''The Continuity of Life Forms'' is a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

by Willard Martin, installed at the

Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi Ri ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Description and history

''The Continuity of Life Forms'' is a large mid-century modern mosaic and one of the earliest remaining works by local architect and artist Willard "Will" Martin, who also designed

Pioneer Courthouse Square Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1984, the square is bounded by Southwest Morrison Street on t ...

. It is made of 20 panels and measures approximately tall and wide. The work has been installed in two locations at the Oregon Zoo. According to the organization, ''The Continuity of Life Forms'' " apturesa panoramic sense of history and being — the forces of life — out of footprints, seeds, leaves, shells, fossils and primitive life forms that might be found in the Earth's strata". The mosaic was originally installed at the zoo's entrance in 1959, when the zoo moved to its current location. In 1997, the zoo's entrance was relocated, and the mosaic became less visible, obstructed by a fence and out of the way for visitor access. In 2014, during construction of the zoo's conservation education center, the mosaic was removed and placed into storage. During its 2014–2015 fiscal year, the

Oregon Cultural Trust Oregon Cultural Trust is a cultural promotion and preservation organization in the U.S. state of Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northe ...

granted $20,000 to the Oregon Zoo Foundation for the mosaic's conservation and restoration. The funds allowed the Oregon Zoo Foundation to hire an art conservator and restoration artist to "ensure the accurate restoration and conservation of this splendid artwork for

future generations Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...

". Additional funding was provided by the Oregon Zoo Foundation's Education Campaign, which raised more than $1.5 million for the center and educational programming. ''The Continuity of Life Forms'' was re-installed at the conservation education center's entrance, near the zoo's former main entrance, in July 2016. One of the zoo's project managers said of the mosaic's current location, "We want the zoo to serve as a gateway experience to what may become a deeper relationship with the natural world. So bringing 'The Continuity of Life Forms' back at this same location is ideal." The organization hopes the re-installation will introduce another generation to the artwork and Martin, who died in a plane crash in 1985.

References

External links

* (Oregon Zoo, August 16, 2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Continuity of Life Forms 1959 establishments in Oregon 1959 in art 2014 disestablishments in Oregon 2016 establishments in Oregon Art in Portland, Oregon Modern art Mosaics Oregon Zoo

Description and history

See also

References

External links