Nina Karavasiles - In Progress

A SAN DIEGO AFRICAN AMERICAN LEGACY

Lillian Place front view	a new public art piece at Lillian Place, Wakeland Housing, 14th and J Streets, Downtown San Diego
	Take a journey back to the San Diego of the 1870's. Then fast forward to the 1960's with the art piece "A San Diego African-American Legacy". Explore the African-American contribution to San Diego development through entrepreneurial enterprise, sports and culture.
Four, ten foot tall individual concrete panels make up the broad sculptural form. The vivid color can draw in a viewer from a great distance to see the smaller details. Dense with information, a viewer tends to linger. The exact surface texture in the cast metal is achieved by taking a life cast from the actual objects; a catchers mitt from the 1940's, a parachute is packed and ready to deploy and a Marceler hair curling iron. These items resonate with history and even afford a gentle touch. These real life forms protrude form the wall plane and support the text. Octagonal paintings on metal with an enamel surface animate the text. Cowrie shells link twin panels together with the hint of a reference -this shell used to be money. Lighting makes evening viewing possible. This piece is a turning point for the neighborhood.
Catchers Mitt Life cast from an actual Spaulding leather mitt form the 1940s, every wrinkle is preserved in the bronze.	Catcher's Mitt
Parachute skin on the wall Area SDAAL picture of Nina during construction	Click here for the story of purchasing this parachute. Marceler Click here to read all the text.
Jihmye Collins	Jihmye Collins, a community activist since adolescence, uses the universal language of art to express the political realities around him and a deep Bah??belief in the oneness of humankind. His studio scale paintings are brought to the public here in 4 octagonal montages which stitch together a visual counterpoint to the historic text. He loves jazz and it is evident in his paintings.
	To view all of Jihmye's octagonal enameled painting, click here.
Lillian Place is a affordable housing project by Wakeland Housing and Development Corp. http://www.wakelandhdc.com and San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation. http://www.sdihf.org. The architects are Studio E. http://www.studioearchitects.com John Sheehan Landscape Architecture is Ivy Landscape http://www.ivyla.com Harold Mestyanek and Mike Vail Mooney and Associates, now a branch of Jones and Stokes (www.jonesandstokes.com) authored “Centre City Development Corporation Downtown San Diego African-American Heritage Study” 2004. Richard Carrico and Stacey Jordan supplied the historic information for the art’s text panels as well as the display inside the community room.