Sensing YOU
and Sensing
WATER
by Dan Corson
Two of the most stunning and largescale
artworks in San Jose exist on the
edges of downtown. “Sensing YOU” (left)
includes over 1,000 painted circles and
81 large illuminated rings running along
the ceiling of the I-87 HIGHWAY UNDERPASS
ON SANTA CLARA STREET. Each of the individually
controlled rings lights up and
together form different patterns when
pedestrians walk through the sensoractivated
area. Nearby, at the I-87 HIGHWAY
UNDERPASS ON SAN FERNANDO STREET is
“Sensing WATER,” (right) another Corson
light installation that colorfully simulates
flowing water and projects its patterns in
response to real-time weather updates.
At night, these installations provide a gorgeously
lit entrance into downtown.
Urban Rooms
by Estudio Teddy Cruz &
Fonna Forman (left)
Among the city’s newest public art pieces,
this 2017 installation is also one of the
more sprawling and dynamic works. Forming
a kind of small park pavilion within
downtown’s PARQUE DE LOS POBLADORES,
it is composed of steel structures fitted
with a colorful network of vinyl-coated
chain-link fences that create four “urban
rooms.” The installation includes the
“Urban Art Platform,” an open stage that
can be used to transform the area into
an event space. The pavilion’s concrete
floors are painted a variety of colorful
patterns, and curtains on the structures
can also enclose the area to create a
more versatile gathering space. n
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