Weekend Reflection: mural and tiles

After I took a picture of this mural, I noticed it reflected in the tiles on the building across the street.  Since I also love the old tiles that decorate so many of Oakland's buildings, I had to take a picture of this one too.  I like the abstract, watercolorish, fractured quality of the reflection.  But I agree, without an explanation, you don't know what you've got here.  For more reflections, visit James' meme Weekend Reflections.

more turtles

Dan Fontes is adding to his Emergent Sea mural featured yesterday.  Although you can readily see the mural from the freeway, finding the street it's on is another story.  I had to circle the area a few times before I found the circuitous route there.  Whew.  Mission accomplished.

Weekend Reflection: Venice in the courtyard

The owner of a local apartment building has covered the side of his building and the back courtyard with a Venice mural.  There is no attribution to the artist.  Or the motorcycle.  But there is a reflection in there somewhere.  Be sure to visit James' meme for other reflections.

ABC Wednesday: E is for Ella Baker

Ella Baker was a seminal figure in the Civil Rights movement.  Among her many accomplishments was her role in founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) which organized the Freedom Summer drive in 1964 to register southern blacks to vote.  Her name graces the Ella Baker Center in Oakland which works for social justice issues and green jobs in the Bay Area.  For other E posts, visit ABC Wednesday.

early freeway mural

This mural was created in 1977 by a group of students from Laney Community College.  This makes it one of the earliest murals in Oakland.  It is on Claremont Avenue under the Highway 24 overpass.  It was restored in 2003.  A small little park is across the street.  Surprisingly, the neighborhood uses it despite the whooshing sound of traffic above your head, and who knows what chemicals in the air.  Somewhat ironic given the theme of the mural.

Chaos without Peace within

This long mural is across the street from Oakland Tech.  It was sponsored and funded by the Community Rejuvenation Project which is responsible for many murals around the city.  The Project uses street artists and local youth to design and create the murals.  Check out their website

Theme Day: graffiti

This month's City Daily Photo theme is "graffiti" which probably means different things to different people.  This mural, which I'm guessing is not a paint and run job, is located at 45th Avenue and International Blvd.  The building looks empty, but who knows?  I have to confess that seeing Fred and Barney made me laugh out loud.  Close inspection reveals that this work has been tagged.  Irony?  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this month's Theme Day.

ABC Wednesday: I is for Ice Center

Ice skating in Oakland?  Go figure!  The Oakland Ice Center opened in 1995 amid a fair amount of controversy about the economic wisdom of the city funding this project.  The hope was that the rink would help change the sketchy feel of the neighborhood.  Can't say that it was a complete success either environmentally or economically.  The ice center is now managed by the NHL Sharks corporation and offers two rinks, one for skating and one for league hockey.  The rates remain reasonable and the Yelp reviews are positive.  I've never been inside but I like the murals that decorate the building.  I've also seen plenty of 20-somethings walking in with their gear and hockey sticks.  They must be Canadians.  For more "I" photos from around the world, visit ABC Wednesday.

This is an automatic post.  I'm traveling and will likely have restricted access to computers to comment on your blogs.  Back in town on October 1.

Theme Day: bright colors

This is the Flux 53 Theater in East Oakland.  It is a performance space that offers a variety of musical and theater events.  This tromp l'oeil mural snazzes up a faded block of businesses and older homes in a gritty area of town.  I really like the "reality behind the reality" theme working here.  It has both an exotic and hopeful message.  I wish the founders luck in achieving their vision.  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this month's City Daily Photo Theme Day.

ABC Wednesday: B is for bee mural

Here's another fascinating mural by Desi in West Oakland on Mandela Parkway.  I think it's official name is Connected Worlds.  He's also responsible for the one that is around the corner from this bee.  For more "B" photos from around the world, visit ABC Wednesday.

Weekend Reflections: you looking at me?

Down the street from the mural with the abandoned mattress, I was stopped dead in my tracks trying to figure out what I was seeing.  Or what was seeing me.  After a moment of disequilibrium, it finally dawned on me that I was seeing a reflection of a mural that was out of view.  See what I mean?  Unfortunately, I failed to note the name of the business that wears this mural.  To see more reflections from around the world, visit James' meme Weekend Reflections.

Weekend Reflections: paint and concrete

This mural of Lake Merritt is located on 27th Street at Broadway.  It is painted on the side of what used to be a car dealership.  Now the building contains a popular restaurant.  The first thing I noticed about this mural was that it includes a reflection.   I immediately thought, "Ah ha, perfect for James' meme."  And so here it is.  For more reflection photos from around the globe, visit Weekend Reflections.

mural with mattress

I was in the neighborhood to see a photography show of old Oakland business signs at Woody's Cafe on Park Blvd.  This mural was spotted behind Woody's Laundromat which is next to the cafe.  The mural was sponsored by the Lake Merritt Business Association, presumably to spruce up the parking lot and the street it faces.  I don't think the mattress was part of the original artistic vision. 

ABC Wednesday: Z is for zebra

Oakland has a multitude of public murals, only some of which have been shown on ODP.  For this particular ABC Wednesday, what could be more fitting than the zebra mural under highway 580 on Broadway?  Actually, several zebras graze on this freeway support pier, with this as an exemplar.  This mural was done many years ago by muralist Dan Fontes, who also did this giraffe posted last fall.   For more "Z" photos from around the world, visit ABC Wednesday.  Next week we start the alphabet all over again.  Yippee!  Why not join us?

Piedmont Avenue mural

This mural is found on the wall of Gaylord's coffee house at 41st St and Piedmont Avenue.  Muralist Rocky Baird developed “The Capture of the Solid. The Escape of the Soul” in 2006.  It represents the oppression of the Ohlone peoples at the arrival of Europeans.  It was a public activity to watch him on his scaffold draw and paint this large piece over a few months.  It became a cause célèbre when someone took offense of his depiction of a nude male and defaced the mural.  He was accused of stereotyping and insensitivity to native peoples, although he maintained that he consulted tribal leaders to have an authentic depiction of how people lived on the shores of the bay.  All the really polemical bits of the mural didn't cause a single ripple of concern.  At the inauguration of the mural a small contingent of native peoples showed up to protest, a blues band entertained the crowd, and most of us just gawked at the mural.  It's very complex and there's a lot to look at.

Vulcan Studios mural

This mural is located inside the property of the Vulcan Studios in East Oakland.  It's pretty amusing if you ask me.  The Vulcan is home to several artists studios, a bicycle repair shop, and a fire dance collective. It is one of the earliest work/live spaces in Oakland.  There's also a Thai restaurant on site.  You can find the Vulcan on San Leandro Blvd. near High Street.  Although this area is highly industrial, and is the corridor for our elevated metro tracks, it still contains a residential neighborhood.  The local elementary school is nearby, as is a Buddhist ashram.

Buddha in West Oakland

This and an accompanying mural are found on Mandala Parkway and 20th Street.  It was designed by Desi, an Oakland street artist, as part of a summer program with West Oakland youth.  It is not readily apparent, but the "canvas" is an old railroad car placed on railroad ties.  I understand this is not everyone's cup of tea but it is something to consider.  You may argue whether or not it's art, but I don't think of it as a blight like tagging.

One of the Four Guardians

This mural (only part of which you see) was painted last year on the back of a large warehouse which faces the 880 freeway.  I like the mix of styles between wild animation and traditional Chinese scroll paintings.  The folks who designed and executed it gave it a lot of thought.  Taggers have left it alone but the same cannot be said for the train cars that stand near the mural.

a mural of Lake Merritt

Here's a local mural capturing the same spot as yesterday's photo.  Can you tell it was sponsored by a veterinarian?  Located at Broadway and Pleasant Valley.  The artist is Steffan.

freeway mural

Oakland has tons of public murals. This 32-foot tall giraffe by Dan Fontes is on a support pier of the 580 freeway at the Harrison Street on-ramp. The city contracted with Dan in 1983 to create seven (!) giraffe designs for spaces under the freeway. In 1994, after piers were wrapped in steel sheeting for earthquake safety retrofitting, the highway department contracted with Dan to repaint the now hidden original. Who says vast State bureaucracies don't have an aesthetic heart? Anyway, this knock-kneed giant always makes me smile. And an attitude adjustment prior to entering the traffic crawl is always a good thing.