Tamar Monhait.
(Image by DANAVA)
As we wait to learn more about what happened in Monday morning’s fatal collision, I’ve tried to learn more about Tamar Monhait, the 41-year-old artist whose life was cut tragically short.
I went to Southeast Water and Taylor this morning to get a better sense of the intersection and have reached out to those who knew her.
The collision happened just a few feet from a bike corral, a Biketown station, and the street seats of Water Avenue Coffee Company. During the day this intersection is bustling with a mix of industrial truck traffic, walkers and bikers headed to and from the Eastbank Esplanade, patrons of the many popular cafes and bars in the area, and professionals headed to any one of the newly sprouted office buildings that are transforming the central eastside.
Little is known about precisely what happened, but from initial statements by the Portland Police Bureau, we know that Monhait was riding northbound on Water Avenue prior to the collision. She was probably in the freshly-painted bike lane as she approached the intersection with Taylor. It’s a standard, 5-foot wide, unprotected bike lane with no buffer and the striping ends before the intersection. There’s an auto parking lane to the right of the bike lane and a vehicle lane to the left. This is a major city bike route as evidenced by the bikeway signage telling riders to turn east on Taylor to reach northeast and southeast Portland.
The person driving the large dump truck was coming the other direction. Police say the driver turned left to go east on Taylor (from Water) prior to the collision. From a photograph on the KPTV website, the driver stopped the truck about 50 feet east of the bike lane Monhait was riding in. Monhait’s drop-bar road bicycle remained in the intersection.
Here’s my reconstruction based on KPTV’s image:
The only marks from investigation I could see were green lines that appeared to mark the skids of a bicycle tire that I assume was Monhait’s. The skid begins right at Taylor (just beyond where the bike lane striping ends) and continue to the middle of the intersection.
Perhaps based on those skidmarks, the Police statement makes it sound as though it was Monhait who rammed into the garbage truck. “While [the truck was] turning onto Southeast Taylor Street,” reads their statement, “a northbound bicyclist… collided with the side of the garbage truck.” The PPB followed that up with a statement that included this random admonition: “Traffic Division wishes to remind all bicyclists to wear an approved bicycle helmet. Additionally, bicyclists should operate with a front-facing white light and a rear-facing red light while operating a bicycle in low-light or dark conditions.”
I asked the investigator working the case why they made those statements. Officer Phillip Maynard said via email that, “We are still in the process of collecting information about the collision and examining evidence. At this point it is far too early to conclude anything about causation.” As usual the PPB says they must remain tight-lipped until the District Attorney’s office reviews the case (as they do with all fatalities). The investigator referred me to the PPB media person and I’ve been unable to reach him so far.
“She was a good soul, great artist and important member of our art community here in Portland.”
Meanwhile, friends of Monhait’s have set up a memorial for her at the corner. They’ve left a few pieces of chalk so others can share memories and regards.
Others have taken to Facebook to remember their friend.
Monhait was an artist and art curator originally from Chicago, Illinois. In 2009 her work was exhibited by Studio Nemo on Southeast Belmont. In a promotional post for the show they wrote this about her:
Tamar Monhait is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon. She was born and raised in Chicago and has spent time between the two cities studying Electrical Engineering and Art. Her work explores process, ritual, music mathematics, technology, and time. She has participated in group shows at Disjecta, Hall Gallery, PNCA, Mark Woolley, Jace Gace, and the Newberg Gallery at the Glasgow School of Art. She also had solo exhibitions at Stumptown Downtown.
Local independent art curator Marjorie Myers worked with Monhait. I messaged with her today and she wrote, “I am deeply saddened by the loss of Tamar. She was a lovely person — courageous in life and as a curator. Tamar had a deep knowledge and strong curatorial sensibility. I was thrilled and relieved by her presence in the Portland arts community. So many will miss her. She was a loyal and true friend.”
Here are a few other remembrances I found via Facebook:
“She was a good soul, great artist and important member of our art community here in Portland.”
(From a band called DANAVA) “She took the very first proper photo of us that appeared in our first album(that damn goblet had dry ice in it but failed to surface in the film haha). She was among the first people we befriended here and to boot, a fellow Illinoisian. She was an incredibly talented and bright human being and tragically, she was taken from us the other night. Words fail but those of us who knew her are in shock and extremely sad to know we’ll never see her again. Thank you for all the absolutely wonderful conversations and creations over the last 15 years, Tamar. I’m gonna miss making you laugh that incredible laugh you had, my friend. That and a whole lot more…….RIP”
“She was a beautiful part of Portland’s culture, and will be missed.”
“Tamar was lovely, fun and vibrant individual and one of the first I met in Portland. I remember her shows at the Vestibule, her spinning and serving drinks at the Aalto Lounge, fondly.”
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post Tamar Monhait: Photos from the intersection and remembrances from those who knew her appeared first on BikePortland.org.
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