Three magic benches are visible in this photo. Can you spot them?
I discovered three magic benches during my walk through Balboa Park this afternoon! All three are situated in front of the Old Globe Theatre, one of San Diego’s great cultural treasures.
How do I know these benches are magic? It’s very easy to see! Just examine the following photos, and read the captions!
The first bench is dedicated to that magical playwright Shakespeare! As you might recall, the Bard is associated with the original Globe Theatre, which was in London.The iconic face of William Shakespeare on the side of a fantastic public bench in Balboa Park’s Old Globe Courtyard. Sit here and be inspired!A jolly character from the Shakespeare comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor.A famous scene from Hamlet. Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy…The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego is where you want to see Shakespeare’s famous plays, including the tragedy Julius Caesar.Here’s the second magic bench. Looks ordinary? Don’t be deceived! Sit or lie here, and you might mysteriously be transported far away!And finally, the magic piano bench. Anybody can sit here and play music through January, courtesy of the San Diego Symphony’s PLAY ME: Pianos In Public Spaces event!
To learn more about the ten public pianos that have been placed around San Diego, check out my previous blog post!
To experience magic in wonderful Balboa Park, head over to the courtyard in front of the world famous Old Globe Theatre!The Old Globe has another great lineup for 2016. World-class entertainment in amazing Balboa Park!
Gentleman who saw this fun piano in the middle of Horton Plaza sat down and started playing. The San Diego Symphony is spreading music around the city!
Ten pianos have been placed around San Diego for the public to play! Any ordinary person passing by can just sit down and perform music to their heart’s content!
This very cool and unique “event” is being put on by the San Diego Symphony. Their PLAY ME: Pianos In Public Spaces installation is part of this month’s Upright and Grand Piano Festival, and will continue through February 8.
Feeling inspired? Feeling musical? Feeling like a maestro? Would you like to play some wonderful piano selections for your admiring fans? Then head on over to one of the ten public locations! They are: the Symphony Towers lobby, the Quartyard, the downtown Central Library, Horton Plaza, The Headquarters, the Coronado Ferry Landing, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (downtown location), Liberty Station, Balboa Park (by the Old Globe Theatre) and the California Center for the Arts Escondido!
The San Diego Symphony’s PLAY ME: Pianos In Public Spaces program has placed ten pianos around the city for ordinary people to enjoy!A colorfully painted piano in the lobby of Symphony Towers in downtown San Diego. I swung by here in the very early morning when few people were around.A cool guy plays this public piano at the Central Public Library in downtown San Diego. He heard about this very unique event and came on down to tickle the ivories.One of ten pianos placed around San Diego for the public to enjoy. Many library patrons coming through the front door were treated to unexpected music!This piano has a big cyclops eye. It sits outside in the Quartyard in San Diego’s East Village.Few people were about the Quartyard on Saturday morning. It’s a cool eating and event venue that’s fairly new in this hip neighborhood.Amazing talent takes a seat in Horton Plaza. This gentleman was walking through the shopping mall and saw the piano. He sounded like a professional musician!This fellow enjoyed playing another public piano, which has been placed at The Headquarters, near Seaport Village.All ten pianos have unique artwork, painted by various local organizations. The instruments were tuned by experts at the San Diego Symphony–and they sound amazing!Kids twirl to piano music in the wide courtyard of The Headquarters, which is located in San Diego’s old police headquarters.Finally, I saw this piano in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s downtown location, which is next to the Santa Fe Depot.Sign says that we are proud to present this piano painted by Combat Arts as part of the San Diego Symphony’s Upright and Grand Piano Festival’s city-wide installation. We invite you to play!Piano in public for any random passerby to enjoy. Veterans who painted this instrument are part of an art-based museum program to help combat troops recover from PTSD.
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Urban artwork depicts professional baseball scandals.
Over the years, in San Diego’s bustling Gaslamp Quarter, countless businesses have come and gone. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs crowd the streets, so there always seems to be some construction or renovation taking place.
In professional baseball, over the decades, headlines have come and gone concerning a variety of scandals.
A temporary wall surrounds some current construction activity in the Gaslamp. The wall features a collage of images depicting baseball’s history of scandals. The two themes that I noted are gambling and doping. There is particular emphasis on the Black Sox Scandal of 1919.
I took some photos a week or so ago…
Unusual street art at a construction site on Fifth Avenue in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.Images in the collage include Pete Rose and the 1919 World Series Black Sox Scandal.The MLB logo is transformed. A doping baseball player holds a syringe. Images also include Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens.1919 is spray painted repeatedly on this bold street art in downtown San Diego.During the 1919 World Series, Chicago White Sox players were paid by gamblers to lose games.A collage of baseball scandals on a temporary construction wall in the Gaslamp Quarter.
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A carefree girl rides a scooter on one side of the North Park parking garage.
Here are some fun images I photographed during my recent walk through North Park. A number of murals decorate the multi-level parking garage located just south of University Avenue, between 29th and 30th Streets.
I performed all sorts of internet searches to learn more about this artwork, but have come up with nothing. Perhaps someone out there knows something.
Anyway, I really like these simple, light-hearted graphics! They definitely add to the cool vibe of North Park. It looks to me like a very imaginative artist had lots of fun creating them!
Because these photos were taken from a bit of a distance (and some were faint), I had to adjust their brightness and contrast quite a bit.
UPDATE!
Silly me. The artist’s name is on one of the images.
These were created by Blair Thornley. Sponsored by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego.
A couple of unique characters out for a drive. Fun murals decorate the sides of North Park’s multi-level parking garage.This cool guy is riding in some sort of vehicle painted with the word Paradigm. If it’s a manual transmission, I suppose he must engage in paradigm shifting.Looks like some sort of hip creature carrying a tray of glasses, and some spoons. I like the style of this artwork.This one seems to depict a restaurant hostess taking a call while sitting atop her workplace.Three more fun murals. If I recall, these are on the north-facing side of the garage.A bird in a bib ready to chow down.An amusing box-dog about to eat some letters in a bowl. I love it!
At the Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills, they thank you for making it weird.
Today I went on yet another long walk. This time through Mission Hills and Presidio Park. I’ve managed to collect so many photographs in the past couple weeks that there are about a dozen blog posts waiting to be written! Good grief!
Better get to it!
Check this out! I was walking through Mission Hills at the intersection of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton when I realized I simply HAD to blog about the Meshuggah Shack.
This crazy cool shack is where folks in the neighborhood can grab espressos, lattes, teas and miscellaneous yummy noshes. Their website proclaims: Welcome to the insane asylum . . . Enter at your own risk! Their motto is No Kvetching! Some of their crazy offerings include Crackhead Chai Latte, Ian’s Make You Wanna Hula, and Teresa’s Sin and Salvation. I think maybe by now you get the idea.
Meshuggah Shack has proven to be so popular, they’ve opened a second location in East Village in the Quartyard project. But the original in Mission Hills is WAY cooler!
The Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills is celebrating 5 years of completely unabashed zaniness.There are all sorts of odd things dangling from the ceiling, clinging to the walls, and cluttering shelves.Crazy stuff includes bizarre knickknacks, dolls, a disco ball, a dinosaur, and almost anything that seems absurd, irreverent or just funny.More odd, fun objects.Enjoy your snack or beverage outside at this cool corner of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton.Pillars supporting the crazy shack’s roof are covered with a mosaic of tiles, mirrors, mugs, shells, you name it. As you can see from the lights, it was around Christmas when I took my photos.The Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills is very hard to miss! Hungry?
Architectural details on several of the Egyptian Quarter’s buildings include pharaohs, scarabs and other exotic designs. This photo was taken at the Pharaoh’s Court Apartments.
Last weekend I took a long looping walk through North Park. Many cool images are coming soon!
To reach North Park from downtown, I walked through a corner of Hillcrest called the Egyptian Quarter. When you take a look at the following photos, you’ll understand the origin of the unusual name.
These several blocks in San Diego were heavily influenced by the Egyptian Revival and Art Nouveau styles, which where very popular back in the 1920s. In recent years, businesses in the area have banded together to re-emphasize this neighborhood’s exotic identity. Walk anywhere near the corner of Park Boulevard and University Avenue, and you’re bound to think you’ve traveled back in time to ancient Egypt!
An ancient pharaoh seems to look over the Egyptian Quarter. One almost expects to see a pyramid nearby!One of several trashcans on Park Boulevard and University Avenue painted with colorful Egyptian motifs.Cool Egyptian-themed street mural recently painted by local graffiti artist Fizix.A stylish stained glass door at the Nile Apartments in San Diego’s unique Egyptian Quarter.Unexpected cool sights abound in the Egyptian Quarter, located in Hillcrest at the geographic edge of North Park.
Finn, heroic character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, holds a lightsaber. Cool spray paint art by William J. Dorsett.
Check out these super cool Star Wars images! They were created by a talented guy named William J. Dorsett. He’s a great spray paint artist and busker who is frequently seen on San Diego’s Embarcadero, in front of Anthony’s Fish Grotto.
William also happens to be a really nice guy. I’ve seen him working his magic for years during my walks. Not only does he create very unique spray paint artwork, but he also fashions amazing small works of sculpture using corn husks.
And, as you can plainly see, he’s a huge fan of Star Wars!
William loves to demonstrate his unbounded creativity, and did so recently at a local school for excited students. Check out his website to learn more!
William J. Dorsett is a talented busker who often displays his cool artwork on San Diego’s Embarcadero. In this photo he’s handing a corn husk rose to a passerby!Small, colorful spray paint images include a Darth Vader helmet, an Imperial Stormtrooper, R2-D2 and Yoda.It’s Chewbacca with his Bowcaster blaster under a distant galaxy’s stars and a colorful planet.More cosmic, bold spray paint artwork depicts popular Star Wars characters.C-3PO and Han Solo in classic Star Wars poses! Awesome!
Super cool mural in North Park at the intersection of 30th Street and Gunn Street.
This morning, before the threatened rain could begin, I took a long walk through San Diego’s very cool North Park neighborhood. I took lots of pics! I’ll be sharing many of them in the days ahead.
I’ve often admired this super colorful mural while driving down 30th Street. As the years have passed, I’ve also noted that the images have changed. After a little searching on Google, I see this mural is part of the “North Park Mural Project” and I identified a few of the artists. Check out the captions!
Right panel of awesome North Park mural contains the word Esperanza, which is Spanish for Hope.Another section of this cool public artwork depicts a large red rose, among buildings and interesting patterns. Created by Kreashun.Spray paint art by San Diego artist Maxx Moses. A character composed of many diverse elements, beneath the words Place Labels on Us From Childbirth.A beautiful figure seems to pray in a wreath of roses.A childlike blue face and long, colorful wavy hair, created by Gloria “GLOW” Muriel.This street art is on the same building. It reads Reality is Wrong. Dreams Are For Real. Hooligan Arts.Cool street art at 30th and Gunn, part of the North Park Mural Project.
The Art of Music is a cool exhibition “now playing” at the San Diego Museum of Art. Depicted in this poster is Fernando Botero’s painting Dancing in Columbia, 1980.
Do you love beautiful music? Do you appreciate fine art?
Answer yes to both questions, and you have two compelling reasons to visit an exhibition “now playing” at the San Diego Museum of Art!
The Art of Music explores the intersection of art and music throughout world history, from ancient times to the present. Visitors to the San Diego Museum of Art will experience a large variety of paintings, posters, sculptures and film, depicting musicians, dancers and various aspects of life that are splashed with the colors of music. Visitors will also enjoy seeing many extraordinarily beautiful musical instruments, historical objects related to music, and encounter surprising sounds at every turn.
My museum docent friend Catherine recently provided another great tour! There was so much to absorb, so many cool sights and sounds, that I hardly know how to translate my feelings into words. I could’ve spent many hours just lingering. The experience was almost like standing on stage during a symphony orchestra’s performance, and turning slowly around with eyes and ears wide open.
I was absolutely floored by the impressive sweep of this exhibit, and the number of pieces by important artists. I noted works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Salvador Dalí, William Hogarth, Toulouse-Lautrec, Jasper Johns and John Baldessari, a highly regarded artist who grew up in National City in San Diego’s South Bay.
The very first piece visitors encounter is Baldessari’s Beethoven’s Trumpet (with Ear) Opus #127, a fun sculpture which perfectly captures the essence of what is to come. Press your own ear against the ear trumpet and you’ll hear musical notes penned centuries ago by Beethoven, as if they’re emerging from the famous composer’s brain!
In other rooms, visitors can listen to a statuette of a satyr playing the pipes of Pan, a qin from China dating from the 19th century, or an absolutely gorgeous 18th century harpsichord that was converted to a piano.
One amazing room in the exhibit contains the Microtonal Wall, created by Tristan Perich in 2011. A large section of wall contains 1,500 small speakers, which are tuned individually to create a complex and interesting continuum of pitch. The interactive experience was so fascinating, I ended up walking with my ear close to the wall bobbing up and down like a mesmerized chicken!
Another dazzling room is filled to the brim with psychedelic concert posters from the 1960s! Aficionados of this type of artwork will find themselves in heaven!
The Art of Music features so much cool stuff, and such variety, I couldn’t possibly describe it all here. You really have to go see for yourself. I’m no expert when it comes to either art or music, but I found myself completely enthralled!
Here are a few samples of what you’ll experience…
People head up steps from Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama to visit the wonderful San Diego Museum of Art.Neck-Amphora with Apollo Playing the Cithara, and Hermes, Athena and Dionysus. Greece, Attica, circa 510 B.C. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.Shiv Chand, Madhumadhavi Ragini of Bhairav, ca. 1690. The San Diego Museum of Art.Lyre Guitar, early 19th century. The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Childe Hassam, The Sonata, 1893. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s first poster, Moulin Rouge – La Goulue, which introduced into poster design a bold simplification of form, space and composition learned from Japanese woodblock prints.Beauford Delaney, Marian Anderson, 1965. J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art. Depicts renowned singer who was the first African American artist to perform at the White House, in 1936.Hans Burkhardt, Sex Pistols, 1981. Courtesy Jack Rutberg Fine Arts Hans G. and Thordis W. Burkhardt Foundation.John Baldessari, Beethoven’s Trumpet (with Ear) Opus #127, 2007. Beyer Projects.
The Art of Music lives in San Diego!
Go check it out! The Art of Music, at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, runs through February 7, 2016.
The 9th floor gallery at San Diego’s Central Library features an art exhibit called RAINMAKER. The theme is water, drought and climate change.
RAINMAKER is a fascinating, thought-provoking art exhibition at downtown San Diego’s Central Library. Because it will be coming to a close this weekend, I recently headed to the library’s 9th floor gallery to check it out.
Charles Hatfield was hired by the city of San Diego a hundred years ago to produce much-needed precipitation in order to fill Lake Morena. He might or might not have created the torrential rains and catastrophic flooding that followed his efforts at “moisture acceleration”. Was Hatfield an actual scientist or a charlatan? The question remains open.
This art exhibition focuses on the importance of water in our arid region, and how people affect and are influenced by the environment. Twelve local artists have contributed pieces which touch upon this theme. RAINMAKER is especially relevant today, considering San Diego’s current long drought, and the threat of coming winter storms caused by a strong El Niño that has developed in the Pacific Ocean.
Charles Hatfield, self-proclaimed rainmaker, was hired by the city of San Diego in 1915 to fill Lake Morena reservoir during a severe drought. Record rain and floods ensued. Was this a coincidence?Photo at RAINMAKER exhibition shows catastrophic San Diego flooding caused by over 30 inches of rain in 1915.Adam Belt, Willow Wash, 2015. Paint, graphite and reflective powder on canvas. Where is the boundary between science and magic?Roman de Salvo, Joinery Blossom, 2013. Chinese elm, glue. Metaphor of Earth’s ecosystem, with networks of family, community, interdependence.Eva Struble, Navy Yard, 2011. Oil and acrylic on canvas. This piece emerged from a trek through Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. A vision of decay that is also expansive, waiting.Margaret Noble, I Have Arrived, 2015. Mixed media installation with 3 pedestals, 3 plant boxes, 3 sprinklers, and 3 handheld audio players. Lawns have been a symbol of status in society.Tools of the Rainmaker. The scales, measuring scoops and barometer in this case were donated to the San Diego Library in 1972 by Paul A. Hatfield, brother of rainmaker Charles M. Hatfield.Jim Wilsterman, Rain Event #10, 2011. Earth, fiber, raindrops. Somewhere between photograph, sculpture and painting, this art has recorded rainfall using clay and mud.Sheldon Wood, Drought Dreams, 2014. Watercolor on paper. With the lyrical movement of rain on a hot surface, references to petroglyphs and lost sinkholes, and an atmospheric perspective…Lisa Hutton, Supercell with Chickens, 2013. Graphite on paper. Environmental artwork depicts storm clouds.Lisa Hutton, A Flood and a Fire, 2013. Graphite on paper. The catastrophic effects of environmental disasters.Four pigment ink photographs of desert environment by Michael Feld record beauty and natural history.Dominic Paul Miller, rain gatherer, 2008. Ink on mylar. Part of a larger body of work concerning uranium mining and the Navajo Nation, who have scant access to running water.Gabriel Kalmuss-Katz, Dear Hatfield, 2015. Speculative writing. Reflects modern anxiety associated with urbanization.RAINMAKER, a fascinating art exhibition at San Diego’s Central Library, continues through November 29.
Cool San Diego Sights! 