R is for robot

Found outside a metal recycling business.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

public sculpture

The Oakland Museum has a lovely sculpture garden facing Lake Merritt.  This isn't it.  But, some sculptures are on display across the street from the museum.  I took this to show you our blue skies.  The forecast predicts a week-long heat wave.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.

giant bird feeders

An amusing installation at the Oakland Museum.

Oakland Stonehenge

A massive sculpture in the City Center complex.

There

The City Center sculpture by Roslyn Mazzilli, seen in the background of yesterday's post, is titled "There."  Oaklanders keep trying to correct the misapprehension that Gertrude Stein was talking about Oakland when she said, "There's no There there."  Actually, she made this famous comment after looking at the empty lot that once held her family home (here in Oakland).  Still, it's a dynamic and colorful piece.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.  More cold air and blue skies predicted.

everyone's a critic

Spotted at a recent American Steel Studios open house.

steel flowers

Recently Oakland created a temporary sculpture display in the Uptown area.  This giant flower is by Karen Cusolito who runs the American Steel studios.  Her giant creations are often seen at Burning Man.  This piece is at least 10 feet tall and reaches to the blue skies that appear in the afternoon after the "marine layer" burns off.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.

American Steel sculpture

"Ecstasy" was constructed by Karen Cusolito and Dan Das Mann in 2007 and used that year at Burning Man.  It stands 30 feet high and weighs 9 tons.  In 2010 the sculpture was installed for several months in a park in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood.  She now resides at the entrance of American Steel Studios in West Oakland where Cusolito has her work space and also rents studio and gallery space to over 100 artists and small businesses.

Crucible sculpture

The Crucible in West Oakland offers classes in industrial arts and all media related to fire.   Where else can you can find workshops in blacksmithing, glass blowing, and neon all under one roof?  Oh,  let's not forget fire dancing.  No surprise that they're a big presence at Burning Man.

more paste-ups

I really like the innovation and flexibility that the wheat paste medium allows an artist.  As with last week's piece, this no longer exists.  It seems to me that in general there are fewer paste-ups around town.

wheat paste art

This paste up is by Get Up.  He frequently glued them up on the BART piers in North Oakland.  Since renovations on the tracks began a year ago, all of the art pieces have disappeared or disintegrated.  I miss the innovation of Get Up's work.

ABC Wednesday: P is for paste-up

Paste-ups are ephemeral art on paper mounted with wheat paste.  They are intended to be impermanent, with weather taking its toll over time.  One of the favorite places to hang these pieces is the BART support pillars in North Oakland.   All the paste-ups I photographed in February are now gone.  That includes this piece by Get Up.  For more takes on the letter "P" visit ABC Wednesday.

Lil' Bobbie Hutton

This art installation was on display during this month's Art Murmur.  This harkens back to the turbulent days of the Black Panthers, which was founded in Oakland.  Bobbie Hutton was killed at a young age during a shoot out with the police.  The circumstances of his death continue to be debated but the artist leaves no doubt where he stands on this 40 year old controversy.  The installation is visually compelling and full of intricate detail.

artists live here

Driving around East Oakland I came upon this nifty building which had been retrofitted and then adorned with glass mosaics.  You could just tell that this is/was an artist studio.  No signs identified the tenants, but I heard bongos being played inside.  Below is a detail of one of the mosaics.  Found at 24th Street and 8th Avenue near Park Blvd.

Cool, no?

American Steel sculpture

Big Art Studios is located in the old American Steel factory on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland.  It is now home to many different artists.  You may remember a previously posted sculpture earlier in the year from the same studio.  Tash sent me her research results indicating it was made by Das Mann.  Many of his giant sculptures are now in a large yard behind the building.  Spotted this guy last week.  Must be 10-12 feet tall and an attention grabber among the several other giant sculptures on the yard.

muffler art

Now that the election season is over, time for a little comic relief.  This is one of several figures in front of a local muffler shop at 65th St. and Shattuck Ave. in North Oakland near the Berkeley border.  I especially like the dog.

the Crucible

The Crucible is a West Oakland art center that started as a metal art fabrication workshop.  Over the last several years, its offerings have expanded to include blacksmithing, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and many other art forms.  Every July there is a Fire Arts Festival that is something to behold.

West Oakland sculpture

Oakland has a vibrant arts scene.  This giant sculpture can be found at 20th St. and Mandela Parkway in West Oakland.  It is probably 10 feet long and 7 feet high made of found industrial parts.  The studio is housed in an old warehouse with no identifying name.  Across the street are two 15 foot high standingfigures in the same style.