The Responsibility of Raising a Child

People looking for something different will find light in The Responsibility of Raising a Child sculpture. It is located right next to Pioneer Place in the heart of Downtown Portland. The look of it is very polished, almost akin to a good newspaper cartoon. It is incredibly detailed, however the meaning will be up to each viewer to decide for themselves.
I walked up to the sculpture after exiting the Pioneer Place food court. There are many ways to interpret the sculpture, but I interpreted it as creatures sacrificing themselves to the carnivorous birds in order to save a child. An interesting dog carries what looks like severed heads all over it, while a child is in a basket on the dog’s back. The bird on top is in some way attacking what is potentially the child’s parents, hopefully not carrying them to their death.
The bird appears in a portrait position trying to do something that we are rooting against. What was great is that this sculpture has action. It is sitting still, but can still evoke the ultimate from a moving picture, otherwise known as a movie. I often thought of Rome’s founding myth of Romulus and Remus where a creature saves the orphaned children who would go on to found the Rome which became the Roman Empire.
Searching for adventure can lead you to The Responsibility of Raising a Child.

Oregonian Rick Bartow made this sculpture in 2004. Good thing for the title otherwise I would have had no idea what it was about, It is cool looking though. Just outside the mall I thought it was fitting with the huge load of purchases… It has lots of details (according to reviews it is of Native American symbols). It does look good all together though I would feel bad for the wolf? at the bottom.