100 Block Mural Project
Photographer: Hunter Ridenour (2022)
Artist: 100 Individual Artists (see )
Year: 2019
Commissioned by: Local Color SJ
Artwork
On the side of a building, this mural, sponsored by LocalColor SJ, consists of 100 individual 3鈥檟3鈥� mural tiles designed and painted by local artists. The resulting 65 ft long wall comes together as a visual tapestry of images, symbols and meanings that showcases San Jose鈥檚 artistic diversity and stands as an example of the non-profit鈥檚 goals of creating collaborative opportunities for local makers.
Public Art as Resistance
In 鈥淭he 100 Block Mural鈥� the representation of the individual and collective come together in an interdependent representation of society. Though each tile represents an individual identity, aspiration, or life, they do not exist as wholly separate works, but rather a holistic representation of the city. Metropolitan centers are portrayed as homogenous, fast paced, loud and unfamiliar spaces. 鈥淭he 100 Block Mural鈥� pushes back on the perspective to show the breadth of life, worldviews, and experiences of individuals who live, work, and recreate throughout the city. The viewer is presented with 100 stories that contribute to the epic that is San Jose.
Which one represents your story?
Continue Your Walk
The construction going on next to this mural was originally designed by Bjarke Ingels
for the annual Serpentine Galleries architecture competition in London. Developer
Westbank purchased the pavilion and brought it to Toronto and then to San Jos茅. The
goal was to uplift San Jos茅's cultural economy and exemplify the repurposing of parking
lots/vacant parcels. It is supposed to stay for eight months but the construction
around it has not been completed. It has stayed closed for a little over seven months.
They say it should be completed by June. Hopefully, the piece will grace us for a
bit longer.
The next public art tells the complex story of the Japanese-American internment in
California and is a bronze sculpture tucked into a federal building plaza, behind
the VTA Light Rail guard, and across from a parking structure. Plan to spend some
time here taking in the representative stories on this work.
Additional Resources
- of process by one of the artists, Julie Meridian (2019)
- of murals by Local Color SJ
- 鈥�" video by Local Color SJ
- "," Lorraine Gabbert (Aug 2021)
- "," Niall Patrick Walsh (May 2021)
