at Telegraph and 21st, “Pattern for KONO” brings an european-style decorative floral pattern - reminiscent of interior domestic and feminine realms - to the street. Hand stenciled to mimic wall paper the pattern depicts the rose of sharon or mugunghwa (hibiscus syriacus), the national flower of South Korea; the meskel daisy (bidens pachyloma), from the mountains of Ethiopia representing renewal and the new year; and the coast live oak (quercus agrifolia), which sustained the Ohlone.
Drawing for utility box at 21st and Telegraph in Oakland
Altman painting Utilty Box on 21st street in Oakland
stencil painting on utility box in Oakland
Painted with assistence from Darin, a transient psychic residing on roof tops near the box.
Created soon after the slaying of Michael Brown the “Utility Box” with “Hands up donʼt Shoot,” a stack of gift boxes, and “bojagi” (Korean cloth wrapped gift”), is a visual prayer that folks utilize the gift of being present to counter unconscious bias.
