moments of light
by Mary Alice Scott

here is a quietness that runs through Jim Hirschfield's work. It's something that he wants people to enjoy. That's why he and his wife Sonya Ishii create public art like this meditation space (below) at the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

.: Meditation space at Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Photo ©1998 Richard H. Strode.Click to enlarge. :.

"Children's hospitals can be difficult and emotionally charged environments, and we designed our meditation space to be a place for people to gather their thoughts, meditate, or pray; for doctors to talk to parents; and for parents to hold memorial services if a child passes away," says Hirschfield, professor and associate chair of studio art.

Creating this piece, Hirschfield and Ishii considered everything from the ambience of the space to the people who would be using the room. For example, the benches are three different heights since the hospital serves children, their parents, and staff members.

Still, there are surprises. The window in the back of the meditation room happens to face west. On a clear afternoon around sunset, light streams into the room through cutout tree leaves and reflects the pattern across the floor and ceiling. It only lasts about 10 minutes and doesn't happen every day. "When it does, it's pretty spectacular," Hirschfield says.

ntil several years ago when he began to focus on public art projects, Hirschfield created installations — temporary artworks that viewers experience rather than observe.

His Symphonic Dream in Four Movements used four spaces to create a dream sequence or "symphony." It unfolded over 36 days in an exhibit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A door to a new space opened every nine days, encouraging visitors to return to the exhibit four times to view the complete work. Hirschfield moved a pair of orchids to the back of each room as it opened. They began as buds, then bloomed and faded as the exhibit progressed. Allegro included clocks that ran at a faster pace than clocks in the other rooms. "The mystery and mystique of the work were heightened through expectations of what was to come," he says. When the final door opened, visitors could move through Largo (slow, but big or wide), Allegro (lively, fast), Retardando (gradually slowing down), and Adagio (slow, restful). Largo (white), Allegro (red), and Retardando (blue) are shown below.

	.: Largo. Photo by Jim Hirschfield; click to enlarge. :.
	.: Allegro. Photo by Jim Hirschfield; click to enlarge. :.
	.: Retardando. Photo by Jim Hirschfield; click to enlarge. :.

Mary Alice Scott is editorial assistant for Endeavors magazine.
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