91ÊÓƵ

The Oregonian’s Molly Harbarger was : the giant baby-faced deer statue, a project in consideration as a “public art” portion of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project, has been killed. Apparently the artist had to back away, so a plaza in unincorporated Clackamas County has been deprived of “Rebirth’s” disturbing fantastical whimsy.

And why? According to this memo from TriMet, the artist Seyed Alavi pulled the project from consideration because of technical and financial reasons – materials that would have been sturdy enough for such a public sculpture were more expensive than the art budget allocated by TriMet for the project.

As we all know, I love this statue. I love it a lot. And I think we can save it.

There are lots of places in Portland that could use some beautification, and a little public art can go a long way. Our photographer and Photoshop expert Sam Tenney and I put together this set of “photo illustrations” to show you what we mean.

More ideas after the jump!

What do you think? Where should we put this statue? Or alternatively… could you design something to go in its place?

Portland building photo from on flickr, OccupyPortland camp photo from on flickr. 419 “grid” building photo by Sam Tenney, Park Avenue West photo from the 91ÊÓƵ archives.