art
town
around
QUIETLY, ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, a vast constellation of artworks,
including a much-loved and much-maligned bronze serpent statue
in Plaza de Cesar Chavez, are soaking up the sun across downtown
San Jose. A brisk walk around town reveals a plethora of art pieces,
from installations and sculptures to murals and memorials, all within
a compact two-mile radius.
For those that might fail to acknowledge the artistic and cultural
vibrancy of San Jose, the city’s Public Art Program provides a strong
rejoinder. Scattered across downtown, and citywide, are some 300
public artworks in a variety of forms that have been commissioned
over the years by the program. And this doesn’t include the temporary
installations, such as last year’s popular “Sonic Runway”—a
tube of metal rings that synchronized light and music to simulate the
speed of sound—at City Hall, nor the variety of artistic projects unaffiliated
with the city that additionally blanket downtown surfaces.
TECH
OBSESSED
SILICON
VALLEY
TAKES TIME TO
APPRECIATE
THE ARTS AT
STREET LEVEL.
BY BRANDON YU
84 South Bay Accent