e-News from City of San Jose Public Art Program

From August through November this year, San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose between Diridon Station and the San Jose Museum of Art, will feature a series of temporary public art projects focused on the theme of the 01SJ Biennial, "Build Your Own World." The San Jos� Public Art Program, in association with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and ZER01 have commissioned six temporary artworks in diverse technology-supported media. The purpose of the program is to enhance and enliven/animate this important transit corridor for the hundreds of pedestrians, cyclists, bus riders and drivers that travel it daily. The artworks can be enjoyed by all who work, live or visit downtown San Jose.

The projects are:

A Champion Flock of Weed Eaters

Artist: Jed Berk

Diridon Green and citywide

Artist rendering: *A Champion Flock of Weed Eaters*.

Jed Berk's installation at Diridon Green uses the concept of a flock of sheep to reflect on the stewardship of land in urban space. The project is comprised of four main components: a flock of miniature nomadic sheep, a "green" Barn with a Mother Sheep, a shepherd, and the public. Situated on Diridon Station Green will be a "green" barn that acts as mobile housing for the transitory flock of sheep and as an informational hub for the project. Housed inside the barn is the stationary Mother Sheep. She contains a display that cycles through images of the smaller sheep which will be taken throughout the city by a group of urban 'shepherds'. Shepherds will guard the flock and encourage members of the public to take the sheep to "graze" throughout the city and will transmit images of the sheep back to the Mother Sheep to share information on their grazing patterns. The shepherds will be onsite during festivals that occur from late summer to early fall, including the 01SJ Biennial.

The Poetics of Dis-Communication

Artist: Patrick Manning

San Fernando VTA station, and southeast corner of Market and San Fernando

Artist rendering: kiosk, The Poetics of Dis-Communication.

The Poetics of Dis-Communicationwill generate poetry from sounds and images in the environment. It will use publicly displayed text and will also translate ambient images from the surroundings to create 'poems'. These will be presented in a steel monolith that contains a 52" monitor along with a webcam, speakers, computer, and other hardware. The kiosks will be located at the San Fernando VTA light rail station and in front of San Jose Museum of Art.

In creating poems, the webcam will be positioned to record images from the areas surrounding the each kiosk. In turn, the computer will constantly analyze images of moving objects and attempt to 'read' them for text.

All poems produced will be archived on the web and available to the public.

A Floating World:

A Camping Ground/Tent City for Displaced Human and Bird Songs

Artists: Robin Lasser & Marguerite Perret

San Fernando Street and Highway 87

Artists' rendering of A *Floating World*.

A Floating World is a group of five "tent encampment" sculpture installations cantilevered off the Guadalupe River Park overpass on the south

side of San Fernando Street, appearing to "float" above the water. The artwork installation is at a site where the built human world and nature converge, exploring connections between both and seeking a sustainable balance for both worlds. Each encampment is comprised of multiple tents made of durable fabric and metal that will be animated with sound and light. The tent designs are fashioned after FEMA relief shelters, but are scaled for birds.

In the sound element of the artwork, the use of modified bird songs alludes to the health of the watershed; the water composition and scientist interviews refer to the health of the river, the flood plane below the bridge and the potential relationship of flooding to climate change. In this regard, the sculptural tents provide sanctuary or shelter for bird and human song, water compositions, and interviews with scientists who speak about the Guadalupe Watershed, birds, flooding, and the relationship of floods to climate change.

The sound installations are activated as pedestrians walk along the sidewalk passing each encampment, in the evening, outdoor LED lights, installed inside each of the tents, are also activated. The sound installations are interactive: viewers are encouraged to speak into designated microphones; their voices will affect the broadcast sound elements.

Mobile Arts Platform (MAP)

Artists: Peter Foucault & Chris Treggiari

Various locations

Artist rendering of Mobile Arts Platform vehicle.

The Mobile Arts Platform (MAP) is comprised of two large-scale, interactive sculptures that are "activated" by a mobile exhibitions program. MAP brings together Peter Foucault's Fal-Core Van and Chris Treggiari's Mobile Store; these will appear in locations throughout the San Fernando Corridor. MAP events will include film screenings, visual art display and making, performance art, live music, and will feature local talent from throughout the Bay Area. In essence, they will build a temporary, creative microcosm where community and creativity can intersect and flourish.

The artists are displaying MAP in San Jose on a number of occasions August through September 2010. The events include a Community Mural creation event at City View Plaza in which MAP will sponsor a community-engaged mural painting project around the theme of "Build Your Own World" in August; September 16-19 as part of the 01SJ Biennial MAP will set up a multimedia stage for AbsoluteZero that brings together spoken word artists, a robot interface art creator, computerized animation, and music in an exploration of enhanced creativity.

Particle Falls

Artists: Andrea Polli & Chuck VargaParticle Falls is a project Northeast corner of San Fernando and Almaden

Artists' rendering of Particle Falls.

Particle Falls is a project that examines the subject of air quality by generating a large scale, projected image that is a data visualization of the amount of particulate matter in the air. The projection, in the form of a waterfall of light, will be on the fa�ade of the AT&T Building on the northeast corner of Almaden and Market Streets. The project will use real-time air monitoring to educate the public and encourage

improved air quality through new transportation options and congestion mitigation.

Air, although invisible, has a major impact on public health. Santa Clara County received a failing grade for air quality in the American Lung Association's 2009 State of the Air Report. The artists are collaborating with air quality scientists, science agencies, designers and engineers to produce the artwork, combining public art with online media to create public interaction around the air quality issue. Web and cell phone access to details on the monitoring will also be provided.

Flag

Artist Leo Villareal

Southeast corner of San Fernando and Market, north fa�ade of museum

*Flag*, artist Leo Villareal.

Flag, an LED-based artwork, will be installed on the north fa�ade of the San Jose Museum of Art prior to the 01SJ Biennial and will remain on display through the Leo Villareal exhibit at SJMA, on display through January 9, 2011.

Flag is a dynamic representation of the American flag, a potent symbol of national identity. Villareal's Flag was created in 2008, during the months leading up to the election of Barack Obama, the nation's first African American president. Villareal sees the flag not as a static, immutable icon, but rather as a symbol of transition and change. The artist programmed the LED tubes that compose this light sculpture to flicker from bright to dark, from abstract patterns to hints of the Stars and Stripes.