June/July 2019 89
Man of Fire
by Kim Yasuda
A tribute to Dr. Ernesto Galarza, a prominent writer and labor
activist whose work helped pave the way for Cesar Chavez and
the immigrant farmworkers movement, this 1998 artwork, situated
at the end of downtown’s PASEO DE SAN ANTONIO, appropriately
leads into Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The work consists
of three components. On the pavement, terrazzo ribbons are
inlaid with Spanish and English text recording remembrances
of Galarza from his loved ones. The ribbons lead into an empty
cast bronze chair, which sits at the front of a cast-concrete
library table inlaid, among granite portraits and bronze text,
with items including bronze farm tools and a field worker’s hat.
Show Your Stripes
by Jim Conti
A show of both stunning visuals and interactive play, these
strips of colored light adorn a building facade on EAST
SAN FERNANDO STREET. During the day, they simply reflect
the sky, but at night, various light patterns shine brightly.
Most notably, the light show can be activated and controlled
by viewers through a phone number. All one needs
to do is call a number (408/287-0128), enter any threedigit
combo after the tone, press 0, and hang up. Then,
watch the show commence.
Plumed Serpent
by Robert Graham
This cast concrete sculpture, mentioned above, sits at the end of
PLAZA DE CESAR CHAVEZ, and symbolizes Quetzalcóatl, a mythological
deity from ancient Mesoamerican culture. It is also undoubtedly
the most controversial and discussed public artwork
in downtown. Created in 1993, the statue’s coiling serpent shape
is often likened to the shape of a pile of excrement—which may
have been Graham’s intent. Though accounts differ on the piece’s
development, one theory claims that the famous sculptor supposedly
had a creative dispute with the city’s Redevelopment
Agency on a separate project, and the final form of “Plumed
Serpent” became his act of revenge. True or not, the artwork
generates discussion, making it among the city’s most successful
pieces in that regard.