Cultivate Your Mind in the Orchard of Knowledge

Artist: Beatrice Coron (2006)

The artwork consists of three separate artwork:

• The Tree of Knowledge includes three glass panes in the window wall that runs the length of the Library's main lobby. The artwork builds on the idea of age rings in the cross-section of a tree trunk: images in each concentric ring speak to a specific period of history and growth in the region, from the earliest period of indigenous inhabitants to the present.
• Bibliotree is sculptural element in the form of a tall flourishing tree made of water jet cut steel. The cut outs in the trunk are letters from the alphabets of the many languages contained in the Library's collection. On the lower branches of the tree are books and objects associated with reading; these continue onto the higher branches, which also contain objects representing newer forms of media. In this way the work suggests a developmental progression: the roots of language in letters and alphabets flourish into literature and on into other media.
• Orchard Walk, 26 thematic sidewalk insets made of stainless steel and flamed granite, are embedded in the concrete along the walkway that runs between Santa Teresa Blvd. and the Library entrance. The insets each feature the title of a literary, media or music reference, each with a different fruit in the title along with the author’s, director’s or composer’s name and a corresponding fruit image. The titles were drawn from world literature and media as well as items in the Library collection. Orchard Walk also includes a "welcome mat" in the main entrance to the Library. It contains whimsical images of two people, male and female, tending a garden and framed in the words "Cultivate Your Mind in the Orchard of Knowledge," the artist’s unifying theme for the group of artworks.

District: 2

Report a Concern: (408) 793-4330 or publicart@sanjoseca.gov.

Documents

• Cultivate Your Mind in the Orchard of Knowledge - Fact Sheet

Features

• (Public Art) Libraries
• (Public Art) Permanent Artworks