Category Archives: murals

Gateway at SFO

Hi peeps!  I’m back from vacation and excited to get back into the swing of writing here…

I thought I would post more while in Mexico, but what can I say?  The margaritas washed away my lucidity? The humidity locked up my keyboard? A pelican ate my notes?

Whatever the case, I’m back and ready to get crackin’.  I still have some historical figures I’d like to focus on later this week to wrap up Black History Month, but today I want to share an amazing art installation I came across on my way out of town.

No, it’s not in Oakland, but it is just across the bay at the stunning San Francisco International Terminal of SFO (designed by architect Craig Hartman, the same creative force behind our ultra-modern Cathedral of Christ the Light)… so we’ll give a little shout out to the West Bay for a change.

The following pictures are of a permanent mural project entitled “Gateway” by Korean born and New York City based artist Ik-Joong Kang. It was commissioned and installed in 2000, and though I’ve been through this terminal numerous times since then, strangely have never seen it before. I love it.

gateway, Ik-Joong kang, SFO airport art

3" paintings, mixed media, gateway

“The mural contains 5,265 unique 3″ x 3″ paintings, wood carvings, tiles, and cast acrylic cubes [with found objects]. The artist began working in this format when he was a student and commuted long distances to various part-time jobs. The 3″ canvases were small enough for him to carry in his backpack and paint on the subway!” (San Francisco Arts Commission plaque)

ik-joong kang, mixed media art, acrylic castings, 3 inch paintings

3 inch tiles, 3 inch paintings, gateway, art installation at SFO, ik-joong kang

The nature of this piece is exemplary for Kang, as he is known for large scale mosaic-like installations composed from many smaller pieces. These individual “tiles” comprise snapshots of language, religion, and culture that, when juxtaposed and stitched together, create a complex and shimmering representation. There is a great in-depth article about Kang and his work at CultureBase.

art installation at SFO, mixed media art, 3 inch tiles, 3 inch paintings

Art Murmur continued…

Friday already again!  This week has gotten the better of me…

In effort to finish up my Art Murmur escapades before leaving town, I’m going to just ramble for a bit…  After leaving bayVAN, we stopped in to Johannson Projects.  I’ll have to do another post on the Projects in the future because it’s considered one of the best independent galleries in the East Bay, if not the greater Bay Area.  Voted Best Gallery of 2008 and 2009 by the East Bay Express, “[the] art shown in this stylish space… is postmodern-cool, often involving unusual methods or processes, but well crafted and visually appealing.”

Founded by Kimberly Johannson, who just happened to luck out with the already existing lovely “K” mosaic installed at the entryway, this space is the epi-center of Art Murmur.  As such, it tends to be unbelievably crowded, even on a dark drizzly evening in February…

art murmur gallery, oakland art gallery, kimberly johannson

While a lively environment to pal around with friends and meet like minded artsy types, it wasn’t all that easy to see the art, and none of my photos turned out very well, so you’ll have to go check this one out for yourselves.

The current installation, titled Article X, features amazing photographs by David Trautrimas… otherworldly beautifully de-saturated Cold War landscapes constructed out of common everyday household items like coffee pots and waffle irons, and fascinating sculptural installations by Kristina Lewis. Lewis “frees utilitarian objects from their allegiance to human agendas and gives the materials of our disregarded possessions space to evolve. Emancipated zippers, stilettos, and light switches (complete with their wiring), become indescribable relics that could be machine or animal.”  Both of these installations feature the DIY sensibility that is often associated with this gallery.  Show is up through March 20th, and the gallery hours are 12 – 6pm Thurs/Fri and 11 – 5pm Saturdays (also by appointment).

Also featured this evening was a performance by a men’s a capella group called Conspiracy of Beards. Have you heard of them? Based here in the Bay Area, they’re a 30-member group, performing exclusively the works of Leonard Cohen in complex 4 and 5 part harmony arrangements. Can you say dreamy? This was just about the handsomest room full of men I’ve ever seen, and they were pouring their hearts out in song. And boy could they sing. These gentlemen put on a show worthy of the great Mr. Cohen, whom I had the good fortune to see on his recent stop at the Paramount; it was… truly transcendent.  Here’s a brief clip of Conspiracy…

There were a few other stops Friday night, but I’m running out of time so I think I’ll just stop there.  Kind of a nice note to end on I think.

I hope to get a bunch of posts up next week about my historical tour focusing on African American leaders influential in our Oakland’s development.  But it all depends on internet access… vacation starts tomorrow!!!

Elements of Power ~ Voices of Change

oakland mural, oakland mural art, ghosttown mural art

I love this mural, despite its dilapidated state. Painted 10 years ago by folks from Laney College, the East Bay Institute of Urban Arts, and Pat McElroy on the corner of 31st and MLK, it’s definitely showing its years, not to mention the heap of dump-destined-junk dumped in front of it. I thought about going back to snap another shot without the pile of junk, but then decided it was more authentic to just show you how I saw it when I first came across it.

This is typical in West Oakland, and the symbolism does not escape me.

Here you have symbols of power and change for people of color – activists, political leaders, artists, musicians, migrant workers, athletes, and more – all stitched together into a positive tapestry of, dare I say, “hope”, and some thoughtless person obscures it with a bunch of trash they’re too lazy or cheap to dispose of properly. It makes me mad. Trash gets dumped here daily, and I don’t just mean kids throwing their candy wrappers on the sidewalk as they walk home from school (which also happens). I mean large trucks advertising dumping & hauling, who likely charge folks to take their trash away, and then come dump it in my neighborhood so they don’t have to pay the city dump fees. Argh. The city still ends up paying for it, through blight clean up crews, and even more so, reduced property taxes.

It sometimes feels like a losing battle… which reminds me of this essay I read yesterday. It’s a breakup letter to the city of Oakland, from a resident who, after many years of struggling to make this city a better place, has given up. She’s movin’ to the country. Check it out… Ode to Oakland.

I’m not there… yet.

mural artists in oakland, laney college mural

Directed by: Edythe Boone and Meera Desai (if that name rings a bell it’s because she was also involved in the Martin Luther King Jr. mural I covered when I first started this blog – To Ignore Evil…)

African American Museum & Library

To commemorate the beginning of Black History Month, I made a visit to the African American Museum & Library on 14th Street, just a couple blocks behind City Center. I have to be honest, and I am ashamed to admit this, but this was my first ever visit to this museum which opened 8 years ago. I guess I’ll just say it was well worth the wait, because it really is a gem of an institution.

First of all, the building itself is absolutely gorgeous! Both an Oakland City Landmark, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s an architectural delight with lovely arched windows and doorways, detailed exterior stone work and incredible craftsmanship inside.

beautiful oakland building, oakland city landmark

The building was spear-headed by Charles S. Greene, Oakland’s City Librarian from 1889 to 1926, who realized the city was outgrowing its first public library (a wooden structure erected in 1878 where City Hall now stands). He initiated a campaign to build a new one and, along with others including a women’s organization called The Ebell Society, found funding assistance from Andrew Carnegie’s Foundation, which offered $50,000 for the construction of the building. It was designed by architects Bliss and Faville in the American Beaux Arts style, and served as Oakland’s main library from 1902 until 1951.

“The elegant exterior of tan brick and terra cotta is incised with names of authors and disciplines and “Oakland Public Library.” “Free to All” is inscribed above the main entrance. The interior exhibits elaborate oak paneling, classical columns, and ornamented plaster ceilings. The second floor with its coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling supported by massive columns, is one of Oakland’s most imposing interior spaces.” [Historical Plaque co-sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance]

barrel-vaulted ceiling

Once the new main library (at 14th and Oak streets) was opened in 1951, this building served as a branch library, at which point it was renamed the Charles S. Greene Library. It later became city offices, and was eventually abandoned after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. “Following extensive restoration, it reopened in 2002 as the new home of the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.”

The mission of the Museum & Library is to discover, preserve, interpret and share the historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations.

The library is housed downstairs and consists of unique archives and reference materials on the history of African Americans in Northern California. The reference library houses approximately 12,000 volumes whose subjects include “religion, the military, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, Africa in relationship to the African-American experience, genealogy, and California history.” And the archives contain diaries of prominent African Americans, newspapers on microfilm, videos and oral histories, and much more.

The museum is upstairs and “regularly hosts traveling and original exhibitions that highlight the art, history and culture of African Americans.” Here are two of the murals that greet you as you take the stairs to the second floor…

oakland murals, african american history, african american mural art

The current temporary exhibit is titled Access to Life: Faces from a Quiet Revolution and will be up through February 27th. It’s a powerful photographic exhibit by 8 Magnum photographers who focus their lenses on AIDS patients both before and for months following their antiretroviral treatments. “The project documents individuals in Haiti, Mali, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Vietnam; countries chosen because of the diverse contexts and circumstances driving the epidemic in each one.” To learn more, visit accesstolife.theglobalfund.org. Here are a couple shots…

Access to Life, African American Museum

Access to Life, African American Museum, AIDS photo essays

There is also a permanent multi-media installation titled Visions Toward Tomorrow: The African American Community in Oakland, 1890-1990. “Visions documents the historical accomplishments of generations of African Americans in Oakland from the era of pioneering and settlement to those eras of community formation, development of the press, establishment of local churches, and creation of a lasting legacy of music and the arts.”

If you’ve never visited this wonderful institution, might I suggest that there is no time like the present. In honor of Black History Month, I plan to focus on more African American cultural events and institutions as February continues…