News from City of San Jose Public Art Program

Public art is sometimes a catalyst for civic discourse; on occasion it can be the focal point for strong feelings and heated public debate. Like many other cities, San Jose has seen its share of controversy. What follows is the story of how the controversy around one artwork was the catalyst for the creation of others.

In 2002, nearly fourteen years after its completion, the City of San Jose dedicated a bronze sculpture (untitled) of Captain Thomas Fallon, the City's tenth mayor. Created by artist Robert Glen, the artwork is a depiction of Captain Fallon on horseback raising the American flag over the Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe, accompanied by an unnamed companion.

This was the City's first major art commission, and it ignited a firestorm of controversy. Some questioned the lack of public process involved in the commission as well as the academic form of the sculpture. But it was the image of Thomas Fallon that drew the most heated objections. Fallon, born in Ireland and raised in Canada; was an adventurer who briefly settled in Santa Cruz. In 1846, shortly after the beginning of the Mexican American War, he raised a small band of volunteer soldiers and captured Pueblo San Jose by raising the American flag there.

Community members, including some of San Jose's large Hispanic population, took exception to the heroic depiction of Fallon as well as to the one-dimensional view of the area's history and culture represented by the sculpture. In response to several months of intense debate, the Historic Art Advisory Committee was created to formulate a resolution. It was eventually decided that the sculpture of Fallon would be placed and dedicated only after four other monuments had been commissioned and completed, each of which would commemorate a different aspect of San Jose's richly diverse history. Today all five artworks can be seen as follows:

The Weaver's Gift (2001) by Alan Counihan. Stone elements in the style of Ohlone basketry and a listing of Ohlone trible groups in tribute to the original inhabitants of the area. Located in Confluence Park along the Guadalupe River near E. Santa Clara Street.

Commemoration of the Founding of the Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe (1996) by East Los Streetscapers. Made of tile, concrete and bronze elements, the artwork is four triangular columns and sidewalk insets that depict historic and cultural images; the columns are positioned on the primary compass points, which are marked in bronze in the sidewalk. Located at the junction of S. Market and S. 1st Streets in downtown San Jose.

Man of Fire (1998) by Kim Yasuda. A commemoration of the great influential teacher and civic leader Dr. Ernesto Galarza. It consists of a large bronze table containing text, photographic images and symbolic objects. It also includes a series of quotations in both Spanish and English, created of bronze inset in ribbons of terrazo along the length of the Paseo. Located on the Paseo between Market and 4th Streets, linking Cesar Chavez Plaza and San Jose State University.

Remembering Agriculture (1998) by Tony May is a tribute to San Jose's rich but rapidly vanishing agricultural heritage. It is located on E. Santa Clara Street at Highway 87. The artwork was featured in detail in the May 2009 newsletter, available in the Newsletter Archives. (Archive link is below.)

The Thomas Fallon sculpture is located in Pellier Park on Julian Street between Highway 87 and Market Street, near the location of the historic Pueblo.