creative enlightenment Archives - Page 24 of 28

See the light Throughout the Tunnel, Sonic Runway, San José

December 8, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

This time of the year, when it gets dark early, it is a joy to see all the light installations, private and public.

San Jose partnered with Burning Man in an initiative called ‘Playa to Paseo’ to bring more engaging art downtown. The first of these, the Sonic Runway, is in front of the City Hall on Santa Clara Street from Fourth to Sixth. Everyday from 5pm to 12am thru mid January 2018 the Sonic Runway “is a corridor of lights that visualizes the speed of sound”, according to the official website. I recommend going both ways through the tunnel; one way the sound is coming at you the other way you are in sync with lights and sound.

When I visited, the early visitors were enjoying a stroll thru the tunnel, in both directions. I saw families with kids, but also couples on their way to a night out in town.

A short while later the skaters used a newspaper box as a ramp to perform some jumps and slides inside the tunnel.

I had the feeling the only ones not so thrilled about it are the city hall employees trying to go home at 5pm.

The other light installations in the ‘Illuminating Downtown’ program are:

(http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/22/map-interactive-light-displays-downtown-san-jose/)

‘Show Your Stripes’ – Second and San Fernando

You can use a phone code to change the patterns and colors of lights on the building

‘Sensing You’ and ‘Sensing Water’ – Highway 87 underpasses at Santa Clara and San Fernando

Lights responding to movements of passers-by

‘San Jose Semaphore’ – Adobe Tower, Park Ave and Almaden Blvd

Crack the code, an interactive game

‘San Carlos Lantern Relay’ – South side of San Carlos, between Fourth and Market

Eight boxes on poles flash an interactive light show

‘Voxel Cloud’ – Pierce Ave at Market St.

3-D light sculpture on top of the apartment building

Have you setup your own Holiday light installation? If you have post a photo on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/untilsuburbia/.

Unearth Confucius

November 24, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

On a recent trip to San José I decided to check out the Overfelt Gardens. Within this local park is the Chinese Cultural Garden, a piece of land gifted by Frank and Pauline Lowe in 1971, to bring Chinese culture closer to the American people.

It is a very peaceful place with a couple of ponds and the geese population greatly exceeds the human park dwellers. I followed the path to the Chinese Cultural Gardens and was greeted by Confucius himself! I am sure he was meant to be surrounded by water, but the absence of it did not take away from his greatness.

A few more Chinese structures are in the park, but overall it is just a great place to unwind, walk around in some greenery and surround yourself with peacefulness.

Other features of the park are the Amphitheatre, a palm garden and the California garden.

What are your favorite places to unwind?

Learn About Inventors, Museum of American History in Palo Alto

November 10, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

So, when you google Menlo Park you will get a lot of results talking about Thomas Edison. Who, it turns out lived in Menlo Park, New Jersey and that development was named after the Californian town.

The Museum of American History in Palo Alto is running a current exhibit titled: Thomas Edison and His Rivals: Bringing Electricity to America.

You can learn about American ingenuity and the rivalries between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla, until February 18th, 2018. They also show a lot of different inventions from the three tech pioneers.

The subject is not surprising for the Museum of American History, which focuses on inventions and technology from 1750 to 1950.

The permanent exhibit features a 1920s general store, an early 20th century kitchen and outside a replica of an auto-repair-shop, a print shop and the marvelous garden.

It is a great museum to spent some time inside and outside. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5.

What is your favorite invention?

Shakespeare bust from the Shakespeare Society of America, Moss Landing

Unlock the Shakespearian Treasure Trove

October 21, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

Sometimes I find the most amazing things without looking for them. I was killing time in Moss Landing last weekend before a beautiful kayak tour and stumbled upon this little gem of a museum: the Shakespeare Society of America and its collection of artifacts, plus a gift shop. The museum is free, but encourages donations. Opening hours are usually from 10 am – 5 pm daily.

When R. Thad Taylor, the founder of the Globe Playhouse in Los Angeles, passed away in 2006, the Shakespeare Society of America had to relocate. In 2008 it moved to Moss Landing.

If you are an admirer of Shakespeare you should check it out. The collection consists of rare books, artwork and other memorabilia. A tour especially for school classes grades 9-12 teaches the work of William Shakespeare.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

Victor Arnautoff's mural depicting neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing at work

Find Arnautoff’s Murals in Palo Alto

October 13, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

Ever since I saw the murals on the Roth Building in Palo Alto I was intrigued to find out more about Victor Arnautoff. The Roth Building located on 300 Homer Ave is the former Palo Alto Medical Clinic and the soon-to-be Palo Alto History Museum.

When the hospital first opened in 1932 it was quite a stir due to one of Victor Arnautoff’s murals depicting a half undressed woman receiving treatment. In fact it caused a traffic jam on Homer Ave due to the cars driving by so slowly to get a glimpse of the art work.

Arnautoff himself a Russian-American artist who trained with Diego Rivera and came to Palo Alto to teach art at Stanford is most famous for his artistic contribution to the Coit Tower. The Roth Building frescos are among his earliest works in the United States.

When the Palo Alto Medical Clinic moved to 795 El Camino Real, it placed replica medallions of the artworks at its front entrance. On my search for these replicas, I talked to a woman from the hospitals philanthropy department, who knew there had been a story about Arnautoff on KQED that morning. Apparently a once lost mural had been found in the Richmond post office and is now waiting to be restored for the Richmond Historic Museum. (https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2017/10/04/richmond-mural-rediscovered/)

But this does not conclude the Arnautoff concurrences. The San Francisco State University Library currently has an exhibit about Arnautoff: “Arnautoff and the Politics of Art” which runs through December 12th. You can see it Monday – Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm.

Have you spotted Arnautoff’s work?

Resources:

https://richmondmuseum.org/arnatouff-mural/

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/10/02/richmond-post-office-mural-missing-for-decades-rediscovered/

https://news.sfsu.edu/news-story/library-exhibit-features-new-deal-era-murals

http://www.sfchronicle.com/art/article/Famed-labor-murals-reproduced-at-SF-State-12178439.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Arnautoff

http://www.frugalfun.com/discovered.html

http://www.pastheritage.org/Tours/Homer/HomerWalk.html

http://www.pastheritage.org/Articles/ArnatouffMF.html

http://www.pamf.org/about/pamfhistory/moral.html

https://library.sfsu.edu/exhibit/victor-arnautoff-and-politics-art

Balloons part of Luftschloss at the Palo Alto Art Center

Play! with Art, Palo Alto Art Center

September 22, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

The new exhibit at the Palo Alto Art Center is called Play! An artful approach to make us realize that we all need to be more playful.

The first installment entering the gallery reminded me of my son’s wish when he was younger that he wanted a rollercoaster in the house. The slide came out of the wall and connected with colorful paths up and down the wall.

The most fascinating installment for me was the moving globes. Nils Voelker’s Bits and Pieces felt like they are doing a dance for us.

My son retreated to the nook, folding origami objects.

We all enjoyed Andy Warhol’s and Billy Kluver’s Silver Clouds. We spent quite some time throwing the silver balloons towards the fan.

The Palo Alto Art Center also offers events around the theme of play: A Season of Play offers a lot of family workshops from integrational playdates to stop-motion animation.

Where do you go and play?

Take a Watercolor Journey, The Foster in Palo Alto

September 15, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

The Foster in Palo Alto is a relatively new art space. Featured are watercolors from Tony Foster who chronicles his wilderness adventures in aquarelles.

Foster a trained pop culture artist turned to self taught plein air painter in hope of protecting the wilderness he depicts.

He journals his paintings with diary entries, little map pieces, and found objects or souvenirs.

I was warmly greeted by Kathleen who introduced me to Tony Foster. His painting supplies are at the entrance to get an understanding on how a plein air painter works – everything has to be light! I also liked the map of the places that he traveled to and painted.

Going into the exhibit I decided to take the audio tour with explanations from the painter himself and wander off by myself. I did not stick with the audio tour, mainly out of time constraints, but it is another reason to come back and experience the pictures in a different way.

I really enjoyed my visit and was surprised how well the space was used; it seemed like you could meander with pictures forever.

Have you heard of Tony Foster?

Mix-up your Museum Visit, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History

September 1, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History is really five experiences in one.

On the first floor it has the Heart Room. A lot of knick knacks and mysterious objects that encourage you to start a conversation, with yourself or whoever is listening. You can even make your own booklet, with writer’s prompts, designed by the Young Writers Program.

If you climb the stairs to the second floor, you’ll notice the surfboards and some modern art. While it also offers changing exhibits, the floor itself is the home of the history museum. Santa Cruz’s history is well displayed in various sections, from the Native Americans, to the farm workers, to the Hippies, all who shaped Santa Cruz.

The current exhibit: Lost Childhoods: Voices of Santa Cruz County Foster Youth and the Foster Youth Museum runs until December 31st, 2017 and is a must-see! Understanding the system and the people behind the foster program was sad and eye-opening. Nevertheless they leave you with a plan on how to help and take action.

On the third floor you step into the Ballooniverse Addi Somekh’s space for balloon art. A small room with huge balloon sculptures. That made me smile. You can even make your own balloon hat in the hallway. On the opposite site is the Secret Garden, an outside area that lets you unwind and refocus.

Which experience do you prefer?

Expand Your Universe, Chabot Space Center, Oakland

August 25, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

While the eclipse was a great way to get your children interested in space, planets, and safety goggles, you should use this excitement to your advantage to teach them more about the universe. The Chabot Space Center in Oakland is one of the places you can go to learn about space, see movies in a planetarium, tour the telescopes, crawl into a black hole, and much more. They even had volunteers explaining a pinhole to see the storms on the sun (we saw three storms the size of earth!) and another volunteer was tracking the sun’s movement.

The exhibit that convinced my family to go is their current Art and Science of Pinball exhibit, through September 27th, 2017. Of course they let you play a variety of pinball machines. But they also explain the mechanics and help you understand it by singling out the technique and making you press a button to see it.

I loved the two pinball machines that were all see through! One digital, one mechanical, they both allowed you to see the moving parts while someone else played. It made us go back and find the examples in the exhibit.

Also two thumbs up for the Bean Sprouts Cafe with a lot of healthy and fun food options.

Where do you expand your universe?

Line-Up on the Surf History, Surfing Museum

August 18, 2017February 1, 2025Silvia

Santa Cruz, aka Surf City, was the first city in the United States to learn about surfing. In 1885 three Hawaiian princes took a break from boarding school in San Mateo and taught the locals how to surf.

The Surfing Museum in the old lighthouse in Santa Cruz lets you in on over 100 years of surfing history. The museum is free, but kindly asks for donations. Listed in decades, it takes you through the advancements of surfboards and the history of local surfers. You can see the board that was attacked by a white shark, including two of the teeth left in the board!

From here, if you start walking towards the boardwalk, you come across the memorial for surfers that have left the earth for good. Behind the memorials are some surfing rules by Sam Reid.

If you continue your walk there is another tribute in form of the surfing sculpture (“This monument is dedicated to all surfers – past, present, and future…”).

I had a fun time watching the young surfers (I assume this was a summer camp) trying out the waves.

Where is your favorite surf spot?