118 Modules, Sculpture by American artist John Rogers

118 Modules is a slip-cast white stoneware sculpture by Portland native John Rogers, mounted at the parking garage on Southwest Yamhill Street between Southwest 9th and 10th Avenues in downtown Portland. It measures 4 feet by 23 feet by 5 inches, a long, thin white relief of rectangular modules fixed to the garage wall.

John Rogers, a local Portland artist, created this sculpture in 1979 as his first public art project. The work was funded by a government program aimed at supporting employment and placing art in public spaces throughout the community.

The title counts the 118 slip-cast white stoneware units that make up the work, mounted on the parking garage wall. Rogers, a Portland native and Portland State University graduate, made it his first public commission, funded by CETA. Look for the seams where the modules meet.

The sculpture hangs on the parking garage at Southwest Yamhill Street between Southwest 9th and 10th Avenues in downtown Portland. It is 23 feet (7.0 m) long and only 5 inches (0.13 m) deep, so it reads best from the street side rather than from inside the garage. Approach along Yamhill to see the full length.

The work was created using slip-casting, a ceramic technique typically used for smaller pieces, but applied here at large scale. This unusual manufacturing method shows Rogers' ability to expand traditional craft techniques and reimagine them for public art installations.