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ARTWORKS ENLIVEN TWO NEW FIRE STATIONS |
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New works touch on whimsy, history, and reflection
San José will soon celebrate the grand opening of two new fire stations and at both a signature public artwork will provide a distinctive character. Fire Station #12 features Spring-Tailed Dalmatian by artist Gerald Heffernon; Fire Station #17 features artist Gordon Huether's artwork The Fuel Tank.
 Artist Heffernon's Spring-Tailed Dalmatian plays on the classic image of a firehouse dog, of which Dalmatians have been a favored breed since the days of horse-drawn fire vehicles when they were used to manage the horses. Heffernon's sculpture is 13 feet high, in painted bronze with a brass pole and decorative concrete "landing pad." The dog appears to be descending a firepole, but with a whimsical twist: the dog's tail is coiled like a spring to soften the landing. Neighbor Sharon Sweeney whose home has a direct view of the fire station, says "I get my daily dose of smiles when I drive or walk by the Firehouse Dog art at Station 12. He's our neighborhood mascot."
 In The Fuel Tank, artist Gordon Huether brings together a mirror-polished aluminum recycled jet fuel tank and pieces of dichroic glass to create a 20' sculpture that suggests a cool, abstracted flame. Dichroic glass is highly light sensitive and shifts in color dependant on the angle of viewing and direction of light. The sculpture is highly reflective, both in the sheen of the aluminum and the colored reflection of the dichroic glass. Through the day, sunlight interacts with the glass to create moving patterns of colored light on the ground; by night, lit from within, The Fuel Tank glows.
Community members were involved in each of these projects, helping to shape a vision for the artwork and providing input to the artist. We thank them for their important role in the projects development.
Fire Station 12 is located at the intersection of Calero and Cahalan Streets.
Fire Station 17 is located at 5170 Coniston Way at Blossom Hill Road. |
| PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE MEETING |
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Next Meeting: October 21, 2008 - 5:30 PM
The Public Art Committee 's regular monthly meeting is Tuesday, October 21 at 5:30 PM. The following action and discussion items are on the meeting agenda:
- Kit of Parts Artist Roster: Review and take action on a recommendation by a professional panel to approve artists to the pre-qualified Kit of Parts Artist Roster. (Citywide)
- Conservation: Update on public art maintenance and conservation. (Citywide)
The Public Art Committee, a sub-committee of the Arts Commission, is advisory to the Commission and to San José City Council. The Public Art Committee monitors and provides oversight in the artist selection, development and design review of public art projects throughout the City.
The Public Art Committee meeting is in City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street. This month's meeting is in Council Wing Room W-119. The meeting is open to the public.
To view a printable copy of the full, detailed meeting agenda and related documents, please go to: www.sanjoseculture.org |
| CITY WORKS TO MAINTAIN ITS PUBLIC ART |
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| Maintenance and conservation efforts brighten 30 artworks
There are more than 200 artworks in the City's public art collection. These are created from a wide range of materials and often located outdoors. Over time the artworks require both ongoing maintenance and conservation to ensure that the collection continues to be an asset to the City and a source of pride for its residents.
The San José Public Art Program has initiated a maintenance program to ensure the life of artworks. To do this, the SJPA is working with Andy Smith, an art conservation technician who has completed general maintenance on over 30 artworks since September and will continue do more throughout the fall season. Below is an example showing an artwork before, with graffitti tagging, and after, restored by his handy work; also, a view of the conservation technician in action.
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| TWO NEW SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART BUS TOURS! |
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| Limited seats available on a "first come" basis - Sign up now!
It's time for the San José Public Art Program's 2008 Public Art Bus Tours. Scheduled in conjunction with the monthly "1st Friday" civic celebration of art in San José, the San José Public Art Program will conduct two Public Art Bus Tours in the coming weeks, as follows:
Friday, November 7: A tour of selected public art projects in south and western San José. Time: 1:00 - 5:30 PM
Friday, December 5: A tour of selected public art projects in south and eastern San José. Time: 1:00 - 5:30 PM.
The tours are free, but seats are limited and will be available on a "first come" basis.
Please put "Public Art Tour" in the Subject line of your e-mail and in yur e-mail, please tell us your name, phone, and which tour you wish to join. If you would like to attend both, please be sure to tell us which is your 1st choice and 2nd choice.
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| PUBLIC EVENTS |
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Meetings, Dedications, Celebrations, Lectures, Exhibits & More
Current listings for October-November as of newsletter distribution
OCTOBER 2008
GREAT SPEAKER SERIES: "Sustainable Urbanism" featuring Doug Farr, Chair, U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Neighborhood Development.
Sustainable Urbanism is gaining wide interest and attention as a pattern of settlement superior to todays climate changing sprawl. Defined as walkable, transit-served urbanism integrated with high performance buildings and infrastructure. This sustainable reform is the subject of a national campaign to become the dominant pattern of development in the US by 2030. Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature, will explore how the integration of sustainable urbanist patterns and thresholds can be used to design sustainable neighborhoods and sustainable corridors. Doug will review a range of case studies to demonstrate how we can change the built environment to benefit generations to come. Doug is the president of Farr Associates.
DATE/TIME: Monday, October 20, 6:00 - 7:00 PM.
LOCATION: San José Repertory Theater, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San José, 95113.
(Great Speaker Series events are free, but it is necessary to reserve a free ticket. Go to www.1stact.org for more information on free tickets and on the Great Speakers Series.)
GREAT SPEAKER SERIES: "The Power of Zero: The Mayan Key to Vibrant Communities" featuring
Luis Valdez; playwright, film maker, educator
Luis Valdez worked with Cesar Chavez and founded El Teatro Campesino in 1965 on the picket lines of the Delano Grape Strike. Regarded as the father of Chicano theater and film, his work includes Zoot Suit and La Bamba. One of the founding professors of California State University at Monterey Bay, he launched the Institute for Teledramatic Arts and Technology. As an artist/activist and community organizer, his unique Mayan perspective on integrating THE POWER OF ZERO into the performances of daily life unleashes the creative faculties of children, adults and the community at large. The Mayan design of cities as ceremonial centers allowed for the vibrancy of their humanity. Linking the arts with science and mathematics, this key to our universal vibrant being is a provocative map for the multi-cultural communities of the future.
DATE/TIME: Monday, November 3, 6:00 - 7:00 PM.
LOCATION: San José Repertory Theater, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San José, 95113.
(Great Speaker Series events are free, but it is necessary to reserve a free ticket. Go to www.1stact.org for more information on free tickets and on the Great Speakers Series.)
For additional art activities that you can enjoy in October and November, please see "ONGOING EXHIBTIONS" listings, below.
2008 SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART BUS TOUR #1 - SELECTED SOUTHWEST AREA PROJECTS
DATE/TIME: Friday, November 7, 1:00 - 5:30 PM
LOCATION: A free bus tour, but reservations are required. Seating is limited. Please see article above for more details.
SAVE THE DATE! DEDICATION OF SHOW YOUR STRIPES, a new artwork by Jim Conti.
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, November 19, 5:00 PM.
LOCATION: The 88, downtown San José's new luxury residential highrise. S. 2nd and San Fernando Streets.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
CITY WINDOWS GALLERY
OUT OF THE FIRE, the newly-opened exhibition in City Windows Gallery, the exhibit space located in the windows along the S. 4th Street façade of City Hall . Out of the Fire features the work of artists from the Bay Area Glass Institute in San José. Curated by Kathryn Funk. On display through December 1.
CITY HALL EXHIBITION PROGRAM - 3 NEW EXHIBITS
SPEED CITY - FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO BLACK POWER: an exhibition presented in conjunction with History San José that presents a broad view of context of the runners, their lives and their controversial actions during the 1968 Olympics, curated by Urla Hill. On exhibit in the Council Wing 1st Floor Corridor Gallery through March 30, 2009.
SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES - PUBLIC ART IN SAN JOSE: An exhibition highlighting a range of aspects of public art in San José, many of which are usually not seen. On exhibit in the City Hall Tower Foyer Gallery through February 2009.
POSTCARDS FROM LAKE CUNNINGHAM: Vintage images from a beloved historic San José location, on display in the 18th Floor Lobby Gallery (Tower) through July 2009.
WHO'S ON 1ST/WHAT'S ON 2ND: Profiled in the June '08 Special Edition of SJ Public Art News, some of the temporary exhibitions in Who's On 1st/What's On 2nd continue thru the Fall along the Downtown San José Transit Mall:
Hector Dio Mendoza's Cultural Citizen multimedia project explores what it means to be a "cultural citizen" in San José. The work includes a website, posters and banners along 1st & 2nd Streets. A major new element, the "Cultural Citizen Tree" was installed in St. James Park in July, 2008. For more information and inter-active elements of the project go to the Cultural Citizen website at www.culturalcitizen.org. Ongoing through the year's end.
Bill Fontana's Sonic Cascades broadcasts the live sounds of the bells of Trinity Cathedral, 81 N. 2nd, creating a sound sculpture that interacts with the urban landscape. It can be heard along N. Second Street and features combination of some traditional bell music and minimalist composition by Fontana. Sonic Cascades will be featured on a continuing basis.
JD Beltran's Downtown Mirror features four video projections within storefronts and building windows reflecting both the local environment and the rich demographic and historical atmosphere of the downtown. Text from recent interviews and historic texts are superimposed on the videos revealing a fascinating time-spanning portrait of the downtown. Continuing thru the end of October, Downtown Mirror video projections can be viewed in the following locations: in two storefront windows adjacent to Zanotto's at The Globe Residential Community located at 25 S. 3rd Street, at 38 2nd Street, and in a small storefront window on the Paseo De San Antonio, adjacent to Camera 12 Cinemas.
Please go to www.w1w2.org for more details about these projects. |
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TWO FUN WAYS TO EXPLORE PUBLIC ART IN DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE |
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Create your own walking tour!
Here are two ways you can enjoy public art in Downtown San José.
DOWNTOWN PUBLIC ART MAP
The San José Public Art Program publishes a colorful, informative map of public art projects in downtown San José. The Downtown Public Art Map is a fun and easy ways to see public in downtown San José. You can create your own walking tour and include opportunities to stop and enjoy other features in the district including museums, galleries and restaurants.
RECOLECCIONES: THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. LIBRARY PUBLIC ART COLLECTION
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library includes an award-winning collection of more than 34 site-specific public artworks in locations throughout the library. Finding them is a process of exploration, discovery and is filled with surprises! A free colorful detailed brochure is available from the San José Public Art Program that will help you appreciate this extraordinary collection.
You can request a free copy of the Downtown Public Art Map or the Recolecciones - Library Art Collection brochure. Please e-mail your request to publicart@sanjoseca.gov, and include your mailing address.
You can also access a printable pdf version of the Downtown Public Art Map on the Public Art webpage of the Office of Cultural Affairs website at San Jose Downtown Public Art Map. |
| MISS AN ISSUE OF SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART? FIND IT NOW ONLINE! |
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Visit the online archive to view past issues!
Current and past issues of San Jose Public Art can now be viewed on the Office of Cultural Affairs website on the Public Art webpages.
Go to www.sanjoseculture.org. |
| MORE TO COME IN SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART! |
San José Public Art is the way to keep connected and informed. Please stay with us for future editions.
We welcome your comments, ideas and suggestions. You can e-mail us at publicart@sanjoseca.gov.
Please forward this to people you know who might like to keep informed about public art in San José.
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