A man balancing on one arm, a dancing figure balancing on one leg, a dolphin balancing a ball on its nose and an abstract figure balancing in a tree-like pose. These characters aren’t part of a surreal circus. They are a few of the 30 new artworks in the Port of San Diego’s continuing public art exhibit, Urban Trees 7, which is on display along San Diego’s North Embarcadero.

The public will have a chance to help dedicate the 30 artworks in a ceremony on Thursday, October 28 at the Port of San Diego’s B Street Cruise Ship Terminal. The opening reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and will include most of the artists who created the sculptures, which are called trees because they are rooted in large planter boxes.

Now in its seventh year, Urban Trees has become wildly popular among visitors to San Diego Bay’s North Embarcadero. Cruise ship passengers enjoy looking at them as they wait to board their vessels, patrons from nearby restaurants study them as they wait for their reservations and many who walk by can be seen turning their heads to gaze at the sculptures.

This year’s exhibit has a little bit of Hollywood in it. The Urban Tree titled “Handstand” is by artist and actor Daniel Stern. His bronze sculpture depicts an eight-foot-tall man balancing on one hand. Stern, who has been acting since 1979, has been in more than 40 movies. He had key comedic roles in “City Slickers”, “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold”, “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. His many television roles included playing Fred Savage’s father in the television series, “The Wonder Years”.

Some of the sculptures in Urban Trees 7 celebrate an arboreal theme. These include “Liberation,” by artist Brandon Roth. His creation includes a tree with aluminum leaves encircled by an empty bird cage. Another tree-like sculpture, “The Spectrum of Time,” by artist Garrett Goodwin, uses recycled tree trunks with colorful pieces of glass embedded in them.

From a distance, artist Jeff Zischke’s Urban Tree titled, “Red Palm,” looks exactly like a red palm tree. It’s not until you get closer that you realize the palm’s fronds are made up of 22 red rakes. Artist Glenn Vogel created a different take on the palm tree. His artwork, “23rd Century Palm,” is a sleek, polished aluminum palm tree that moves with the bay breezes.

Sponsored by the Port’s Public Art Department, the Urban Tree exhibitions were conceived as a means to activate the North Embarcadero pedestrian promenade and enhance the aesthetic enjoyment of the waterfront with a variety of unique and original artworks.

Over the past seven years, Urban Trees has become a popular destination within a destination and an engaging, changing and enjoyable public art experience for thousands of visitors drawn to this picturesque bayfront. Artists responding to a national call were invited to apply their creative energies to the design of artistic “trees” (sculptural artworks) that would add interest, form, color and fun to the waterfront. From 82 entries, these 30 artworks were commissioned for the Urban Trees 7 exhibit, which extends for a half-mile along Harbor Drive, from the Cruise Ship Terminal to Hawthorn Street. Along the way, visitors can enjoy other attractions including the USS Midway, the Maritime Museum, San Diego Harbor Excursion, Hornblower Cruises, and outstanding waterfront dining.

Story Posted by Port of San Diego