サンマテオ・ダウンタウンの一角がとんでもない事になってきました。
なにやら… 市が、道路をペイントし始めました。今週末にお披露目の模様です。
ここは映画館の前あたり。Ｂストリートの２ブロックがアート設置の対象です。
今はまた一時的にカバーしちゃったけど、隙をみて塗り立てほやほやを写しておいたよ。
これは Racial Equity Art Project 人種の公平 を表現したアートだということです。
このあたりは、ビストロの Barrel があるあたり。
全般的に抽象的な展開なので、イミフな模様だらけです。
バレルのオーナー アポさんも、靴の修理屋サッコさんもあきれ顔です。
しかも色使いがケバくて、歩く気がしない。
わざと踏んづけられないようにしているのか？
このブロックの車道は閉鎖されていましたが… ついに偽装まで！(笑)
エヴァ社のブロックは、恒久的な設置になりそうです。
これでＢストリートは常時歩行者天国が確定しました。
二度とクルマの乗り入れはさせないつもりのようです。
このへんが、まぜそばの歌志軒があるあたりの塗装。
赤・緑・黒の配色はアフリカを表す場合が多いので、ここは黒人を表現？
でも、サンマテオって黒人の人口比率が 0.5% くらいなんですけど…。
ただ…人口比率で作ったら、タコスと中華にスシと焼肉だらけ。←超レイシスト発言
これは、パシフィックアイランダー（太平洋諸島出身者）を表しているつもりでしょうか？
なんだか…人種的な平等というよりもステレオタイピング的にまずいような気がしますが。
どうでもいいけど、これって市民の税金を費やしてるよね？(怒)
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駅舎の向こうに見える、壁がキャンバス状態の建物。
ここ… 以前は『リンカーンが幌馬車を駆る』というシュールな絵柄でした。
オーナーが変わったら、もっとシュールで訳の判らん絵柄に塗り替えられました。
ちゃんとタイトルも、作者の名も刻まれています…。
Good Life という御銘の作品のようです。なんとなくグーグルの日替わり変型タイトルみたいです。
こんな感じです…。
普通に手が届く位置にある、生命体だと認識できるあたりに目が貼り付けられてます。
・・・何かこう、見覚えのあるような…。
これは… これは… そうか！！
ガチャピンだっ！！(爆)
First, upon reading this article, the thing that struck me the most was, "This is so America!" I never really thought of San Mateo as particularly American, but having about two blocks of downtown roads painted in such flashy colors is definitely quintessentially American. In Japan, we often see these kinds of paints on various walls, but those are mere graffiti done by artistic-challenged youth, which may be frowned upon but certainly aren’t celebrated.
ReplyDeleteThe art that symbolizes racial equity immediately caught my eye. I wonder, with a touch of humor like yours, if the white snowflake-like designs represent Caucasians and the yellow ones represent Asians. The designs are abstract, and indeed open to interpretation.
It reminds me of "Black and White" by Three Dog Night, a song I used to listen to a lot during my junior high school days (and still listen to in my car).
“The ink is black, the page is white
Together we learn to read and write
A child is black, a child is white
The whole world looks upon the sight
A beautiful sight”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMjzzJG8U0
I've heard, even before you mentioned it, that the average income of San Mateo residents is high and that it's a town where many affluent people live. For such people, being perplexed by this abstract design is understandable. Also, given the vivid colors used, it's only natural that many might hesitate to walk over it. In upscale residential areas in Japan, such flashy paint would most likely be severely perplexed upon.
If this block is closed off to car traffic and is likely to become a permanent pedestrian-only area, there's a feeling that these vibrant paints might eventually become tiresome or even disliked. So, sooner or later, it might get repainted in more subdued tones.
In the end, while I might have written my comments from a somewhat critical perspective rooted in my Japanese viewpoint, my honest impression is that I ultimately find it commendable and even enviable as a liberating initiative characteristic of California.
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteThere are numbers of murals on the walls, of course. But the mural on the road is very unusual even for us living in San Mateo… I only saw some in San Francisco where used be Flower Children resided, or the popular theme is LGBTQ+ these days. Otherwise… ah, I remember Washington D.C. painted a street for Black Lives Matter and against President You Know Who.
This abstract design and paint is done by Spanish artist who is 47 years old. But obviously some colors are representing races – red, green and black are for Africans, cyan blue is for Jewish, but otherwise I have no idea… there must be the right explanation will be given when it’s officially disclosed on coming Saturday at 14:00.
The average income of San Mateo County is over $200,000 but a few billionaires are hiding in the mountain side manors who are pulling the average ridiculously high. Others, including me, living in downtown are not that rich. Well… probably a bit better than the average of California but not so high. Under such circumstance, spending our tax for these murals are somehow somewhat unreasonable and unacceptable for me. There must be better ways to spend our tax for the public such as improving the traffic rights, pave and repair the pedestrian routes, etc.
And I am not sure how long this mural lasts… but scheduling the budget for repainting would be very tough unless otherwise this hits citizens’ true favorite.
Ah, so there are indeed many graffiti murals on the walls of San Mateo. I had always thought of it as an affluent city, so I naturally assumed there would be less of such vandalism. Even in such an American city, it seems that murals on the road are indeed rare.
ReplyDeleteSo the Flower Children used to live in San Francisco? I remember seeing many of those kids when I visited Manila before, a bit surprised to know they were there too.
The average income of San Mateo County exceeds $200,000, but there are a few billionaires who significantly skew the average upwards. This surely is a trick of numbers. For example, life expectancy can be relatively trustworthy since no one lives up to 10,000 years. However, when it comes to averages like income, where there's no upper limit, it's not reliable. In such cases, the median is much more dependable than the average. I'd guess the median income for San Mateo County is somewhere between $150,000-$170,000? That's still pretty high, I'd think.