East Williams Street Murals
New Mural on New Construction
Looking forward to walking up close when this area is opened. What is it about these colors and patterns that makes them so attractive?
RBG on a Beautiful Day
Mural by artist and scientist Chuba Oyolu (https://chubaoyolu.org/about/).
Backesto Park
This was my local park growing up. It was”the park” to me and it is fascinating to time travel through memory to be here now. This handball court wall was here then though this mural was not. I have not yet found out about this artist though the mural is signed KML. I appreciate the words written under it by the artist:
“FINDING Santuario ~ IT’S JUST a WALK en el parque”
Finding Sanctuary ~ it’s just a walk in the park.
This monument was there long before I was. Those tiles were created by S&S, the historical Solon and Schemmel Tile Company of San Jose of the 20’s and 30’s that is now Stonelight Tile in San Jose. This monument at Backesto Park is the oldest public work using their tiles. Later famous works of theirs include the Hearst Castle.
An interesting read about the tile company is here: https://stonelighttile.com/handmade/
Hands at the Airport
When you drive by the San Jose Airport you will see more than 50 hands of Silicon Valley residents waving hello and goodbye and raising to the sky on the mural called Hands.
Whose hands were used for this art?: “Participating community members represent a spectrum of the South Bay’s population, including a tamale maker and a surgeon, teachers and students, technologists and construction workers, musicians and poets, parents and children, police officers and fire fighters.” (https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/hands)
Artist Christian Moeller designed the mural on the parking garage that is constructed of hundreds of thousands of plastic pixels affixed to a metal fence hung on the parking garage. (https://christianmoeller.com/Hands-1)
Murals on the Barriers
These murals done by San Jose artist Nikkea Takagi.
First Street Early Weekday Morning Walk
Underpass Murals Complete
These came out beautiful. You can see the post I made of these murals when they were still in progress here: https://825mph.com/underpass-murals. It is wonderful to see a little of how they became what they are now.
These four murals under West San Carlos Street on Dupont Street were created by artist Jesse Hernandez (http://www.jessehernandez.net/about.html).
Coffee on 1st Street
This mural above is by artist Ricardo Gonzalez (Ricardo Gonzalez : Design (ricardogonzalezdesign.com) and is found inside of Nirvana Soul coffee shop; a great place to enjoy coffee, the environment, San Jose, and art. Enjoying the changing works by various artists on display is a great way to learn of artists and works you may not be familiar with. Be sure to go upstairs in the back to see more of the art on display.
Guadalupe River Trail Mural
You certainly will not ignore it; it is bright. It does a good job of welcoming you to the trail as intended. You might look to notice more and see a fun mural. If you want to get greater amusement out of it, I highly recommend that you speak aloud and say what you see.
Is that a palm tree skateboarding with a fanny pack on? Yes, yes it is.
Hey look, a cattail eating a hotdog is bringing up the back of an extra long tandem bicycle. Why is the bird in front of him/her wearing a beret? I don’t know. Did I mention the cattail eating a hotdog?
The mural is called “Do You Know The Way To San Jose’s Guadalupe River Trail?” by Kristina Micotti. (https://kristinamicotti.com/ , https://www.powwowsanjose.com/2020-artists-murals-1 )