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Welcome to San José Public Art, the online newsletter of the City of San José's Public Art Program
San José Public Art provides current information about the development of San José public art projects including the items that will be reviewed each month by the City's Public Art Committee.
San José Public Art also provides news about upcoming events and activities, and informational features on different aspects of public art in San José. |
PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE MEETING |
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Next Meeting: February 19, 2008 - 5:30 PM
The monthly meeting of the Public Art Committee is Tuesday, February 19 at 5:30 PM. The Committee will review and take action on the following projects:
- Fire Station #36: Design Development (District 8)
- Seven Trees Library & Community Center: Design Development: Interior/Library Project (District 7)
- Who's on 1st?/What's On 2nd?: Design Development for project by Chip Lord and Bruce Tomb Zocalito project (District 3/Citywide)
The Arts Commission's Public Art Committee is a sub-committee, advisory to the Commission and to City Council. The Public Art Committee is charged with monitoring and providing oversight in the artist selection, development and design review of public art projects throughout the City.
The February Public Art Committee meeting will be held in City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, on the 5th Floor of the Tower, Room T-550. (PLEASE NOTE: This is a location change for this month only.)
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UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS |
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Meetings, Dedications, Celebrations, & More
Current listings as of newsletter distribution time
FEBRUARY 2008
Monday, February 18, 2:00 - 3:30 pm
- Sonic Cascade - Bells of Trinity Concert: a special President's Day performance in conjunction with Bill Fontana's Sonic Cascade sound sculpture, a special project that plays on bell tones from the historic Trinity Episcopal Church. Sonic Cascade was commissioned as part of the Who's on 1st/What's on 2nd temporary art projects along the Downtown San Jose Transit Mall.
LOCATION: The work can be heard in the area around Trinity Episcopal Church, along 2nd Street between St. James and Santa Clara Sts., and in the areas of St. James Park closest to the Church. Presented by Trinity Bell Ringers in association with artist Bill Fontana.
Monday, February 25, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
- (New) Calabazas Branch Library: Community input and visioning meeting, including public art. LOCATION: Calabazas Library - 1230 Blaney Ave., San José 95129. This Community meeting is hosted by the San José Public Library. For additional meeting information call (408) 535-8450.
Tuesday, February 26, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
- Mineta San José International Airport - Rental Car Garage - "Meet the Artist: Christian Moeller" meeting. LOCATION: Airport Administration Offices - 1732 North First Street, Suite 400, San José 95112. For more information call (408) 277-5144 ext 16.
MARCH 2008
Monday , March 3. 7:00 -8:00 PM
- Berryessa Creek Park - "Meet the Artist: Wowhaus", a community meeting with the artist team for a site specific work in the park. LOCATION: Majestic Way Elementary School - Multipurpose Room, 1855 Majestic Way near Isadora, San José 95132. This meeting is hosted by the North Valley Community Association. (District 4)
Saturday, March 15, 1:00 - 2:00 PM
- Public Dedication/Celebration of Soaring Flight, a commemorative artwork by Kent Roberts in honor of historic San José figure John J. Montgomery, a major flight and avionics pioneer. LOCATION: Evergreen Park, corner of Yerba Buena & San Felipe Roads, San José 95135 (District 8)
Additional details to be provided in the March newsletter.
ONGOING EXHIBITION WHO'S ON 1ST?/WHAT'S ON 2ND?
Profiled in last month's newsletter, several of the temporary exhibitions along the Downtown San José Transit Mall continue in February and March:
>JD Beltran's Downtown Mirror and Hector Dio Mendoza's Cultural Citizen projects are on display
> Bill Fontana's Bells of Trinity sound sculpture is playing on bell tones from the historic Trinity Episcopal Church.
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PUBLIC ART ENLIVENS TWO NEW FACILITIES IN SOUTH SAN JOSE |
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Projects at Edenvale Library and Fire Station #35 reflect elements of local history and nature
Much of San José's public art is created in neighborhoods and communities throughout the city, in the new libraries, community centers, fire stations and other facilities. Artists for these projects work with community members to develop a shared vision for qualities that will give the artwork local relevance and meaning.
Public art features prominently in each of two new facilities that recently opened in south San José.
EDENVALE LIBRARY: Web of Native Botanicals
Artist Troy Corliss and collaborating glass artist Elin Christopherson created artwork for the new Edenvale Library.
Input from the Edenvale community to the artist clearly emphasized their strong affinity for the historic natural beauty of the region. Building on this, the artist conceived a work intended bring an experience of the natural world to the inside of the Library, inspired by a vision of the region's natural environment through time and history.
The resulting artwork, Web of Native Botanicals, is a suspended canopy of glass and steel plant forms; these emanate in clusters around the central column that rises through the center of the Library's Marketplace. The canopy floats like a huge bouquet, cascading into the upper vaulted space of the room. Four different native plants are represented: redbud, purple needle grass, California buckwheat and black walnut.

The artist hopes the artwork will inspire people to further explore San José's beautiful natural environment.
LOCATION: Edenvale Library is located at 101 Branham Lane, San José, CA 95111.
FIRE STATION 35: Lineage
Artwork at the new Fire Station #35 was created by artists Tom Drugan & Laura Haddad
Entitled Lineage, the artwork is composed of three sculptural elements, "Strata Wall", "Tule Reed Drain", and "Community Beacons". These form a connective link between Fire Station 35 and the nearby Southside Community Center. The universally sustaining elements of water and light play an important role in the artwork.
Strata Wall, a central element of the artwork, is constructed in horizontal layers. Each side of the wall suggests a thematic "history" in a sort of vertical timeline. One side of the Strata Wall addresses the natural and social history of the area. It contain layers that start with fossils and minerals, then assorted artifacts from prehistoric times through historic eras including the early ranchos, agricultural, cinnabar mining, and railroad eras, and finally, elements from the tech industry and IBM plant that helped usher in the San José of today. The other side of the wall honors fire fighting; it features tools and equipment, from vintage and antique to new, that are associated with fire fighters and fire fighting.

Tule Reed Drain is in the form of an open grove of mirrored tule reeds, the tall marsh plant used extensively by the early Ohlone. Captured rainwater flows down the Tule Reed Drain into a runnel on top of the Strata Wall, and then cascades onto a splash stone and into the landscape.

Community Beacons are three sculptural, solar-powered beacons extend from the Tule Reed Drain to the Southside Community Center. Their form was inspired by the area's early carved log ladders called escaleras. Each beacon features a different back lit historic Edenvale image.
LOCATION: Fire Station 35 is located at 135 Poughkeepsie Rd, San José, CA 95119.
For more information about these projects and the artists, please contact us by e-mail at publicart@sanjoseca.gov |
CLIMATE CLOCK INITIATIVE SEEKS IDEAS FOR A MAJOR ARTWORK |
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Climate Change is Focus of 1st in a Series of New Global Projects ~ A "Call for Entries" Issued
The Climate Clock Global Initiative is seeking ideas from artist-led teams to create a major artwork entitled Climate Clock, which will measure changes in greenhouse gas levels, and be the first in a series of global projects calling attention to climate change. Climate Clock will be an instrument of long-term measurement and will collect data for 100 years. The artwork will be located in downtown San Jose, California, Silicon Valley's city center, and will be a collaboration between an artist-led team composed of artists, international and Silicon Valley engineers and other creative professionals who are working with climate measurement and data visualization. It is anticipated that the budget for the construction of Climate Clock will be between $5 and $15 million, depending upon the scope of the final proposal.
For a PDF of the Call For Entries, please you may click on this link: Climate Clock "Call for Entries" pdf or e-mail your request to PublicArt@sanjoseca.gov.
To apply, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to "Apply to Calls", and search for "San Jose Climate Clock".
The Climate Clock Initiative is a collaboration between FUSE: cadre/montalvo artist research residency initiative and the City of San Jose Public Art Program in cooperation with ZERO1. |
DID YOU KNOW?
THE "Downtown Public Art Map" IS A FUN AND EASY WAY TO SEE PUBLIC ART IN DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE |
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Create your own walking tour!
The Office of Cultural Affairs publishes a colorful, informative map of public art projects in downtown San José.
You can request a free copy: e-mail us at publicart@sanjoseca.gov, and include your mailing address, or you can access a printable pdf version of the Downtown Public Art Map at Public Art San Jose Downtown |
COMING ATTACTIONS IN SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART |
We
hope you
Please stay with us for future editions of San José Public Art. There are many exciting things coming up in the Spring and Summer of 2008. San Jose Public Art is the way to keep you connected.
In addition to keeping you up to date on meetings and news about public art in San José, we will adding informative new resouces. Coming soon will be an overview of public art works-in-progress in San José.
Please forward this to people you know who might like to keep informed about public art in San José.

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