Los Angeles Artist, Man One, Attacks San Jose With Man Eating Shark"

San Jose SharkByte Art Summer Exhibition Announcement with Mayor Ron Gonzales

San Jose, CA.; The unveiling of Man Eating Shark," a 6 foot long 4 1/2 foot tall fiberglass shark sculpture aerosol and acrylic painted and named by Los Angeles international artist, Man One, was the focus for San Joses press conference, May 3, 2001 at 1:00 p.m., announcing the upcoming downtown August – October 2001 art exhibit, SharkByte Art: A San Jose Art Experience.

From the Circle of Palms Plaza in front of the San Jose Museum of Art, 110 South Market Street, Man One and artist Joe Saxe presented their shark art to Mayor Gonzales as representatives of the 100 artists who will be associated with San Joses largest art in public places exhibit. Man One and Mayor Gonzales were joined by San Jose Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies, President and CEO of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau Dan Fenton, Ben Miyaji of the San Jose Arts Commission, SharkByte Art Founder Joel Wyrick, Project Manager Gary Walker, and SharkByte Artistic Directors Brian Eder and Cherri Lakey of Two Fish Design firm. Man One is sponsored by information technology giant, IBM, to design and paint his sculptured shark.

Borrowed from the Trojan Horse theory, Man Ones aerosol and acrylic painted Man Eating Shark" shark art is described as, merely a vehicle for transporting art. Images of artists with dripping paintbrushes in hand pull themselves out of the sharks body. Glimpses of a new technology, artist tools and computers pierce through the skin - even a computer mouse flaps from the jaws of the creature. A loose film strip wraps around the back end of the sharks tail. The artistic message is you can't kill ART -so don't try it, support your local artist," says Man One.

The three-month exhibition will consist of 100 life-sized fiberglass sharks, transformed into works of art through a variety of mediums, such as paint, sculpture, metal work, robotics or textiles. The sculptures will be displayed on downtown sidewalks, parks and paseos beginning August 1. Through a public auction in November, 90 percent of shark sale proceeds will benefit area non-profit organizations and arts programs.
SharkByte is designed to bring color and creativity to downtown San Jose through local, regional and national artistry, while benefiting non-profit organizations and arts programs. The exhibit will attract residents and visitors to the city center, enhancing it as a destination point and creating additional revenues for downtown business owners.

Background:
Shark Byte Art is modeled after a public art project introduced in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998. Zurich had over 800 decorated fiberglass cows as public art, strategically placed in the public landscape. The project was successfully replicated in 1999 in Chicago, entertaining millions of visitors and adding $200 million dollars to their economy. In the year 2000, New York, Cincinnati, New Orleans as well as other cities have all had successful adaptations of this public art concept.
   A $3500 sponsorship for each shark is earmarked as follows: The manufacturing cost of the plain fiberglass shark is $1500. Each artist will receive $1000 honorarium to complete their Shark designs and the remaining dollars go towards marketing and expenses. Each Shark will be mounted on a 300-pound concrete base and will display a plaque bearing the name of the sponsor, artist and the Shark.
     Visit www.SharkByteArt.com and www.manone.com for more information.
   #         #         #