Hillsboro Adds Welcoming Artwork To Elevator Doors

Hillsboro OR

16 August, 2021

8:07 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Hillsboro: August 5, 2021 Hillsboro Adds Welcoming Artwork to Elevator Doors New artwork will greet visitors when they arrive at the Hillsboro Civic Center and Brookwood Library. Addie Boswell and Hampton Rodriguez of Portland have created colorful, lively, and friendly artwork that has been installed on elevator doors at the Brookwood Library and on the parking level of the Civic Center. The two artists were selected after submitting original concepts earlier this year in response to a call for artwork that would greet patrons and make these civic spaces more welcoming to our diverse community. Addie Boswell is an artist and writer specializing in murals and picture books that focus on family, community, and the creative power of children. As a visiting artist at schools, libraries, and community programs around the Northwest, she knows that creativity can empower and improve the lives of every age. Boswell creates the characters in her work by sketching from her real life, but with the Brookwood Library closed to regular operations this past year, she worked from photos of past Library visitors and events provided by staff. Her two designs, Learn to Dream and Read to Grow, capture library patrons of all ages engaging in a variety of activities and highlights a sense of community. Boswell also hid "secret messages" in her artwork. After visiting the Library to observe the doors of the elevator, she created a message that can only be seen as the elevator opens or closes. She created different messages for each of her two designs as fun easter eggs and hopes visitors will try to find them as they explore the library. Hampton Rodriguez grew up in the Dominican Republic and moved to Oregon in 2002 after exhibiting his work internationally in Spain and Belgium. Rodriguez reflected, "in my recent work, I have been trying to capture the fleeting human expressions of anger and hope, desire and sadness. My work is egalitarian, surrealistic, and filled with people's mystiques. I strongly feel that an artist belongs to the place he lives." Rodriguez's work, Diversity, is a triptych depicting musicians and community members in a farmers' market setting, purchasing flowers, and enjoying a family outing. The triptych is installed on vinyl wrap on the doors of the three elevators on the parking level of the Civic Center. "Hampton Rodriguez's artwork will create another vibrant, welcoming entrance at the Civic Center for community members and visitors to enjoy," said City Manager Robby Hammond. "As more people are vaccinated and we resume more in-person activities and meetings in and around the Civic Center, each month, thousands of people will get to experience this exceptional work." This press release was produced by the City of Hillsboro. The views expressed are the author's own.