Illumination #1

2002 and 2003, 12 minute loop with sound; Digital Animation; Seamen's Bethel Building, Portland, Oregon

Illumination #1 is an exploration of identity. By animating specific gestures, story fragments, and names, Rose Bond aims to evoke the past, the peoples, and the accretions of memory held and reflected in the second story windows of the historic Portland Seamen's Bethel Building. The piece, which calls up 120 years in 12 minutes, draws from six epochs specific to the site:

  • Early Seamen & Sailors
  • North End Laborers & Merchants
  • Japantown
  • Chinatown
  • Roma (Gypsy) Family
  • Derelict Roost
Illumination ImageIllumination Image 2

“A brilliant, groundbreaking concept executed with tact and craft. Don’t miss it. Just about the coolest made-in-Portland movie of all time and it’s free.” —Shawn Levy, The Oregonian

“.. a sight like few others you’ll see this year…more than a conceptual installation…if last week’s preview is any indication, car traffic will stop, crowds will assemble and rapt silence will soon prevail as vibrant waves of colorful, lighted imagery roll across the derelict building like dancing ghosts. Set against the evening sky, Illuminations #1 lived up to its promise: A historic palette magically lighted out of thin air. Patrons at Hobo’s, a bar across the street, stood in the windows with their drinks in hand, entranced.” —D.K. Row, The Oregonian

“When Portland animator Rose Bond flashed some images on the windows of an Old Town building last May, this newspaper’s film critic called the resulting artwork ‘Just about the coolest made-in-Portland movie of all time.’ Seems he wasn’t the only one impressed…” —The Oregonian, February 2004

“Bond turned an Old Town building into a luminous work of art that literally glowed with dancing images…car traffic stopped, crowds assembled in the middle of the street, and rapt silence prevailed on the night it opened.” —The Oregonian

Illumination #1was sponsored by The Old Town History Project

Major Sponsor:

Director & Animator: Rose Bond

Composite Artist: Zak Margolis

Original Music: Courtney Von Drehle

WatchOut Programming: Steve Farris

Sound Editing: Co O’Neill

Videographer: Linda Kliewer

Image Preparation: Valerie Collins

Additional Animation: Richie Russelle

DVD Authoring: Tom Lakovic

Production Assistant: Carolyn Wood

Production Assistant: Derek Jackman

Dance Reference: Dawn Joalla Jackson

Martial Arts Reference: Courtney Stubbs

Musicians

Piano: Mike Van Liew

Drums: Michael Partlow

Double Bass: Time Renner

Guitar: Tracy Kim

Saxes, Accordion: Courtney Von Drehle

Historic Research

Richard Harris

Dale Hing

Joanne Hong

George Katagiri

Rebecca Liu

Jacqueline Peterson, PhD

Old Town History Project

Oregon Historical Society

Jeff Shenk

Bruce Wong

Sponsors

Sound Images

Comp View

Central City Concern

Mitsubishi

Funding Support

Regional Arts & Culture Council

Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust

SERA Architects

H. Naito Corporation