Friday, May 8, 2009

Back to the Land: Totem Pole for the 21st Century







“Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only after the last fish has been caught. Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”

Cree Indian Prophesy

Totem poles, an ancient tradition of the American Indians, are considered metaphorical entities that watch over and assist tribes while seasons come and go, blessing crops to provide for the community, and maintaining a symbiotic harmony with nature. Living so close to nature, respect of the land is unquestionable, and a respect for its thriving life force, an entity that could not be controlled by the hands of man.

In our fast-paced, concrete-coated environment, our relationship with nature has drastically shifted since the days of living honestly off the land. As our water supply dwindles and we continue to follow an unsustainable system of living, the urgency to shift to a more eco-conscious lifestyle becomes more pronounced. It will be a difficult but necessary change that can begin with the food we eat, starting with community gardens like Seeds at City College.

Back to the Land is a totem pole for the 21st century. As the fight for conscious living continues, the Seeds at City College totem pole will stand in the garden as a silent advocate for a sustainable planet, compelling others to make the shift to greener lifestyles, and preserve the world for generations to come.

Big thanks to all those talented artists who made it happen!

Angel Adame, Jason Dalope, Brendan Larkin, Terri Hughes-Oelrich, Danica Mirasoul, Anna Stump, Emir Sundquist, Amy Swart, Ingrid Vigeant, and Maricella VillaseƱor

“If artists carry the power to decide what is beautiful, they carry the power to decide what matters"

For more info check out these sites:

www.foodnotlawns.com

www.seedsatcity.com


Saturday, March 7, 2009

Electric boxes are boring. Let's redesign this city!

Outside Lila Jolla Studios, 1002 Prospect St., La Jolla, CA
www.lilajollastudios.com

If this project was based in Pacific Beach, its intention would be to keep the wasted from pissing on public property. Instead, I had the fortune (or misfortune) of creating art in a cleanlier part of the City. In this case, it was designed to stimulate feelings of peace to passers-by along this busy intersection of Downtown La Jolla. It's a well-known fact that people are products of their environment: every dull surface in a city is an opportunity to spread a message to its people.
Whether it's tagging for street cred, or an opportunity to make somebody feel something out-of-the ordinary, I now see how semi-illegal street art is a really positive experience to be had by all! We need more Banksys and Shepard Faireys out there. Realist rousers, criminal carousers: catalysts to the life experience. What, after all, is a truly ordinary if you look around?