Monday Mural: jump on in

This wonderful mosaic mural decorates a local public pool.  On the other side of the stairway is another mosaic of a girl jumping into the pool.  I don't know for sure, but the murals look like they are based on black and white photographs.  A real change from the more typical aquarium decoration you see around pools.  Sorry, once again I have no attribution for the artist

elcome to Monday Mural.  If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you; just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to your mural finds posted this week.  Google+ users, please configure your post so we all can leave a comment.  Thanks.  I'll be gone for a few weeks and won't be able to leave comments on your posts.  The meme will still go up weekly via auto-posting.

“ Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Rev. John Watson

remember them

There are four massive bronze sculptures by Mario Chiodo in this Uptown park that highlight moral and social leaders of the world.  It's really hard to take a picture of them to capture size, color, and detail.  These are the best of a bad lot.  Interestingly, there are images 360 degrees around each piece.

Theme Day: mystery object

Here's my theme day entry.  Can you guess what it is?  Unfortunately, I don't have a long distance shot to show you.  It is a large piece of public sculpture on the Mills College Campus.  Spiders have added an extra layer of weirdness to this piece.  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this month's City Daily Photo Theme Day.

ABC Wednesday: Z is for zany

I read on Streetcolor's blog that she had yarnbombed an Oakland Library.  Naturally I ran down to get a picture of it before it was taken down.  Check out her blog for other efforts.  Yarnbombing is such a whimsical and zany activity, that it's hard to imagine that folks would take exception to it.  But it happens.  Last year another group yarnbombed the T in the There sculpture on the Oakland-Berkeley line.  City officials initially protested and then backed off, probably realizing they came across as stiff-necked, humorless, bean counters.  I don't know where or when yarnbombing started, but I do remember a post by Steffe last year, which raises the possibility this activity started in Sweden!  Visit ABC Wednesday for more takes on Z.  Next week we start again with A.

Skywatch Friday: blue skies, weird statue

This statue can be found at Union Point along the estuary.  I think it's supposed to represent multiple cultures that inhabited the immediate area throughout history.  Nice try, no cigar.  For more sky shots, visit Skywatch Friday.

Weekend Reflection: on the way to the estuary

This is part of the tidal channel that brings water to Lake Merritt from the estuary.  There's a nice little park with a couple of public sculptures along side the channel.  In the background is the Nimitz freeway that this channel runs under to reach the estuary.  Another view was posted a while back.  This was taken before the week of rains came.  For other reflections, visit James' meme, Weekend Reflections.

willing to be educated

This pair is found on the Oakland campus of the California College of the Arts.  CCA (formerly known as CCAC--California College of Arts and Crafts) is a nationally known and respected art college that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.  It was founded in 1907 and sits on 4 wooded acres above the quarry lake featured a couple of months ago.  CAC anchors one end of College Avenue with the entrance to the UC campus at the other end.  Tried to find out some information about these sculptures but came up empty-handed.  Frankly, I don't get it/them, which probably represents a serious gap in my education.  I have faith that someone in the blogosphere will enlighten me.

Jack London statue

A statue of Jack London in the public space named after him at the foot of Broadway.

art at the Oakland airport

 Oakland International Airport travelers arriving at or departing from Gates 26-32 in Terminal 2 will view a stunning 160-foot glass window wall entitled "Going Away, Coming Home" by Oakland artist Hung Liu.  Commissioned in 2006, this work features her signature "drip" technique.  The artist took her inspiration from an antique Chinese screen and successfully creates a feeling of serenity in a busy environment.  The 80 cranes in this installation represent blessings and safe travel.

There is here

On the border between Oakland and Berkeley stand two iron sculptures with "THERE" denoting where Oakland starts.  What does Berkeley's side say?  "HERE," of course.  It's actually pretty funny even if it is a sideways diss of Oakland.  It's a sly reference to Gertrude Stein's supposed comment about Oakland that "There's no there there."  But honest, folks, she wasn't referring to her hometown, but rather to the fact that her childhood home was no longer standing in the old neighborhood.  The elevated structure in the background is the BART metro system.