May 13, 2004

Public art unveiled for Almaden Community Center and Branch Library

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

Presenting their public art concepts for the Almaden Community Center and Branch Library, a muralist shared his vision of an “Enchanted Forest,” and a sculptor displayed a detailed model of an Ohlone Native-American woman in a tule boat during a community meeting at Vineland Branch Library Tuesday night.

Mark Evans, of the design team Evans and Brown, revealed three mural concepts, two for the Children’s Library, and one for the Community Center. Due to budget constraints, it is possible that only one of the three will be developed.

“The murals we’re doing for the Children’s Library are long and narrow, and come in three sections,” said Evans. “After getting your feedback, we came up with two that speak to the Almaden area, as well as children, the pursuit of knowledge, and the aesthetics of the building. “For me, growing up, libraries were always a great refuge,” he shared. “Children’s books have great illustrations in them, and the first concept we have, entitled the ‘Enchanted Forest’ pays tribute to stylized children’s illustrations of the past. The shapes of the trees evoke the oaks, aspens and sequoias of Northern California. The birds that flutter through the landscape are the Western bluebirds, which are year-round natives of the Almaden area.”

Their second dynamic mural, entitled “The Pursuit of Knowledge,” is based upon the four elements. As the Greeks were developing the building blocks of modern science, they felt that everything in the world was made up of one or a combination of the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. “The Pursuit” is represented by a running figure superimposed over the images of the elements, and was inspired by California’s pioneer photographer, Edward Muybridge.

As the frieze would hang above the windows in the Children’s Story Area, Vice Mayor Pat Dando raised the concern that the art may be too mature for young children. “There will be other art in the library for adults, and I just want to make sure that we have something the children can enjoy,” she commented. “This is their section. Of the many libraries that I’ve visited, the children’s area is usually more whimsical. These look pretty sophisticated.”

The third piece, “The Enchanted Valley” would flank the stage area of the Community Center’s community room. “We wanted to explore the agrarian past of the Almaden Valley, and the future,” stated Evans. The left panel depicts a male figure carrying implements relating to ranching and/or agriculture, and the right, a female figure reaching for glass spheres, which suggest the limitless possibilities of the future. “The stylized figures will be in full sunlight with the image of an oak tree creating a pattern in the background,” described Evans. “The mural will first be gilded with silver leaf and polished down. Over that, Charlie has developed a technique of painting with translucent oil pigments which results in a rich, luminous image.” The silver leaf represents mercury or Quicksilver, and the red palette, cinnabar.

Realizing that funding might only cover one of the three mural concepts, Dando sided with creating art for the children. “I think that the children’s area should have art, and I think it should be more childlike,” she contended. “But I also think that the other piece is really a nice piece of art for the Community Center area. I like the way it ties in with the history and the symbolism, but I’m concerned that if we chose that one, there will be no art in the children’s section.”

“I want to speak from my heart,” shared resident Marilyn Katz. ”I think the work that we’ve seen so far is spectacular, and I think we would be privileged to have it in our community. It’s what you’d see in any great city in the world, and I just think they’re all too good to pass up.”

Mark Schatz, of Field Paoli Architects, and architect for the Vineland Branch Library, suggested that a fund-raising effort might save the day, providing the budget for more than one mural concept to be developed. “A library built in our community had no money for furniture, so I took the charge to raise the money, and we raised $52,000 in two months through the Friends of the Library, individuals, and area businesses,” he mentioned, “and we bought all of the furniture. We designed the children’s library to have murals in this area, and there is no one better than these guys. I think it would be fantastic to have both. I think if we want both, maybe we could do a fund-raising campaign to raise additional money for children’s murals.”

A bronze sculpture, created by artist Lisa Reinertson, will be placed in the courtyard outside the children’s section, surrounded by redwood trees and ferns. Reinertson considered the uniqueness and history of the Almaden region in developing her forms. “There were also key words I was asked by the community to consider such as ‘nature,’ ‘historical,’ ‘timelessness,’ ‘noble,’ and ‘inspiring,’” she noted.

Her first proposal was an image of a life-size native Californian Ohlone woman in a tule boat, gliding through the space on an imaginary stream. The pedestal of the sculpture incorporates a three-dimensional reflection of the area’s history, including landscape, native deer and birds, a Spanish galleon, a miner and pack mule, vineyards, a cityscape, and a young girl sitting before a computer that displays the timeline of the area’s history. “I wanted to display an idea of beauty, elegance, nobility, and timelessness, like the redwood trees, and the spirit of the Ohlone people, who lived here for 10,000 years,” shared Reinertson.

Her second concept, “Passages,” was inspired by her impression that the Almaden community values family life and learning, and features a tiered tree or bookcase peopled with children and their parents interacting with books. On one level, a mother holds her infant, and a book lies beside them. On another, a father reads a story to his sleepy child. Next is a youth reclining on his back, reading a story to himself, and finally, a young man and woman reading a book together. “Symbolically, the concept reflects a ‘tree of life,’” shared Reinertson. “I thought of the stages of our lives, and in all of these scenes there is the feeling of tenderness and caring, portraying the passages of youth and parenting.”

Other Almaden Community Center and Branch Library art includes Ray King’s prismatic glass sculpture, three stylized canopied trees, and cascading butterflies. As you walk toward the children’s area, you pass under a tree and canopy, and ahead of you is another tree. The mural will be above you, and the butterflies to the left, signaling the entrance to the children’s area. “Our mural, ‘Enchanted Forest’ ties in with the trees and butterflies,” pointed out Evans. “It appeals to the imagination of children,” responded a neighborhood resident. Reinertson’s Ohlone woman would also tie in nicely with the natural theme.

The budget for the Almaden Community Center and Library’s Public Art at this time includes $150,000 for Ray King’s light-responsive sculpture, “Spectral Cloud,” $60,000 for one of Evans and Brown’s murals, and $100,000 for Reinertson’s bronze sculpture, stated Public Art Project Manager JenJoy Roybal, “which is 2 percent of the base project.”

“We want to take everyone’s feedback and that will inform our direction,” she asserted. “We let the Public Art Committee and the artists know what the community’s comments are, and that helps us to develop and evolve.”

The next Almaden Community Center and Branch Library public art meeting is Tuesday, May 25 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Health Building in suite 202B, adjacent to City Hall, at 151 W. Mission Street. The Almaden Community Center and Branch Library will break ground on May 22 at 11 a.m. at 6455 Camden Avenue, and construction will begin in earnest on June 1.