Bell Circles II, Bronze bell installation at Oregon Convention Center, Portland, US.
Bell Circles II is an outdoor bronze temple bell by an unknown Japanese artist, housed in a brick and granite pagoda outside the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. It is part of Robert Coburn's sound installation Bell and Wind Environment, alongside Korean Temple Bell.
The bell was presented to Portland in February 1990 by the city of Sapporo, Japan as a symbol of their sister city relationship. This gift commemorated the partnership between the two cities through a permanent public artwork.
Bell Circles II is one of two bells in Robert Coburn's sound installation Bell and Wind Environment, the other being a Korean temple bell. The bronze bell itself was made by an unknown Japanese artist and given by the people of Sapporo, Portland's sister city, as a gift of friendship.
The bell stands in a brick and granite pagoda outside the Oregon Convention Center, near the building's exterior rather than in a lobby, so it can be viewed from the surrounding public walkway. The Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey of July 1993 rated its condition as "treatment needed".
The bell is one of two parts of Robert Coburn's sound installation Bell and Wind Environment, the other being Korean Temple Bell. Some Portland residents objected to the bell's religious symbolism and to its placement outside a public building. In July 1993 the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program surveyed it and rated its condition as "treatment needed".
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