An early 1900’s Italian fishing boat looking for tuna off the coast of San Diego.
Some new murals have appeared in Little Italy on a construction site fence along Kettner Boulevard, between Beech Street and Cedar Street. The artwork, created by Elisabeth Sullivan, depicts the history of tuna fishing in San Diego.
The series of images tell the story of an industry that once prospered in our city, and that shaped the colorful downtown neighborhood of Little Italy.
Italian and Portuguese fishermen bamboo pole fishing at the peak of the industry in the late 1920’s.After a lengthy fishing expedition these tuna clippers head home with their catch.Fishing boats docked for the night in San Diego Harbor after unloading their catch.Women of Little Italy fishing families work to remove hooks, stretch dry and mend the nets.The tuna is unloaded at the wharf and delivered to San Diego fish markets and canneries.During World War II many tuna clippers were converted to Yacht Patrols by the U.S. Navy.In the late 1950’s the efficient modern purse seiner began replacing most of the bait boats.The history of tuna fishing in San Diego can now be observed on a series of beautiful murals in Little Italy!
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One side of an electrical box on University Avenue at Interstate 805. This particular art closely resembles other examples I once photographed in National City.
Check out a whole bunch of super cool photos! All this awesome street art was encountered during a short walk in City Heights.
I began on University Avenue near I-805, walking east along the sidewalk on the south side. Then I crossed at 35th Street and headed back west down the sidewalk on University Avenue’s north side.
Enjoy!
Another side of the same box. Weird humanoid figures seem composed of fluid ink.Urban artwork that seems both ancient and futuristic. Strange geometric patterns in these figures appear symbolic.The fourth side of the box.Cool mural in City Heights on the side of the Teros Gallery. Journey Within Through the Sea of Soul, by Celeste Byers and Aaron Glasson, depicts the gallery owner riding a Chihuahua ship on a distant planet upstream into herself!Walking east down University Avenue I spied more street art on electrical boxes.A young girl, and a young boy with binoculars.A man and small child together ride a motorcycle.A face looks upward.Another young face, and a sitting girl reaching for what appears to be a pencil.This trash can at a bus stop was brightly decorated by a street artist.More fun street art, near the corner of University Avenue and 35th Street.A funny dog appears to be assailed by a crazy bird.More humorous faces and birds.I’ve crossed the street and am heading back west. I noticed this colorful tower to the south features references to both City Heights and Cherokee Point, a neighborhood south of University Avenue.Before crossing the street I spied this fun street mural near another bus stop.Now that I’m walking next to it, I can really enjoy this sun and pink flamingo. Both are wearing sunglasses. By artist Gilly Bee, created for #TheAvenueMuralProject.I found another super cool mural on the side of The Kings Barbershop.The front of The Kings Barbershop was painted by DyseOne and Hasler.A very colorful mural on University Avenue in City Heights! I believe this bold spray paint art is fairly new.It’s the Tooth Fairy on the wall of North Park Dental! By artist Sand One, a Latina street artist from East Los Angeles.
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A cool prism wall sculpture, beneath reflections of nearby downtown buildings.
Walk or drive in downtown San Diego past the corner of Broadway and Front Street, and you might glimpse rainbow colors splashed every which way!
For more than thirty years, a very cool sculpture has added surprising color and life to the public plaza at the entrance to 101 West Broadway. Titled Light, Rock and Water, the prism wall and accompanying elements were created by renowned New York artist Charles Ross. According to a small plaque, Ross has described his work as “cinematic in nature, seen as a sequence of spectrum images, some muted, some bright, but not all visible from any single vantage.”
I recently approached this public artwork and walked slowly all around it.
Here are some photos…
Walking along the public plaza near the corner of Broadway and Front Street in San Diego.This fantastic sculpture at 101 West Broadway attracts curious eyes with its changing prismatic colors.Light, Rock and Water, by Charles Ross, 1985. This is a prism wall environment with elements of light, rock and water. The renowned New York artist’s first outdoor sculpture.Light reflecting from and passing through the prism wall reflects from a basin of water.A cool optical sculpture which includes various natural physical elements.The colors of the visible spectrum appear like linear rainbows at one’s feet near this surprising sculpture.A colorful work of public art in downtown San Diego!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
People walk past the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s building at America Plaza.
I recently noticed new thought-provoking graphics in the windows of the MCASD building at America Plaza.
Last year, a survey was taken of 100 people passing through America Plaza. Questions were asked about racial and ethnic identity. Today an outdoor display at downtown’s Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego expands on the results and explores the complicated subject.
The window graphics are designed to catch the eye and draw visitors into the nearby gallery.
This project was produced by artists with students from local colleges in San Diego and Tijuana who participated in Transnational Seminar 1, lead by Collective Magpie.
On April 20th, 100 pedestrians took a survey here in America Plaza about race and ethnicity. Self-classification data was compiled.Of the 100 surveyed, 83 answered mixed race; 14 white people; 3 people of color.Feelings about racial identity can differ from person to person.One of two panels containing some of the racial and ethnic categories that a person might choose.A splash of words, asking people walking down Kettner Boulevard what the ultimate definition of race is…People might feel differently about their racial identity depending on a range of factors and circumstances, from their appearance…to their dreams…to their immediate environment…to the way they live.Thought-provoking graphics concerning race in the windows of MCASD’s building at America Plaza.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Workers install Jaume Plensa’s new sculpture Pacific Soul in the public plaza by the Pacific Gate condominium tower in San Diego.
This evening, after dark, I walked past the nearly completed Pacific Gate by Bosa condo tower and noticed an elaborate sculpture is being installed in the building’s public plaza near the corner of West Broadway and Pacific Highway.
I asked one of the workers about the artist and learned this new public art installation is the work of Jaume Plensa, the renowned Spanish artist whose monumental sculptures can be found in major cities and museums around the world. He designed the Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park.
This new sculpture, which is titled Pacific Soul, looks intriguingly complex. According to one article I found, it’s inspired by the tangled roots of rainforest trees and is composed of stylized characters from diverse alphabets. When finished it will be about 25-feet tall and appear like a seated person gazing west toward the Pacific Ocean.
I think it’s going to be amazing! I can’t wait to see the finished work!
Pacific Soul by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, when completed, will be about 25-feet tall and appear like a seated person gazing west toward the ocean.
UPDATE!
I walked down Broadway to see what progress had been made on Friday morning–about two days later. Workers were getting ready to assemble large sections of the monumental sculpture. Here are some photos…
Sign explains that you are viewing the installation of Pacific Soul by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. (Click image to enlarge the sign for easy reading.)Worker installs Pacific Soul in the public plaza by the new Pacific Gate high-rise condos in San Diego.
ANOTHER UPDATE!
On Saturday the several sections of Pacific Soul had been pieced together. I was told the sculpture will be lit at night from below, and that people will be able to walk through it!
More photos…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
The Padre, by Arthur Putnam, 1908. The public artwork stands on a patch of grass among trees on Presidio Hill.
Walk up to the top of Presidio Park from Old Town and you’ll discover a variety of fascinating, historical sights. Possibly the most amazing, apart from the impressive Serra Museum building, are two extraordinary bronze sculptures, The Indian and The Padre, by renowned sculptor Arthur Putnam.
The Padre was cast in 1908. The figure of a Spanish friar stands in a small, quiet space among trees, not far from the spot where Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769, which began as a temporary church at the Spanish presidio. Five years later the mission would be moved a few miles east up the San Diego River to its present location.
Here are photos of The Padre which show the sculpture’s quiet beauty.
The Padre stands alone in a green, gentle place.A Spanish friar seems to walk out of San Diego’s very early history.The Padre by Arthur Putnam. Given to San Diego Historical Society by the descendants of E.W. Scripps.Markings at the sculpture’s base indicated it was cast by Louis de Rome’s bronze foundry in San Francisco, the city where Arthur Putnam lived for many years.A quiet bronze statue among trees near San Diego’s now ruined and vanished Presidio.A spider’s web and small fallen leaves above folded hands.The Padre seems to be lost in prayer or silent contemplation.Close photo of bowed head of The Padre on Presidio Hill.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Should you walk past the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Island Avenue in East Village, be certain to gaze upward. Because your eyes will be dazzled by Indigo Waters shining in the San Diego sky!
Indigo Waters is a 40-foot blue glass panel sculpture mounted near the roof of the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. This very cool public artwork was designed and created for the hotel about ten years ago by local artist Lisa Schirmer. You’ve already seen her work on this blog, in the form of vibrant baseball windglyphs now flying at Lane Field Park!
Lisa Schirmer’s sculpture really takes life in San Diego’s sunshine. As the sunlight changes, Indigo Waters seems to ebb and flow. Light passing through and reflecting from the 33 hand-painted glass panels produces a variety of magical effects.
The photographs you see here were taken on a couple different days. The blue glass panels are most brilliant on cloudless days in the early afternoon, right around two o’clock.
UPDATE!
Here’s another photo that I took on a super sunny day!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Abstract calligraphy panels on a wall facing E Street near 11th Avenue. This large mural was created by Brazilian multimedia artist Yomar Augusto for Design Forward San Diego.
There are two dynamic new murals in East Village. Actually one is a painted mural, and the other appears to be an enormous patchwork banner stretched upon a wall. Both face E Street in the vicinity of Park Boulevard.
The abstract calligraphy mural by Yomar Augusto was completed in October of 2017.
The dazzling artwork adorning the IDEA1 Apartments is brand new–the building had its Grand Opening in December.
Here are a couple of fun photos!
A large colorful banner stretched on the northeast corner of the new IDEA1 Apartments in East Village.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Spaces from Yesterday is a collaborative exhibition at the SDSU Downtown Gallery featuring the art projects of three San Quentin inmates. (Click image to enlarge for easier reading.)
There’s a fascinating exhibition right now at the SDSU Downtown Gallery. It’s titled Spaces from Yesterday and features the artwork of three San Quentin inmates.
The artwork was created in collaboration with San Quentin State Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho, who also has a few related pieces in the exhibition. But the work that I found most interesting came directly from the hands of the inmates.
All three of the artists summon happy memories from their childhood. These images are warm, but also hard-edged and unpeopled. One work, The Hallway by Dennis Crookes, almost looks like a long, harsh, narrow prison hallway that finally leads to a home’s light-filled kitchen.
I could find no explanation why these three were incarcerated in the San Quentin correctional complex, which contains California’s only death row for male inmates. That would seem to be an essential part of the story, and might explain certain qualities of the art. But the anecdotes that are written do reveal a common yearning for a past life that is fondly remembered.
The following photos show a description of each piece, followed by the actual artwork.
Spaces from Yesterday will be on display through January 28, 2018. Those interested in art, creativity, and often hidden aspects of human life should check it out. Admission to the SDSU Downtown Gallery is free.
Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho and Dennis Crookes began planning The Hallway collaboration while Crookes was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.The Hallway, Dennis Crookes, acrylic on canvas, 2016.The Garage, a collaboration with inmate Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., contains warm memories from a playful childhood.The Garage, Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., mixed media on cardboard, 2016.Chanthon Bun painted memories from a childhood that included a play fort in an abandoned lot, comic books, baseball cards and a fish pond he created with his siblings and young relatives.The Last Summer, Chanthon Bun, acrylic on canvas, 2017.
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If you love fine art, there’s something you really need to see. Legacy in Black is an exhibition featuring the work of local African American artists who enjoy national and international acclaim. You can enjoy this exhibition for free by visiting the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.
A number of outstanding pieces represent the work of eight artists who’ve made significant contributions to our city’s cultural life. Many of the artists have produced public art around San Diego and California. Faith Ringgold has had works exhibited in places like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of American Art, and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. was the official artist of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Kadir Nelson was the lead conceptual artist for Steven Spielberg’s film Amistad, and his work is often featured on the cover of The New Yorker magazine. All eight artists featured in this exhibition are exceptional.
Legacy in Black is a collaboration between the San Diego History Center and the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art. Head on over to Balboa Park before the exhibition closes on March 28, 2018!
Sandlot Football. Ernie Barnes, acrylic on canvas.Legacy in Black, an exhibition of work by local African American artists, is now on display at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.I’ll Fly Away. Manuelita Brown, bronze with painted wood base, 2003.Coming to Jones Road Part II #5, Precious, Barn Door and Baby Freedom. Faith Ringgold, acrylic on canvas with fabric border, 2010.The Valley. Jean Cornwell Wheat, acrylic on canvas, 2014.Gridiron Hero. Ernie Barnes, acrylic on board.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
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