The
Screenprint Showdown put together a month-long design contest calling for San
Jose's creatives and culturalists to submit designs to retort the question,What is your San Jose? The project culminated in The Day of Print on January
30th with a live print process and winning and finalist designs on display.
Below, Quynh describes the inspiration behind her design. SJ Creamery is an homage to growing up in North/East Side San José. It is also a statement on the gentrification of these communities. La Pulga Paleta, or The Flea, (top left) represents the iconic Berryessa Flea market in North/North East San José. It also represents the shift of employment from one consensus to another in the face of gentrification. Due to the development of the modern BART extension to Berryessa, many small businesses that execute much of their livelihood at the flea market are at risk of displacement. For this reason, and the paleta is melting.
The Chrome Wheel Paleta (bottom left) represents the iconic culture of the Lowriders within the East Side. This imagery was also meant to reflect culture,identity, and choice. With increasingly people moving into San José within the tech sector, or spreading the influence of mass production,uniformity, and energy efficiency, and the culture of the lowrider is becoming a subcultural scene that many people may view within a negative stereotypical context. For this reason,the paleta is melting.
The Lucky Cat Paleta (bottom suitable) represents my childhood experiences at Lion Plaza off Tully Road where every restaurant had a Lucky Cat statue posted in the front to welcome in good fortune. As a result of gentrification, we see a rise in rent, and main to unjust evictions,jobs that require hybrid skills, and work campuses that execute it more challenging for native locals to outlive in San José. Therefore, and the momandpop shops of the eastside are suffering. For this reason,the paleta is melting.
The Standard paleta (top suitable) represents the modern flavoruniform in shape and mass-produced. It is not melting because it is the modern corporate norm that is standardizing and taking over our communities.
I am not one to stand against change and growth as long it is inclusive to all communities and not exclusive to downtown. Unfortunately, we have not found a way to alleviate the negative consequences that come with gentrification. That’s why I chose the paleta as the overall theme.
Paletas are an iconic childhood memory growing up in this community. Whether you’re unhappy or happy, and during good times and bad,until we can come together and take ownership, invest, or protect our communities,we can always count on a paleta to eat our problems absent.
Source: siliconvalleydebug.org