Trigger 4

Trigger 4
The sculpture in front of the Studio Art Building on a snowy day in February 2014
Artist	Lee Kelly
Year	1979 (1979)
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Cor-Ten or mild steel
Dimensions	3.7 m × 4.7 m × 3.0 m (12 ft × 15.5 ft × 10 ft)
Condition	"Treatment needed" (1994)
Location	Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates	45°28′49″N 122°37′33″W / 45.48035°N 122.62578°W / 45.48035; -122.62578
Owner	Reed College

Trigger 4, also known as Trigger Four, is an outdoor 1979 steel sculpture by Lee Kelly, located on the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon.

Trigger 4 was designed by Lee Kelly and installed in front of the Studio Art Building on the Reed College campus in southeast Portland in 1979. Kelly had served as a visiting associate professor of art at Reed between 1976 and 1979.^[1] Like the Studio Art Building, the sculpture was donated to the college by John Gray, who served as chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his wife Betty.^[1]

The Cor-Ten or mild steel sculpture measures approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) x 15.5 feet (4.7 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) and contains an inscription of Kelly's signature and the number 79 on the bottom of the post on the sculpture's northwest side.^[2] The Smithsonian Institution describes the work as an abstract ("geometric") sculpture "whose primary forms are triangles and lines".^[2] Its condition was deemed "treatment needed" by Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in February 1994.^[2]

Following the sculpture's installation, Reed magazine questioned whether it depicted a Chinese character, a horse, or simply an abstract figure formed by lines and angles, saying "perhaps the beauty of the new Lee Kelly sculpture... is that it can evoke different images and meanings."^[1] The magazine also said the rust-colored sculpture provides a "striking contrast" to the blue roof and grey exterior walls of the newly constructed Studio Art Building.^[1]

• 1979 in art
• List of works by Lee Kelly