Observe this series of photographs and you’ll see some of the coolest public art in San Diego!
Viewed from one particular spot, these twisty wavy metal poles rising 25 feet above the beach turn into the word ART!
The delightful sculpture, titled Banner Art, was created by John Banks in 2006. It was commissioned by the Port of San Diego and the City of Imperial Beach.
You can find this optical revelation near the corner of Imperial Beach Boulevard and Seacoast Drive.
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A man called King once had a dream. A dream of man caring for fellowman, limited only by the boundaries of time and space, echoed by men and women through time. A love without limits. Art and Poetry – Jihmye Collins, 1998.
At the City Heights/Weingart Library, in the City Heights Urban Village, colorful art and wise words greet patrons as they approach the front door.
The artwork and poetry were created by Jihmye Collins in 1998.
Approaching the City Heights Library on Fairmount Avenue.Vivir! To live!Celestial fragrance consumes universal air…Patterned tile mosaics and faces.Sometimes I dream a dream of totally finding myself multiplied by the peoples and kindreds of the earth…World Unity.I dance on the brink of the world. I hear your drum…A circle containing diverse symbols.…your creativity, your mind and compassion…Many children at play together.A wall full of life and wisdom.Reading colors your world!
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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!
I really like this festive mural painted in San Ysidro late last year by Michelle Ruby, aka Mrbbaby. The colorful character you see above is named Chucho!
Find this mural on the side of the Carolin Shoes building at 660 E. San Ysidro Boulevard!
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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!
A very creative sculpture rises between government buildings at the County of San Diego Operations Center in Kearny Mesa. It’s titled Perhaps.
Perhaps you’d enjoy some fun photos of Perhaps!
The sculpture was created by award-winning London-based artist Zadok Ben-David in 2012. The giant human form, made of hand plasma cut Corten steel, is composed of tiny joined figures in countless different poses.
So many potential activities in life. The complex story of every life is written by moment to moment choices.
Hmm. Perhaps…
If you’re wondering about the white fenced area near the metal legs of Perhaps, according to a sign it will be a small County of San Diego demonstration garden.
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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!
Mysterious standing stones rise in Nestor, a community located in San Diego’s South Bay. You can find them in a quiet residential area, just north of Nestor Park, on Grove Avenue east of Hollister Street.
Few people ever see this unique public art. Why is it here?
The standing stone sculptures together are titled Plaza Piedras. They were created in 2001 by internationally renowned artist Roberto Salas. Plaza Piedras was commissioned through the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department and the Commission for Arts and Culture. The public art was created to enhance the nearby Grove Avenue Pump Station.
Roberto Salas created these large, mysterious stelae to pay tribute to indigenous cultures. According to this website: “Salas chose a variety of monumental forms to evoke associations with ancient sites such as the Pre-Colombian pyramids, mysterious ruins of Stonehenge, and the massive figures of East Island…”
At the bottom of the central sandbox, kids digging down can discover various relief shapes. I poked around the sand with my foot like a lazy archaeologist, without success.
As you can see from my photos, this quiet park-like place sees gang activity and is frequented by the homeless. Vandalism on the standing stones appears to be regularly painted over.
I took these photographs while moving north through Plaza Piedras.
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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!
I spotted this big, colorful mural during my walk in Imperial Beach today. I see it’s titled the Kindness & Love Mural. It’s by local artist Michelle D. Lubin aka MDFerrera. Visit her website here.
She painted the mural earlier this year outside the Imperial Palms Apartments on Seacoast Drive. It’s part of an ongoing Imperial Beach beautification project.
Hands offer flowers, which attract butterflies and a hummingbird.
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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!
Perhaps you’ve seen it already. The huge, amazing, recently completed mural on a building by Interstate 5, just south of H Street in Chula Vista. When you’re driving south down the freeway it’s hard to miss!
I took these photos today during a super long walk (with occasional bus and trolley rides) around San Diego’s South Bay. It’s my week off from work, so I’ll be collecting many more images all around the city in the days ahead!
What a sensational work of art.
Life, represented by brilliant images of nature, emerges from two strong females.
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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!
There’s a very cool project now underway in Balboa Park’s always colorful Spanish Village Art Center. Artists from various Spanish Village studios have begun to paint metal trashcans that are placed around the big central patio!
It appears to me any subject matter is fair game. In this special place, where you can say hello to local artists and even watch them at work, it’s all about creativity!
These are the trashcans I spotted today…
What will appear here?
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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 historic OB Wonderland is depicted in a happy Ocean Beach mural that was painted by kids back in 2014.
Wonderland was San Diego’s very first amusement park, operating in Ocean Beach from 1913 to 1916. Read more about this short-lived beachfront attraction here.
The children’s mural also features whales, dolphins, sharks, seahorses, eels, jellyfish, snails, parrots, pelicans and mermaids! And hearts and sunken treasure! And the OB Pier! And the Old Point Loma Lighthouse! And Hodad’s! And a whole lot more!
Last weekend I took the following photos of the Fantasy Seascape Children’s Mural.
The faded mural is painted on a long fence by Sunset Gas and Market, at the corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Point Loma Avenue.
Fantasy Seascape Children’s Mural. Designed and provided to the community by Young At Art Children’s Creative Center . . . Inspiring, Encouraging and Providing Opportunities in Art to All Children.
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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 long absent Poet and Muse has reappeared in Balboa Park!
Le Poète et sa Muse–Poet and Muse–by Franco-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, used to stand near the Mingei International Museum’s main entrance. Now, as the Mingei is almost ready to reopen after a major renovation and expansion, the sculpture has returned to public view. It has been placed in a corner of the Alcazar Garden, near the House of Charm’s tower and a new public entrance to the museum!
The beloved Nikigator is also returning to Balboa Park! The fun sculpture, also by Niki de Saint Phalle, will again welcome kids near the Plaza de Panama entrance to the Mingei. I saw today that preparation is underway to move Nikigator back from Liberty Station, where it has been located temporarily during the museum’s renovation.
The redesigned, even more amazing Mingei International Museum will open to the public on September 3, 2021!
Preparing for the return of Nikigator…
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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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