This Maine artist is bringing Morse code to the Old Port 3%
7/31/2026, 6:02:18 AM
Keywords: Morse Code, Public Art, Old Port, Portland, Maine, Artist, Installation, Tempoart, Josh Brill
BS Summary: This article contains 7 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Unattributed Quote, and Begging the Question, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 12.7% saturation with 75 hits. Analysis detected 267 faulty-reasoning hits from 589 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 14.3% and a BS Rank of 3% (22,169 of 22,840 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 97.10% of the article peer group.
PORTLAND – Though artist Josh Brill has lived in the Old Port for about 17 years, his first public art installation in Portland will be appearing this summer.
Unlike traditional public art like a sculpture or mural painted on a building, Brill’s piece will include art spread across the vertical surfaces of two stairways, guiding pedestrians through the Old Port using Morse code.
Brill said that working on an art piece in the area was both meaningful and convenient.
“This is so close to my house,” he said.
“I go up these stairs all the time.”
When Brill heard about the open call by Old Port Square and local nonprofit TEMPOart, he felt inspired to apply in part because of the challenge of designing on stairs.
He thought that a repeating abstract pattern would work well, but Morse code would be more interesting and thought-provoking.
Morse code also has a history in Maine, where it was used nautically until the late ’90s.
The art piece, set to be installed later this summer, will be featured in the Old Port for approximately two years, depending on how the vinyl holds up to the weather and foot traffic.
This isn’t TEMPOart’s first art installation.
The nonprofit, which was founded ten years ago, has commissioned several other temporary public artworks throughout Portland.
Last year, they began a collaboration with Old Port Square, a project by real estate business East Brown Cow and design firm Safdie Architects.
McDermit said that Brill’s Portland roots appealed to TEMPOart, as did his vision of telling a navigational story through Morse code.
Brill has designed for prominent brands like Nike, Lowe’s, and Petco.
His art and design label, Lumadessa, features geometric illustrations of flora and fauna.
Brill’s artwork in Old Port will be divided into three narrative phases – including two murals, wrapped lamp posts, and the stairs – all of which involve QR codes that will help guide the viewer through an immersive experience.
As pedestrians climb the stairs, the narrative arc of the artwork will be resolved.
Brill said that he wanted to keep the resolution of the story a secret, but that it offers perspective to the Old Port’s current community by contrasting it with its history.
The narrative is open-ended and invites viewers to reflect on the community and history of the Old Port themselves.
Jacob Soley, who is the director of development at East Brown Cow, one of the organizations behind Old Port Square, said that he, like McDermit, appreciated Brill’s ties to the region.
Brill said that part of the history of the Old Port that he found especially compelling was the Great Fire of 1866.
“Everything got rebuilt in two years.
And you had to have come together as a community.
Everybody helping out everybody to make this a thing.
While you’re probably bringing outside people, you’re helping your neighbor.
You’re doing what it takes.
It’s really galvanizing it through the struggles and trying to make something better coming from that tragedy,” said Brill.
Though a project based on history must include tragedies like the Great Fire, Brill said that he also wants to show the positive parts of the Old Port’s history as well.
“I also like the idea of just showing something that grows and is ever-changing,” said Brill, adding that viewing the ups and down in history and the present day can allow us to think of the city and our own lives with more perspective.
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