"Valley of the Heart's Delight" Mural - San Jose, CA
Posted by: saopaulo1
N 37° 23.521 W 121° 50.957
10S E 601860 N 4138983
A nice trompe l'oeil on the Berryessa Community Center.
Waymark Code: WM5VQF
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/17/2009
Views: 33
"Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, the mural's repetitive arched walls are also reminiscent of the old California Mission. Just as the Missions did before, the Berryessa Community Center provides a year-round gathering place for activities. Included in the mural are elements from the past, as well as the present and future, to create a continuum to this heritage.
Like time portals, two arched doors serve as a formal exhibition entrance. The left door leads to an upstairs part of the exhibition entitled "The Future". Ascending to an unseen level, the viewer is encouraged to envisage what is to come, and perhaps ponder their part in shaping San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley. The right door is an entrance to the past, or the "Valley of the Heart's Delight". Depicted by a series of illusionary tile murals, these sweeping agricultural scenes can be seen throughout all of the exterior arches.
As viewers explore this panorama, they will discover a subtle but unusual area that appears to be unfinished tile work. Closer observations will reveal remnants of a community that thrived here ten thousand years before the Europeans. An old stone pestle and mortar wall, recently uncovered by ‘tiles’, bears the mark of the Valley's first food gatherers -- the Ohlone." (
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