Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr brings An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum.
"An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum offers a view into Michael’s ongoing activities at Jefferson High School, which swirl around the 2020 Modernizations Bond that voters passed in the efforts of “transforming the historic Jefferson High School into a modernized 21st century center of learning.” How do we care for the history of Portland’s historic Black high school? What is the archival language of a high school? And most important to Michael, how can art offer young people access to tools and technologies for their future?
Since 2022, Michael has created situations for students to encounter and relate with Jefferson High School’s past via yearbooks and other material culture. These gatherings have never been just about the past, but how Jeff’s students can imagine future selves and impact the new school. An Attempt at Representing a Spectrum shares a slice of results in process. Sculptures that malfunction as Jefferson High School’s archives, yet hold the ideals of honoring and preservation. Through transformations of historic photos to architectural ceramic tiles and 3D scans, to 3D prints, to bronze casts, the objects on display utilize the process and materials of public monuments for those who are either willfully ignored or purposefully forgotten."
At PPSTMM 323 NE Wygant #203. 4PM-6 Free
