San Jose, California

Groundwork is a site-specific installation commissioned for the Hillview Branch Library in East San Jose.  Artist Amy Trachtenberg developed artwork for the entry rotunda that reflects the area’s agricultural history.  East San Jose was a major fruit-growing region, prior to the emergence of Silicon Valley as a technological center.  Trachtenberg’s eight sculptural columns recall the local agricultural labor history.  Her Shadow Frieze, comprised of twenty-six paintings evoking the farmed landscape, encircles the upper reaches of the rotunda.   

Jeffrey Miller collaborated on the design and crafting of the rotunda column surround.  Each column consists of a stack of antique tractor tires at the base, a basket of hewn wood milled from recycled redwood timbers, stainless steel cans recalling the industrial canning of local fruits and vegetables, and a crown of natural Madrone branches.  Miller Company engineered and installed the project.

Owner: San Jose Public Library
Funding Agency: San Jose Public Art Program
Project Artist: Amy Trachtenberg