gardner community center • installed may 2004 • san jose, california
artist: stephen farley • tilography™ by richard young and tom galloway
Artist Stephen Farley spent several weeks meeting with residents of the vibrant Gardner neighborhood just south of downtown San Jose. He brainstormed the concept in collaboration with the community, photographed beloved members of the community, and went door-to-door seeking personal images from private photo albums.
The final work is 18 - 3'x10' tile panels representing the faces of the neighborhood in the past and present . Everyone in Gardner feels that at least one of those 18 people represents them in some way.
12 of the panels are mounted back-to-back on six steel structures that echo the craftsman style of the new community center. These structures are arranged around a circular informal stage area in the plaza in front of the building.
The other six panels are mounted on the walls of the community center itself in two sets of three.
