Trigger 4

Trigger 4, also known as Trigger Four, is an outdoor 1979 steel sculpture by Lee Kelly, located on the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon.

Description and history

Trigger 4 was designed by Lee Kelly and installed in front of the Studio Art Building on the Reed College campus in southeast Portland in 1979. Kelly had served as a visiting associate professor of art at Reed between 1976 and 1979.^[1] Like the Studio Art Building, the sculpture was donated to the college by John Gray, who served as chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his wife Betty.^[1]

The Cor-Ten or mild steel sculpture measures approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) x 15.5 feet (4.7 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) and contains an inscription of Kelly's signature and the number 79 on the bottom of the post on the sculpture's northwest side.^[2] The Smithsonian Institution describes the work as an abstract ("geometric") sculpture "whose primary forms are triangles and lines".^[2] Its condition was deemed "treatment needed" by Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in February 1994.^[2]

Reception

Following the sculpture's installation, Reed magazine questioned whether it depicted a Chinese character, a horse, or simply an abstract figure formed by lines and angles, saying "perhaps the beauty of the new Lee Kelly sculpture... is that it can evoke different images and meanings."^[1] The magazine also said the rust-colored sculpture provides a "striking contrast" to the blue roof and grey exterior walls of the newly constructed Studio Art Building.^[1]

See also

• 1979 in art
• List of works by Lee Kelly

References