Nature of Life

Artist: Sayed Alavi (2003)

This multi-element project is designed as an integral part of the school environment, so that art and life are harmoniously fused together. Each piece responds to a particular aspect of the school's physical, social or historical environment.

• Alphabet Windows: twenty six of the small classroom windows feature an animal or a bird whose name corresponds with one of the letters of the alphabet.
• Animal Footprints: Animal foot prints are impressed into the plaza around the water fountain near the Administrative building. They are placed in such a way as to appear that the animals have come to drink at the "watering hole."
• Fossil Wall: The wall between the Kindergarten and Multi-use room, presents a geological fossil, a replica of actual an actual fossil. Students are exposed to the concept of geological time and the fossil record.
• Classroom Name Plaques: Each of the three floors of the school building are given a classification category of Animal, Vegetable or Mineral. The ground floor is named for rocks and minerals, the second floor for plant life and the third floor for animal life. Each room is given a name as a layer of identity beyond the usual room numbers. The progression upward in the building represents greater complexity of life.
• Banner Mural: Historic murals from the original school have been documented and photographically reproduced on screen mesh fabric, which is hung as 2' X 5' banners in the mulit-use room.

The project seeks to celebrate the identity of the school by preserving the past and contributing new identity to inspire the imagination of its student body.

District: 3

Report a Concern: (408) 793-04330 or publicart@sanjoseca.gov.

Features

• (Public Art) Schools