ZeroOne transforms San Jose into interactive, electronic art canvas

Something very strange is going on in San Jose this week…Photo-equipped pigeons will be blogging, a karaoke ice cream truck will be cruising downtown and just walking in front of the San Jose Museum of Art could get you transformed into a Sims videogame character. Skateboards will be making music, the new city hall will be transformed into something reminiscent of a Lava Lamp and passersby will be challenged to interpret Bat Signal-like projections on the top of the Adobe building.


It’s all part of ZeroOne San Jose, an electronically influenced, organically actuated festival of art that turns all of downtown into its broad canvas starting today and running through August 13th.

Though generally discredited by hipsters from San Francisco to Santa Cruz as a bland suburbia, San Jose actually has a thriving yet compact indie art scene that’s anchored by a number of galleries in downtown’s SoFA (South First Avenue) district as well as its excellent Museum of Art near the north end of Cesar Chavez Plaza.

It is this modestly sized sphere of activity which makes something like ZeroOne possible. Were it too small there wouldn’t be enough critical mass for it to happen, too large and it would collapse under its own weight. ZeroOne’s emphasis on technology also seems a good fit for San Jose and its high tech heritage. On paper (or screen, as it were), it’s the perfect convergence.

As a bonus, the festival will leave behind its wireless infrastructure providing free internet access after ZeroOne closes, a fitting gift one would think, for a town with the unfortunate “Capitol of Silicon Valley” subtitle.

The only downside is figuring out what of ZeroOne’s copious offerings to take part in. Ironically, the festival’s website takes some work to get particulars from, but I found this page offers a good staring point. The San Jose Museum of Art’s plan of attack is even better and its café seems like an obvious jumping off point.