Something cool has sprung up at the center of Balboa Park’s theater complex.
Look what I spied today during my walk through Balboa Park! Some people were milling around an interesting work of interactive art in front of the Old Globe, and I had to check it out. Turns out I had stumbled upon The Journey, some fun outdoor artwork created by Dan Reeves. The Journey is inspired by the Old Globe Theatre’s production of Steve Martin’s play Picasso at the Lapin Agile.
I learned this is a section of a larger torus that will appear at the next Burning Man. The Journey is a mortise and tenon structure made of wood, which produces a unique lighting and audio experience best seen at night. Illuminated with colorful LED lights, people can pose for photographs!
Better check it out soon. The Journey will be on display at the Old Globe until this Sunday, January 19!
The Journey is a small section of a larger torus that will be a brilliant, spectacular work of art at Burning Man.The Journey is on view at the Old Globe Theatre’s Copley Plaza through this Sunday, February 19. A cool experience inspired by the Steve Martin play Picasso at the Lapin Agile.Pose in this uniquely colorful work of art after dark and you can have a spectacular photo taken!
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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!
Colorful quilting artwork in a window of the Visions Art Museum at Liberty Station.
I’ve blogged many times about Liberty Station. But there’s always more to discover.
Yesterday I walked around the historic old Navy base, and was pleased to take a few photographs that you might enjoy. I spotted some artwork and framed some of the place’s beauty.
These few moments in time and space might seem random, but it was all new to me. That’s why I like to walk.
I spotted this bust in a nook while walking along the North Promenade. It was probably created in a nearby art studio. I could find no information.The beautiful Galinson Family Fountain at NTC Liberty Station.I spotted this cool metal wire sculpture of a man dining on the planet Earth near an old, peeling Naval Training Center wall. Plastic Dinner, by Spenser Little. The art includes a dangling mobile and casts a thin, weird shadow.Peer into one window at IDW Publishing, headquartered at Liberty Station, and you’ll see a huge statue of Leonardo, of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!A peaceful place of natural and man-made beauty, perfect for a slow thoughtful walk.Decoration above an arch. I believe that is explorer Cabrillo’s ship San Salvador. He entered San Diego Bay not far from here.Looking down a long colonnade where U.S. Navy sailor recruits once walked.Photo of the eye-pleasing USNTC North Chapel, reflecting the Point Loma sunshine one Sunday.Nautical symbols above the front entrance to the Navy’s old North Chapel at Liberty Station.
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A huge postcard has appeared on Dewey Road in Point Loma, at the southwest end of Liberty Station’s Arts District!
I walked around Liberty Station today before sitting down by the boat channel to write another short story. And look what I discovered! It’s the first time I’ve seen this cool mural!
This new public art resembles a gigantic postcard, which reads: Greetings from U.S. Naval Training Station. It was created by the two artists who painted the postcard-like Greetings from San Diego mural, which I photographed a month ago in North Park. Victor Ving and Lisa Beggs are travelling around the country in an RV and creating a whole bunch of these huge colorful postcard murals!
Painted inside the letters I see scenes from Ingram Plaza, the Barracks Arcade, Liberty Public Market and the USS Recruit!
As you might know, the U.S. Naval Training Station, or Naval Training Center San Diego, was a military base where thousands of sailor recruits learned the ropes upon enlisting in the U.S. Navy. It closed in 1997 and has been redeveloped into a mixed cultural, recreational, shopping, business and residential complex in Point Loma. It’s like a spacious park with lots of grass, arched walkways and fountains–a perfect place to relax!
During my stroll today though Liberty Station, I discovered even more public art, which I’ll blog about shortly. And please watch for my new work of fiction at Short Stories by Richard. I think it’s almost done!
Greetings from U.S. Naval Training Center. A cool new mural at Liberty Station by artists Victor Ving and Lisa Beggs.
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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!
The Birds and The Bees, a birdhouse by artist Joel Sotelo.
Looks what I noticed today. Most of the fun, artistic birdhouses that were installed for Tweet Street in 2008 have been restored! With new coats of paint and a little work, they once again appear like new!
You might remember my blog post a couple years ago concerning these fun birdhouses. At the time, weather had gotten the better of them. Well, check them out now!
If you want to see these very creative works of public art in person, Tweet Street is another name for the linear Cortez Hill Park, located on Date Street roughly between Seventh and Ninth Avenue.
Public art restoration in progress. The City of San Diego develops, exhibits, conserves and restores the Civic Art Collection to provide meaningful aesthetic and cultural experiences for San Diego’s residents and visitors.Tweet Street sign on Date Street in San Diego’s Cortez Hill neighborhood. Many artistic birdhouses line the narrow urban park.Boat House, a birdhouse by artist Kirk Crow.Anil’u, a birdhouse by artist Lilia Peji.Coexistence, a birdhouse by artist Bob Gromofsky.Cunae, a birdhouse by artist Miguel Salmeron.Mas Vale Pajaro en Mano, a birdhouse by artist Joel Sotelo.Bewick’s Bunker, a birdhouse by artists Rafael Lopez and Daniel Renner.Air Traffic Control, a birdhouse by artist Amy Ennis Achaibou.Birdinsky, a birdhouse by artist Amy Levine.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Walking past public art in Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. The Fisherman is a sculpture of a great egret, created by Stephen Fairfield, 2006.
Look at these cool examples of public art! I spotted them Saturday during my visit to Chula Vista’s Bayside Park.
Some of the artwork, as you can see, is rather strange and surprising! Read the photo captions to learn more!
The Fisherman, by Stephen Fairfield, was a part of a past Urban Trees exhibition along San Diego’s Embarcadero. It’s now part of the Port of San Diego Tidelands Collection.Dark shadow of what appears to be a gigantic egret on a walkway in Bayside Park.One of several tables by San Diego Bay containing a tile chess board.Walking north along the beach area. Downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bay Bridge can be seen in the distance.Still walking north, toward more interesting public art at Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. This is Wind Oars by George Peters and Melanie Walker, 2004.Oars in the blue sky change position in the shifting wind. A kinetic artwork landmark in San Diego’s South Bay.Like rowing through blue water above.At the north end of Bayside Park, we now approach some unusual temporary art. Bench Party, by artists Jose Parral and Tasia Paulson, will be on display through May 20, 2017.Visitors to the Bayside Park might sit here and talk, or take in views of San Diego Bay.A large group of people could sit here and have a bench party!The huge travelift at Marine Group Boat Works in Chula Vista is seen beyond the benches. Super yachts and large boats can be lifted out of the water there.A breakwater by Marine Group Boat Works looks like strange art on the water. Rising in the distance we can see Point Loma.A bird swims past stacked rocks.Feeding birds at a park picnic bench.A second sculpture from an Urban Trees exhibition is also located at Bayside Park. This is San Diego Synergy, by Kent Kraber, 2007.Seabirds soar above fish, their food.A school of fish in the ocean kelp.A silvery tuna between a fishing boat and sailboat, at the base of the San Diego Synergy sculpture in Chula Vista.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Just sitting on a bench at the Chula Vista Marina. Masts of sailboats touch the clear sky. Another sunny day by the water.
Last Saturday morning I did some walking around the Chula Vista Marina and the neighboring Bayside Park. It was a perfect day for a leisurely stroll. Sunlight reflected from the water onto the smooth shiny hulls of boats. A forest of masts tickled the blue sky.
I sat down for awhile to drink in the calm and beauty. Another reason to love San Diego!
The Chula Vista Marina and adjacent Bayside Park are perfect places to relax and recreate.An abstract sculpture near the Dockmaster’s Office.The sculpture is titled To Remember Me, by Ross Barrable, 2001. In tribute to Ron McElliott who believed in the potential of the South Bay.Some street art on a nearby utility box depicts a tall ship on the ocean.Sitting at a table by the marina feeding the birds.Hundreds of sailboats and pleasure craft in the Chula Vista Yacht Harbor await an opportunity to glide across San Diego Bay.Walking the dog across Chula Vista Bayside Park’s fishing pier, next to the marina.A fisherman out on San Diego Bay. The Coronado Cays are visible across the calm blue water.A happy sun shines on the marina building.A beautiful fountain on the grass near the Chula Vista Marina office.
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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!
These arches in National City’s Morgan Square Plaza delight the eye with their colorful tiles and designs.
Check out this cool public art in San Diego’s South Bay! These colorfully tiled arches can be found in Morgan Square Plaza right next to the National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. As you can see in one photo, the plaza isn’t far from Heritage Square and historic Brick Row, which I recently covered on this blog.
It appears these mosaic arches debuted along with the plaza itself in October 2007. I searched the small pocket park for a plaque, and later for information on the internet, but can find almost nothing about this unique public art. I did see that the bust of former National City mayor Kile Morgan was created by the talented San Diego sculptor Richard Becker. According to Becker’s website, he created the POW Monument at the US National Cemetery, busts for The Emmys in Hollywood, and a bronze sculpture of Homer Simpson for Fox Studios.
Cool art in the public square next to the National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.Visible beyond the brick arch is one end of Brick Row, one of several historic buildings in Heritage Square.Across Morgan Square Plaza is a monument to a former National City mayor.The bust of Honorable Kile Morgan, mayor of National City from 1966 to 1986. He established the Mile of Cars and Plaza Bonita. Sculpture created by San Diego artist Richard Becker.Another photo through the arches. The Southwestern College Higher Education Center stands across National City Boulevard.The beautiful patterns on this wall-like artwork are composed of many brightly colored tiles.The National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is located near the public art arches.Fun photo of one arch within another.Cool public artwork in National City at Morgan Square Plaza!
UPDATE!
During a walk in 2019 I discovered a plaque describing this Streetscape Project, titled Portals in Time. The different arches are called Brick Row, Hispanic Portal, Filipino Water Wall, Kumeyaay Water Wall, Agriculture and Ship Building, and The Bay.
Click the following two photos and they will enlarge for easier reading:
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
The sleepy face of Morning, a sculpture by renowned San Diego artist Donal Hord.
Many who walk along the waterfront pause to enjoy a beautiful sculpture near Seaport Village. Morning, sculpted from black diorite by internationally renowned San Diego artist Donal Hord, stands atop a low grassy hill at the edge of Embarcadero Marina Park North. Should curious eyes watching the colorful, sunlit kites flying high above the park descend to Earth, they will fall upon Morning.
Donal Hord sculpted Morning between 1951 and 1956. His works around San Diego include Woman of Tehuantepec, at Balboa Park’s House of Hospitality; Aztec, at San Diego State University; Guardian of Water, in front of the San Diego County Administration Center; and Literature West and Literature East, at the old, now vacant San Diego Central Library on E Street.
As a young man Hord was influenced by what he saw at Balboa Park’s 1915 Panama-California Exposition, particularly the architecture of Bertram Goodhue and the sculptural work of the Piccirilli Brothers. Later in life he was influenced by Scottish sculptor, Archibald Dawson, and Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera.
Morning. Donal Hord, 1902-1966. Presented to the citizens of the State of California by the San Diego Unified Port District. August 1983.The Morning sculpture by Donal Hord stands on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North. Thousands of people pass it every day as they walk near Seaport Village.Morning, sometimes referred to as Morning Statue, shows a man waking, stretching, preparing for another day. At the base are various symbols, including representations of the sun and the moon.Morning was acquired by the Port of San Diego in 1983 and installed on the waterfront. Until then, the sculpture was located at Donal Hord’s residence.A gull and its sculpted human perch together greet a sunny morning beside San Diego Bay.
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A wide-eyed face on a building wall in North Park, surrounded by cosmic imagery.
Here’s even more North Park street art! Check out these photos!
This spray painted mural was signed by the artists DEXR, ARMOR, EYEMAX and SADE. Full of cosmic imagery, the panoply of swirling forms and symbols evokes wonder. The universe it seems to depict is vast and mysterious. All I know for sure is that the artwork is really cool!
You can find this colorful street art on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of 30th Street.
I first spied this street art from the intersection at 30th Street and El Cajon Boulevard.The mural on the Supercuts building contains many complex, colorful elements. Like a magnet it drew me in.Two fused female faces, or one seen in two glances. I get the impression that time, space and information are being affected by that shining object on the left.Whether that’s a black hole, the origin of the universe, a star, or something else–the theme seems to be the mystery of Creation. And I see a dragon at the fractured boundary, a symbol of Chaos.A face seems to gaze from another place behind a transparent window at the unspeakably vast and wonderful cosmos.
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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 fun photos for you to enjoy!
Vernell Jones III, also known as Machinecore, creates a very cool, completely new Star Wars character in Balboa Park.
I was walking through Balboa Park’s lively Plaza de Balboa, not far from the Bea Evenson Fountain, when my eyes suddenly fell upon a truly fantastic work of art.
I learned from the artist, Vernell Jones III, also known as Machinecore, that the unusual Star Wars character he’d created was some sort of futuristic Stormtrooper. My first thought was that the helmet kind of resembled General Grievous. My second thought was that this great artwork should be on the cover of a graphic novel. It’s that good.
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