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February 16, 2005
Featur
Fountain faces speak true
Katie Wilson
The Clackamas Print
The faces watch as students
smoke, talk, hurry by—whatev
er students do when they aren’t
noticing the fountain between
Streeter, Gregory Forum and the
Dye Learning Center. The faces
are amused, thoughtful, sad, wide-
eyed, happy and very much there.
They are the faces of William
Shakespeare, Charles Darwin,
Miles Davis, Florence Nightingale,
Soj oumer Truth, Johann Gutenberg,
Luca Pacioli, and many others.
Portland artist Lee Hunt created
the faces in the fountain nearly
13 years ago. She began work on
them in July 1992.
“It was wonderfill to be able to
gain a deeper view of these people,
some of who I had never heard of,”
Hunt had told reporters from The
Print in ’92.
The fountain was unveiled
Wednesday, April 7,1993.
The faces were chosen to repre
sent a part of each college depart
ment. The math department nomi
nated Greek mathematician and
physicist, Archimedes, and held a
raffle to pay for the construction
of his face. The art department
and the Spanish Club sponsored
the making of Mexican painter
and teacher Frida Kahlo’s fountain
face.
All the faces ended up being
sponsored directly by the actual
college departments or by indi
viduals and clubs. One thing that
was made clear from the beginning
was that the college wanted this
fountain to be built on money from
inside the school.
John Hooley, former assistant
dean of humanities, said in ’93
upon the fountain being unveiled
that “The atmosphere here is dif
ferent [than it used to be]” and
that art “helps us look more like
a college ... [art] adds to the
appearance.”
The fountain has been around
for nearly 13 or 14 years now and
shows no signs of going away. One
of its original purposes was to stand
as a .reminder of a very diverse
group of people from across the
span of history.
So it is a continued hope
that students will look at the
fountain and be motivated to
add to their communities and
be inspired to learn about these
people, the great things they
have done, and the impact they
have had on the entire world.
Norma Martinez Clackamas\
The fountain located between Streeter Hall, Gregory Forum and the Dye Learning Center«
created by artist Lee Hunt in 1993, displaying tne faces of important figures in history.
Instructor takes photography beyond just aim and elk
them, or by shining the light into frame,” Eliot says, “After all is
them then moving them, and re said and done, you have a choice
The Clackamas Print
shining the light bn the paper,” on how you develop the film
Eliot says. “It’s
... all along the
Photography teacher Smith a way for [stu
way you are
Eliot loves to teach photography, dents] to think
making a con
but admits she can be “a bit of a about how to
scious choice
“
We
think
Nazi” when teaching.
make a photo in
about things
[photography
“I’m hard,” says Eliot, “but the first place.”
that you shot a
[students] will come out of my
Eliot thinks
picture of. By
is]
a
document
class knowing a lot of stuff [about there is a big
the time you get
so it’s fun to
photography].”
Eliot teaches problem with
the picture, it’s
three photography classes in the how people see
not the thing
sort of diddle
art department, photography I, photography.
anymore. It’s
around
with
II, and III.
“People
a picture. It’s
“Photo I is really important think that pho
people’s
a photograph.
because you [have to] get your tographs show
It’s a piece of
expectations.
”
skills on. If you don’t have your you things in
art in its own
skills on you can’t do the busi the real world.
right.”
Smith Eliot
ness,” says Eliot.
I’m here to say
Photography Instructor
“We start out by doing photo that’s a bunch
“People assume
grams ... where we take a bunch of
bullshit.
certain things
of semi-transparent, opaque, Photographs
about photog-
reflective, weird stuff, stick it are constructions ... you’re hold raphy ... our culture promotes
down on paper and make a design ing the camera, you’re choosing that. If you watch [crime pro
by shining the light through how you place things in the grams on television], they will
Jadon Triplett
go and take pictures of the crime
scene, then [use the photo to] tell
what actually happened,” Eliot
says. “The photo is a document
... I think that is one of photog
raphy’s most interesting aspects;
we think it’s a document, so it’s
firn to sort of diddle around with
people’s expectations.”
Other Photography I projects
include surfaces and portraits.
Every term, photo-grams, sur
faces, and portraits remain con
stant, because they teach basic
skills that Eliot feels need to be
impressed on her students
Photography II and III (which
will be the same course spring
term), unlike Photography I, are
subject to change. Photography
one will stay the same because it
produces people who know what
they are doing better than other
photography one classes she has
done in the past, according to
Eliot.
One project that Eliot 1
is one called “fabricated ti
photographed.” “[‘Fabric
to be photographed’] mi
that whatever you do, it |
to] be fake. You fabricate
thing for the sake of bi
photographed. Students f
Photo I know that this is i
I am about.”
The only projects Smith I
is absolutely sure she will tl
Photography II and III sp
term are “fabricated to be j
tographed” and “infrared I:
scapes.” She is also intereste
doing “mural prints,” but ha
made that decision yet.
Those interested in sei
Smith Eliot’s work can cl
out her website, www.smithe
com. There is also a gallery
taring her students’ work.
“My students rock,” s
Eliot.
1477 SE 1st AveSte 104
19735 Hwy 213
Smith Eliot Contributed photos
w
p
H
LEFT: Photo-based art by Smith Eliot titled “The
Hunger of Memory 1.” RIGHT: Photo-based art by
Smitn Eliot titled “Hearth.”
*
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Avdildble only at Sun Wes; Qffeis expire 6-1 05. Subject to change without notice. 5ee Sun West fen