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    4.0 (1 review)

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    4 years ago

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    Ursa Mater - Ursa Mater

    Ursa Mater

    5.0(2 reviews)
    1.9 miDowntown

    "As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of…read moredeep significance."―Calvin San José has a long line of, shall we say, questionable Public Art (PA) projects; everybody knows about the giant dog turd statue Quetzalcoatl―or as I like to call him Quetzacaca ( goo.gl/lvswBr )―in the Plaza de César Chávez. Let's also not forget the Fallon Statue debacle ( goo.gl/wKEv0g )―and don't get me started on the mangled shopping carts (goo.gl/vbB6NE) passing for a statue on the corner of Alma Ave and Almaden Rd. Need I go on?! So, whenever CSJ does something right I love to point it out. I first read about Ursa Mater (aka Mama Penny Bear) in the Merc from my buddy Sal Pizarro's column. Ursa Mater is a gigantic piece of coin art that was put together by Hayward-based artists Mr & Mrs Ferguson. She first made an appearance at last year's Burning Man festival and is now prominently displayed in Paseo de San Antonio―just east of Plaza de César Chávez, right by Bijan Bakery. The statue of Mama Bear and her two cubs sits at least 10-12' tall and is completely covered in 200,000 pennies ($2,000 worth) to make up the bears fur. It's pretty cool to look at from afar, and even cooler up close. I suggest getting here quickly to check her out, as she will only be on display until the end of May. And then we'll be back to staring at Quetzacaca forever. FOL...

    I like to think that these represent the bear on the California flag. The name Ursa Mater…read more Is an excellent play on words by the artist. Ursa Major is Latin for "greater she bear" So Ursa Mater translates roughly to "She bear of matter" ( I only understand a very small amount of Latin so this may or may not be the exact translation). The bear and her cub are made of pennies so it seems the artist's intention was to make a realistic mother bear out of " matter" , hence the name. Also behind the pennies is a concrete core. It's as if these bears have a real fur made out of metal. As the previous reviewer said, there are are a lot of bad San Jose art pieces, but this one is fantastic. Just an edit: it seems to be gone now. Very sad.

    Photos
    Ursa Mater - Made of 200,000 pennies!

    Made of 200,000 pennies!

    Ursa Mater - Ursa Mater

    Ursa Mater

    Ursa Mater - Baby Bears =)

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    Baby Bears =)

    Japantown San Jose - Kogura Gift Shop

    Japantown San Jose

    4.2(168 reviews)
    2.9 miDowntown

    As small business month is quickly approaching I was thinking how wonderful and vibrant a community…read moreJapantown San Jose is. There so many seasoned and new diverse small business owners here in the heart of Japantown. Classic Loot, Zonkey, Roy's, Santo Market, Taqueria Corona, Minato, Hukilau, Kazoo are among my families favorites. We have also enjoyed and welcomed new businesses too like Banne (yummy sourdough) and Furbaby Fancy petgrooming (the most posh and elite pet grooming experience) into our rotation as well! I should have just listed all the businesses here! So proud of the businesses that contribute to our community!

    There's definitely a lot of history, community love, and shops and restaurants here. It's smaller…read morethan the other Little Tokyo in LA and Japan Town in SF (I think), but because we came around midday lunch time on a Tuesday after Fanime, not many stores or restaurants were surprisingly open? Maybe it's due to being after Memorial Day or because most of them were night time dinner service only restaurants. Either way it's much cleaner than Little Tokyo in LA and with less jump scares and trash everywhere. Easier to find parking and more affordable, in a sense, than Japan Town SF. Stopped by the Japanese grocery store and Santo Market while we were here. Fun to kill a couple of hours, I suppose. I just gotta come back here again when more things are open !

    Photos
    Japantown San Jose - Tōno Coffee Project - a San Jose pop-up

    Tōno Coffee Project - a San Jose pop-up

    Japantown San Jose - Bay Wheels e-bikes

    Bay Wheels e-bikes

    Japantown San Jose - Santo Market

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    Santo Market

    San Jose Public Art Program - Santo Market mural

    San Jose Public Art Program

    5.0(3 reviews)
    0.2 miWillow Glen

    I like walking. I like public art. I love walking and discovering public art more…read more San Jose has quite a collection of murals and sculptures setup allover the city. Finding these artistic installations just make my day. From cultural centers like Japantown to historic Willow Glen to the bustling Downtown. There's just so much to see. Thank you Annabelle for creating this page.

    The SJ Public Art Collection consists of murals, statues, and diverse art pieces that can be found…read morethroughout the city at libraries, parks, theaters, museums, pathways, and even the airport. The one that stands out to me, which I checked out last week, is MY RABBITS, STORIES IN CLAY, a tile mural in the patio of Willow Glen Branch Library, created by artist Nina Koepcke and children of the library. You have to walk through the inside of the library to reach the courtyard. On the ground, colorful artworks portray bunny characters from beloved tales such as The Velveteen Rabbit. This one's pretty hidden, so I'm glad I discovered it. Other noteworthy pieces I've visited and love are A MONUMENT TO THE LAST BARN at Emma Prusch Park, which provides shade and a nice resting area for parkgoers, with benches inside the barn's metal framework, LUPE THE COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH on the Guadalupe Trail, a structure made entirely out of steel pipes, and PARADE OF ANIMALS at Discovery Meadow, randomly placed creatures in a field of grass. It's hard to tell if these are climbing structures for kids or monuments of significance. The rabbit is obviously my favorite part, especially cuz my actual bunnies like to curl up like the pose of this statue. Two others I pass by regularly during my runs are the ALVISO BENCH & MANDALAS at the Alviso Branch Library and DREAMS OF THE SALT MARSH at the Alviso Storm Pump Station. Both of these perfectly reflect and represent the history and beauty of the quaint neighborhood and former city of Alviso. The SJ Public Art Program focuses on community and partnership, and is constantly working on projects to evolve, all of the artwork with a unique story and meaning, many utilized or viewed everyday. There is much to be appreciated.

    Photos
    San Jose Public Art Program - "Pinoytown". Gabriel & Bones

    "Pinoytown". Gabriel & Bones

    San Jose Public Art Program - "Malama Aina". Taylor Reinhold, 2023

    "Malama Aina". Taylor Reinhold, 2023

    San Jose Public Art Program - Kazoo Japanese Restaurant mural

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    Kazoo Japanese Restaurant mural

    Alebrijes - Sculptures

    Alebrijes

    4.0(2 reviews)
    1.9 miDowntown

    This is a temporary art exhibition at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, featuring oaxacan animal sculptures…read moremade of fiberglass and metal construction and painted with colorful and imaginative designs. My faves were the lionbull, the happy alien, and of course, the rabbit (by artist María Jiménez). A couple of the artworks are located across the street, near the SJ Museum of Art and in front of Bijan Bakery, but the rest are scattered throughout the park, a lovely sight to see among the beautiful trees and decorative lights in the plaza. Supposedly the statues themselves light up after dark. But perhaps they were broken during my recent visit, or maybe these creatures partied too hard over the weekend during the Pride festivities, cuz only one was illuminated with color-changing lights at nightfall. It was still enjoyable to explore these creative pieces during the day, especially on a Monday afternoon without the distraction of annoying crowds. Plus it's free to view, unless there's a special event happening which charges an admission fee. San Jose Jazz and its partners are hosting various community gatherings and activities in the plaza through the end of September as part of this exhibition, including cultural festivals and movie & music nights. These are great opportunities to check out this fun and unique art display and celebration of Mexican tradition and heritage. And just maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to see all of the sculptures lit at night during these events.

    The three stars is for the Coco movie shown last night, next to the Art Museum. The problem was…read morethat the view of the movie screen was faded, because of a city sidewalk spotlight which was aimed directly at the movie screen. This made the movie harder to see. Because one of the palm trees cast a shadow over the right-third of the screen, the right side of the screen was easier to see than the left side of the screen, which suboptimized the experience, because our eyes keep reminding us that one side of the screen is faded, while the other side is not, which forces the mind to continually have to adjust for the whole hour and a half. But the black statue at the other end of the park lit up well in the dark:

    Photos
    Alebrijes - Sculptures

    Sculptures

    Alebrijes - Sculptures

    Sculptures

    Alebrijes - Sculptures (lit after dark)

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    Sculptures (lit after dark)

    Desire - publicart - Updated May 2026

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