If you happen to be strolling around downtown Salem this summer, you may have noticed the Sculpture Garden in The Salem Convention Center courtyard is growing! 'Breathing Post,' a 14-foot-tall kinetic sculpture by Pete Beeman, is the newest addition to the Oregon Artists Series' 5th Annual Exhibit, “Sculpture Now”. This kinetic sculpture is run by a turncrank at its base. As pedestrians turn the crank the horizontal arms above rise and fall. It lived from 2004-6 on the streets of downtown Lake Oswego,OR, from 2007-13 at The Art Center in Corvallis, OR, and will remain at it's permanent home at the Salem Convention Center. The sculpture plaza was created in 2011 through the combined efforts of the Salem Convention Center, the Oregon Artist Series Foundation, and The City of Salem Public Art Commission. The purpose of this plaza is to provide enjoyment for Salem's residents and visitors, and to inform the public, through written descriptions displayed inside about the processes making the sculptures. The Oregon Artist Series is presented annually at the Salem Convention Center and features the work of contemporary Oregon Artists. Here is the list of some of the other works featured in this exhibit: “The Cube,” Bruce West “The Drummer” and “The Skull,” Robert Hess “The Unicyclist,” by Frederick Heidel “2001 B.C.,” Phil and Kristy St. Claire An untitled cast aluminum oval, Weltzin Blix “Vertebra: Time Wave Zero” plus indoor piece, Dave Haslett “Carousel Hero,” James Hansen “Self-Consciousness II,” JinMan Jo Indoor piece by Stephan Soihl
