will remain in its natural form, while the other half will be reconfigured and emerge into an object that would typically be made from that wood. The series is intended to highlight the transformation of materials from one form into another, reaffirm our dependence on natural resources and foster an awareness of the origins of common materials surrounding each of us.

Other participating artists are Brennan Conaway of Portland; Julie Lindell of Seattle; Jen Pack of Warrenton, OR; and Vicki Lynn Wilson of Portland.

Natural Cycles is a collaborative project between Friends of Tryon Creek State Park, the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and Oregon State Parks. The 775-acre Tryon Creek State Park is located at 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd. in southwest Portland. For more information, contact Lee Imonen at 463-5412.