Jorge Briones, Morgan Hill Downtown Association executive director, speaks during the mushroom art unveiling ceremony Friday at Lojart Gallery, as possible ideas are projected onto a fiberglass mushroom. Local artists will decorate the mushrooms that will be displayed downtown.
Colorful, thought-provoking, money-making: these aren't the adjectives typically associated with mushrooms - until now.
The Morgan Hill Downtown Association, along with Art Bay Area, aim to attract people to Morgan Hill's downtown with a temporary public art display involving about 25 fiberglass mushrooms, to be decorated by local or area artists.
On Friday, the two groups unveiled the first mushroom to the public during a press conference held by Downtown Association Executive Director Jorge Briones at Lojart Gallery in downtown Morgan Hill. Propped on top of a concrete pedestal inside the Main Avenue art studio, the stout white mushroom stood 30 inches tall and 30 inches wide.
Briones gave a short presentation at the unveiling, showing the different possibilities of what could be done with the blank canvas that is the non-geometric mushroom.
Images of flowers, peace signs, and tie-dye were projected over the mushroom using a computer.
But Morgan Hill's artist community had ideas of its own.
Sheri Chakamian, who works in acrylics, said she would probably do something with figurative dancers, her specialty.
"I'm hoping a lot of people can connect with the art," she said.
Artist Angie Young said she was thinking about doing something whimsical and brightly colored for the project.
"Art should be accessible to all ages," she said. "It should be easy to understand, fun and not boring."
Commercial artist Doug Wright focused on the fundraising purpose of Mushroom Art.
"I'll probably do a 49ers theme, and get some players to sign it," he said, noting that San Jose's shark with a sports theme auctioned at the highest price.
One rendering already submitted features a mosaic on the mushroom head.
After each mushroom becomes an art piece, they will be displayed throughout Morgan Hill's downtown, or between Main and Dunne avenues on Monterey Road. Maps will be produced marking where each mushroom stands. City officials hope the project will bring tourists from all around to Morgan Hill's downtown core.
"It looks like it's going to get us a lot of attention, and that's what we need," Mayor Steve Tate said.
The town artists' creativity overwhelms the limited venues that can display it. This makes Morgan Hill a perfect place to host this project, which duplicates the San Jose's "Shark Bite" 2006 fundraiser, said Rosalinda Bush, president and founder of Art Bay Area.
"We're bringing venues to the area to sell (artists) work," she said. "It's a whole different vision than what they do now. We're very community minded. With this project, we're bringing artists and buyers under one umbrella."
Mushroom Art will raise money three different ways. First, each mushroom will be sponsored for $1,500. This money will go towards an artist's stipend of $500, making the mushroom for about $620, and the rest will go towards the project's infrastructure, like permit fees and marketing.
Second, after their public display, each mushroom will be auctioned off. Most of the auction money will be donated to the local charity chosen by that mushroom's sponsor, but 15 percent will go to the downtown association as profit. The nonprofit association already has almost $3,000 invested in the event, said Briones.
Briones said the Mushroom Art Project is the perfect prelude to downtown revitalization.
"The sooner we can get people to realize that we have (things to offer) downtown and they start coming downtown, the easier the transition will be," Briones said.
He said he had the idea in the back of his mind for the past eight years, since he saw Shark Bite Art, San Jose's version of the popular public art project. Dozens of cities from San Francisco to New York have hosted similar displays.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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