Portfolio > Hidden and Not So Hidden Gems of Berkeley

Westward Arm, Marin & Monterey
Westward Arm, Marin & Monterey
Digital Print
Sizes vary
2011

Some of the “Berkeley Gems” are hidden by the fact of being small or by virtue of their placement among a tangle of plants, behind a fence, etc. This muscular arm is hidden in plain view. I can imagine that hundreds, if not thousands, of motorists have come to a stop on Monterey just where it crosses Marin (drivers must yield to the oncoming traffic heading northeast) and never noticed it. Another case of at least bending my rules, the piece is not, as far as I can tell, on any individual’s property—unless someone can lay claim to the traffic island formed at the split in the road. Exhorting the passer-by to go west, it was apparently placed there (or perhaps created) on June 14, 2010 by an artist named Polk, according to details on the base.