People walk down a Hillcrest sidewalk past chalk street art dreams.
Human dreams are wildly varied and ever-changing. I saw proof of this in Hillcrest. Dozens of desires have been documented at a street corner on University Avenue, written in chalk on what appears to be a very large chalkboard. People passing by have paused for a moment to write what they would like to accomplish before they die.
This dynamic neighborhood, just north of downtown San Diego, is youthful and worldly. Those who’ve chosen to contribute to this participative street art have listed many dreams. Some are crude, some are desperate, some are erased. Some are possible, some are impossible. Some are profound. The absurd and the serious mingle together. Some dreams are mere whims, other dreams are ambitious. Some are selfish, some are unselfish.
Before I die I want to… Hunt mud ducks. Feel I am worthy.Save the world. Make love. Visit Paris. Meet my biological parents.Publish a book. Drink one more drink.Find hidden treasure. Find Waldo.People walk toward Alibi as they review reasons for living.
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Walking past a plaque which is engraved with one of many important quotes by Martin Luther King Jr.
I frequently walk along the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade in downtown San Diego. Whenever I do, I like to randomly read some of the historic MLK quotes that are engraved in plaques along the long pathway. I’ve never counted the number of quotes. There are easily dozens. Every quote on every plaque is important and powerful, and reflects the intelligence, energy, optimism and wisdom of America’s great civil rights leader.
Here are photos taken at different times of a few of Dr. King’s quotes…
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.The deep rumbling of discontent that we hear today is the thunder of disinherited masses, rising from dungeons of oppression to the bright hills of freedom in one majestic chorus.Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can only be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of our lives.We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the Earth like brothers.Two people walk side-by-side down the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade in downtown San Diego.I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.The democratic ideal of freedom and equality will be fulfilled for all–or all human beings will share in the resulting social and spiritual doom…The greatest victory of the civil rights period was something internal…We armed ourselves with dignity and self-respect…We straightened our backs up…The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.Any law that uplifts human personality is just, any law that degrades human personality is unjust.Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.Breaking the Chains sculpture, by Melvin Edwards, reminds people on MLK Promenade of the positive legacy of a great civil rights leader.
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Walking on the beach north of the Imperial Beach pier.
Nothing feels more perfect than a long walk. A long, easy walk to anywhere.
No matter which path feet follow, which direction your head turns, to walk is to feel refreshingly alive.
With every step, the world’s infinite complexity is revealed page by page. When eyes are open and the mind is keen, the strides are through endless wonder.
That first step. That deep, expansive breath of new air. The stretching out of limbs. A touch of warmth or chill on your face. Eyes lifted to the horizon, expectant.
Joy mounting with every stride as senses register a million familiar proofs of the world’s essential beauty.
The smells from near and far. Mown grass, the salty ocean, rain-wet asphalt, piney hills, a jasmine bush on a corner, sun-baked dirt, perfume from a cafe.
Kaleidoscope visions through which you simply, happily flow. The infinite detail of reflected light, dazzling your eyes. Patterns of leaves. Patterns of shadow. Patterns of neighbors and bustle and streets. The patterns of humanity.
And every gradation of daylight. Every blue and every green that nature supplies. A complete riot of color on painted things. Rainbows on buildings, signs, cars, jackets, socks. The whole spectrum of color, if only you see it. A trillion, trillion buzzing atoms encompass you, if only you see them. The awesome visual geometry of angles, form and depth. It’s all before and around you.
The smallest object encountered during a thoughtful walk is a self-contained universe. Even a lone bit of windblown trash is beautiful, in perhaps a thousand different ways. With a microscope you couldn’t unravel its potent mysteries. Who made it? How was it made? Where did it come from, and where’s it headed? For a moment the walker shares the world closely with surprising and mysterious companions: a bird, a grasshopper, a motorist, another walker. We all travel alone but together, encountering our own unique wonders, creating through sheer muscle and chance our historic voyages of discovery.
I want to go exploring today. I suppose I’ll just start out my door.
Got to put on my shoes… Bye!
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Panda with star on belly is lifted by colorful balloons, and floats away into the blue sky.
No matter how different people might appear, we all live among the same bright stars.
Perhaps that’s a bit of wisdom inferred from a book by one of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss.
That also seems to be the elevating message of this cool street art in Bankers Hill.
While words and art might eventually fade (as these photos prove), the stars buried within us do not.
These three transformer boxes in Bankers Hill are painted with unbounded imagination.Jazzy guy plays keyboard in a boat that soars above the surf and a star-bellied bird.Flowers in hair, on shoulders. A golden star on a dress joins the sun and sunflower in symbolic street art.Part of slowly fading Dr. Seuss verse: “That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether they had one, or not, upon thars.”Winged angel dog in heaven plays a drum.Happy, unique green alien frolics on red planet.Musician plays his guitar where he stands in the cosmos.A zany peek over Mars, under stars.
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This bright, smiling chalk face is gifted with a third eye.
In downtown San Diego, across the street from the New Children’s Museum, right next to the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade, you’ll find a play area. You might have seen my blog post on Christmas about The Garden Project. The play area can be found right next to it.
Strangely, this playground doesn’t contain many swings or happy things to play on. It does include a wide concrete floor and a high, blank concrete wall, however. Which combine to make an inviting canvas. The hard surface is softened with faces, hearts, strong feeling and thought. The voices of youth.
Here is what I photographed yesterday morning. Many of the ever-changing chalk images are faint. I had to increase the contrast for most pics quite a bit.
Many-colored chalk face appears to be in deep thought.An uncertain heart. No way? Yes way?A large blue eye seems to stare from a hard concrete wall.I wish you could see the world through my eyes!A small pink face with long hair gazes up from underfoot.A burst of sudden joy. WELCOME HOMEA young person worries: Can’t you see me?These words contain terrible agony with a sad nod of wisdom.Guy cleaning the play area in the early morning with a noisy blower.A small delicate flower made of temporary dust.Philosophy written carefully, meaningfully: Embrace The Journey.
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Dedicate each day to that purpose, that great good.
Uplift others. Propagate love. Oppose what is wrong. Discover truth. Create new beauty. Voice what is worthy. Share your gifts. Send ripples of generosity into the future. Do an unselfish thing.
Choose.
Once your purpose is found, think of little else.
You will gain everything.
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Sailboats moored near Shelter Island, downtown San Diego in the background.
Anyone who tries to write soon realizes a daunting truth. There are countless possible stories to tell, and numberless ways to tell each one. Infinity multiplied by infinity amounts to a whole lot of indecision!
Last weekend I stood on a patch of beach on Shelter Island. A sailboat moored nearby fascinated my eye, and I puzzled over its profound complexity for several minutes. How could I accurately paint that sailboat with words? How could I phrase the most perfect description? Is it even possible? With a million words is it possible?
As I watched the bobbing boat and struggled to sequence potent adjectives, a sudden thought shook me: Writing’s purpose, like art’s purpose, isn’t to replicate the world. It’s to stretch our minds. That is all.
Words are limitless. As limitless as the universe. They allow us to travel anywhere, in any direction.
A few well-directed words can focus our minds (for a moment) on overlooked things; they can help us see vague things more vividly. Words can seek and memorialize those things that seem important. Words tossed about can provoke hidden feeling and allow us to draw nearer to others. Words, when magical, can help us to discern whispers of meaning in the echoing vastness around us.
Our lives are finite. But the infinity that is contained in words can expand our lives. That is their purpose.
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House of Iran at Balboa Park’s International Cottages and a proclamation supporting human liberty.
When I go for a pleasant stroll I’m often lazy. I’ll note interesting things from afar, but fail to walk up for a closer look.
Recently I took a good close look at a large plaque located conspicuously near the House of Iran in Balboa Park. The House of Iran is one of the couple dozen cottages built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. The furnishings in the colorful little buildings exemplify life in their respective countries. Many members of each “house” trace their ancestry to the old country.
The shining plaque lies in a bed of flowers. I approached it and paused to read. It’s dedicated to the First Declaration of Human Rights by Cyrus the Great.
According to the plaque Cyrus the Great (585-529 BC) was an enlightened Iranian emperor. Unlike many rulers of old, he upheld human dignity throughout his vast empire and treated his subjects humanely. He opposed slavery and supported the freedom of religion.
This ancient declaration of human rights was inscribed in cuneiform on a clay cylinder, which is now on display in the British Museum.
Plaque with translation of the First Declaration of Human Rights by Cyrus the Great.
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Decorative doors to La Granada Ballroom at the House of Hospitality in Balboa Park.
How many doors are waiting to be opened in one ordinary city? In San Diego, with a population that exceeds one million, there must be many millions of doors.
We take doors for granted, pushing through them like nothing, and yet there is something magical and transformational about each one. Doors represent movement through space and time, from this amazing present to a future, amazing present. As we’re propelled forward in life we pass through many doors, and like the choices we face they are found on every side. Where do we turn our feet? Which doors do we try? Every chosen door leads our restless feet into a beckoning and wonderful unknown.
So, anyway, I just love looking at endless doors. And each unique invitation they present to the eye, while concealing unseen places beyond.
Here’s a variety of doors that I’ve photographed during many walks…
Colorful front door to a small residence in San Diego’s Little Italy.Colors of the Italian flag frame this unusual door on India Street.Imperial Beach surf shop has a door plastered with beach-themed decals and signs.Caged lion in the Gaslamp guards the Hard Rock Cafe, and a door with electric guitar handle.Funky west entrance to the House of Blues in downtown San Diego.Walking past distinctive front of Our Lady of the Rosary church in Little Italy.St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill and an elegant red door behind rows of columns.A little shop in Sherman Heights has a plain door invitingly open beside fun pinatas.Artist studio door is wide open and welcoming in Balboa Park’s colorful Spanish Village.International Travelers House has a door that welcomes one and all.Is that a swinging saloon door in Old Town, or a painted version on an ordinary door?This rusted door makes a fashionable statement in downtown San Diego.Just a cheerful orange and bright green door in East Village!
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Coming Together sculpture near convention center and Petco Park.
A very prominent example of public art in San Diego is the large sculpture that stands at the southeast end of the convention center, just across Harbor Drive from Petco Park. The colorful ceramic and mirror mosaic face, called Coming Together, was created by internationally famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle. Two more of her whimsical artistic works can be seen in front of the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park.
Niki has explained that Coming Together represents the essential duality in human beings. The two sides of the composite face have several notable differences. One side is black and white, the other has a range of bright colors. One side is jagged and angular, the other is smooth and curved. One half of the face has long hair, the other half doesn’t.
The striking image that is created, she has explained, is a Western interpretation of yin and yang. The duality includes joy and darkness, and the masculine and the feminine.
Created in 2001, Coming Together has definitely become a well known landmark in downtown San Diego!
Public art created by Niki de Saint Phalle.Closer look at light shining from mosaic sculpture.Ceramic and mirror artwork reflects nearby Hilton.Coming Together sculpture stands along Harbor Drive.
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