sonicdeath.jpg

Someone has vandalized TriMet's "Sonic Dish" under the soon-to-open Tilikum Crossing.

(Mark Graves/The Oregonian)

And this, Portland, is why we can't have nice things – or at least things that look they were repurposed from a 1970s self-storage unit abandoned by David Bowie.

A spray-painting vandal has turned "Sonic Dish," the disco-ball-esque public art installation under the east end of Portland's Tilikum Crossing, into a giant smiley face. Judging from the signature, it's apparently the work of "Grovie V-Cat."

The city's newest Willamette Bridge isn't even open yet. But let's be honest: Grovie probably won't be the last person to disrespect the $70,000 tax-funded piece of art. I mean, TriMet did install it next to a public path in the shadow of a bridge.

The work of artists Anna Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis, the 24-by-12-foot parabolic reflector covered in one-inch stainless steel penny tiles is supposed to amplify ambient sounds under the $134.6 million bridge.

No word from TriMet on how they plan to restore the dish to its former glory or whether the smiley face disrupts the sonic amplifying.

Updated: Trimet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said the agency is aware of the vandalism. "Crews will use standard graffiti removal product such as that used on traffic barricades," she said in an email. "Art features typically deter graffiti, and by removing the graffiti quickly, it sends a message that this is not a place to vandalize."

-- Joseph Rose