Category Archives: oaksterdam

Create for Yourselves…

The true title of this 7-story tall mural is “Mitzvah, the Jewish Cultural Experience.”

Located at 14th & Franklin – we passed it on our way from the Layover to Spice Monkey for dinner – the mural was created in 1985 by artist Keith Sklar, with Brooke Fancher and Dan Fontes.  Measuring nearly 100 feet wide and 150 feet tall, a large central banner reads “Create for Yourselves a New Heart a New Spirit,” surrounded by imagery representing significant historical individuals and events in Jewish history, including a portrait of a concentration camp victim.

The mural is a landmark in the recently dubbed Oaksterdam area of downtown Oakland, and as I snapped a few photos the other night, an attendant guarding the parking lot next door told my friend and I, “that mural’s been there as long as I can remember… It’s older than me!”

keith sklar murals oakland, oaksterdam mural, create for yourselves

mural by keith sklar, dan fontes, brooke fancher, 14th and Franklin

downtown oakland murals, oaksterdam mural, 14th & franklin mural

bay area multiculturalism

multicultural murals, downtown oakland murals, keith sklar

Despite being focused on Jewish historical figures and events, the mural also features a melting pot of characters exemplary of the multiculturalism that predominated Bay Area murals during that period. Another example we’ve seen is Street Tattoo, created by some of the same artists.

Art in Commerce.

I was downtown last night for dinner and a drink with a girlfriend… specifically we were in the Oaksterdam area of 16th and Franklin, meeting at The Layover,  and I guess I haven’t been down there for a little while but it just seemed that everywhere I looked, there was something I wanted to document or photograph or check out further… tons of flyers, posters, stickers, wheatpastes… it was kind of overwhelming because, frankly, I was late…  and thirsty.

So I didn’t really to take the time to slowly explore like I might under different circumstances, but these two large what-appeared-to-be-wheatpastes were so striking they made me stop and take a quick snap.

art in commerce, wheatpaste advertisements, oaksterdam

Upon closer inspection, they both turned out to be ads.  Which kinda disappointed me.  But then again, there are some amazing creatives working in advertising, so I didn’t feel too bad for being duped.

I’m the person who typically mutes commercials, because, for the most part, they strike me as manipulative and banal.  But some… some are truly inspired. For example, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this damn hamster car commercial!  It’s hilarious.  Brilliant. And interestingly enough, shot in Hamsterdam.

Anyway, the first poster is for an upcoming Dreamworks movie (Megamind), which actually looks pretty entertaining (Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt). It’s what the original artist, Shepard Fairey, would call a “bootleg.”   You can see more here.

The second is for a Nintendo game, which I can’t say much about because I don’t play video games.  But I went to the website to check it out, and the one thing I’ll say is, it does have a cool soundtrack… kind of like that to a Jean-Pierre Jeunet movie.

Past & Present

I was cruising around downtown a few weeks ago and came across this old Art Deco clock on the corner of 16th and Broadway (below left)…

oakland street clock, art deco clock, lamp with naked figures, sexy lamp

It’s design is unusual because although the base is rectangular, the tower and clock itself is pyramidal, with only three sides. According to Bill Sturm, who runs the history room of the Oakland Library, street clocks used to be common in Oakland, erected by jewelry stores as advertising. Most of them are gone now, and Sturm says this is the oldest one in the city, hands down.

Commissioned in 1930 by the Davidson and Licht Jewelry Co. and originally installed at 1318 Broadway, this clock was uprooted twice when the jewelry store moved and has been at its current location since 1947. Interestingly enough, though no longer functional – it was damaged by a car sometime in the 1980’s – it still marks the location of a store that sells jewelry, among other things.

1635 Broadway is now occupied by The Home Fashion store. You can see their sign in the background which touts everything from “jewelry, watches, clocks, art pictures, figures, silk flowers, lamps, phones, women’s lingerie, and sunglasses.” Lingerie… really?!? That’s quite an assortment of stuff.

I spotted the lamp (above right) in their store window… Its tag reads “the unique and best lighting source.” All I can say is… WOW.