Sunday, June 22, 2008

Cupertino Perspectives

At the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza boulevards in Cupertino is the twisted silver metal sculpture called "Perspectives." It can look like a figure-8, an infinity symbol, a Möbius strip, and the stitching on a baseball; all depending on the viewing angle. Perspectives is flanked by two water fountains and it is illuminated at night. It's a visual treat no matter when or from what angle you view it. I often ponder it's meaning when I walk by and I find it helps me look at problems differently, ahem, from a new perspective.


Perspectives is the center piece of Cali Mill Plaza which is the closest thing Cupertino has to a proper downtown area. Cali Mill actually used to be a feed and supply store back in the days when Cupertino was an agricultural community populated with fruit orchards. Today, Cupertino is a suburban metropolis populated with amazing high-tech companies such as Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, SigBlips, and Symantec.


The Perspectives sculpture was created by Roger Berry and it was installed in 2004. The sculpture was commissioned by the city of Cupertino and it generated a bit of flack when it was first unveiled. Some people didn't like it. Some people didn't understand it. Some people thought it was a waste of Cupertino's limited funds but those critics were quickly hushed when it was revealed that Apple Computer had funded it!


And finally a view of Perspectives from space. Note the cool shadow.