Moment

Stainless Steel, Bronze, Concrete
26’ x 16’ x 13’
2022, Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, OR

Commissioned by the Oregon Arts Commission, Moment is an immersive experience that integrates a sculptural shade structure and seating element into the new showcase entrance to the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Technology at Oregon Tech’s Klamath Falls campus. Inspired by the vision of the CEET as an ecosystem of collaboration and innovation, and by the breathtaking sunset view of Upper Klamath Lake, the flowing forms of the sculpture evoke the movement of water within the Klamath Basin and the flow of knowledge, learning and innovation that takes place at the Center.

Once known as the “Everglades of the West”, the Klamath basin and river have molded a shifting mosaic of landscapes ranging from deep open water to shallow wetlands. The long history of human collaboration and manipulation of the watershed has also shaped a journey that continues to evolve today—often through research and technologies that are the focus of OIT’s College of Engineering and Technology. The Upper Klamath Lake and Link River that the new CEET overlooks are a key passageway in that journey. Moment provides an opportunity to discover a visceral connection between natural beauty of the Klamath Basin and the knowledge, learning and innovation that flows within and throughout the CEET. In addition to the individual or shared “moments” the piece offers, the title also references a fundamental concept in structural engineering.