Naga Spore #2

Artwork copyright held by the artist

Artwork Information

Artist:

James Lee Hansen

Date:

1972

Media:

Cast Broze Sculpture on Concrete Pedestal

Size:

48" high

Location:

Outdoors of Cannell Library (LIB), Southwest of main entrance.

About the Artist:

Celebrated artist James Lee Hansen creates figurative and abstract sculptures. He has lived and worked in the Battle Ground area of Southwestern Washington since the 1950s.

Hansen was born in Tacoma, Western Washington in 1925. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1939-45) in the South Pacific. He used the GI Bill to study art at the Portland Art Museum School (now the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon) and graduated in 1950. Bronze sculptures quickly became his main focus, and he built his own foundry and developed a hands-on approach to bronze casting.

Hansen’s sculptures are included in many museum collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Portland Art Museum (Oregon). He also taught at Portland State University for 26 years, among other universities, and was an influential teacher and mentor.

Artwork description:

It is an example of Hansen's body of work inspired by natural forms. In botany, many different plants and fungi disperse spores as part of their life cycle. Spores have adapted to survive long distances and harsh conditions over long periods. They are symbols of resilience, persistence, and hope. This example is one of several different spore shapes that Hansen has created.

Acquisition Information:

Donated by the Gates Estate in 2013. Allen taught music at Clark College and Yoko played the koto professionally. They moved from Vancouver in the early 80s. Before Yoko died at age 44 in 1988 and Allen in 1990 at the age of 47, the couple decided to loan their collection to Clark College. They were confident that the college would appreciate the art and it would be safe and loved.

Their daughter Joemy formally donated a large portion of the loaned artworks to Clark College in 2013.

“Clark was the first place my father thought of. He knew the college would display the art and take care of it. It was a natural fit to have the art at Clark College,” said Joemy.

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