Life sometimes does imitate art.
An art show opening Thursday night at an Oakland tattoo parlor illustrates the emotions stirred up in the community by last month's verdict in the trial of former BART officer Johannes Mehserle.
Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on July 8 for fatally shooting Oscar Grant III on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station on Jan. 1, 2009.
Looking through his camera lens, artist Curtis Jermany captured the protests and rallies in downtown Oakland that night after the verdict was announced.
Jermany said he is working on a "coffee table book centered around Oakland covering the good and the bad."
"When the protests came up, I knew there would be some images there I would want to capture," he said.
Although some seeking justice for Grant's death regarded the guilty verdict as a victory, many community members were unhappy that Mehserle was convicted of the lesser charge, rather than murder.
Simmering anger boiled over that night and more than 75 people were arrested as some in the crowd vandalized buildings, smashed storefront windows and looted businesses along Broadway.
Jermany was there to capture the peaceful rallies and the unrest. However, since it was important to him to paint a balanced picture, he also photographed a Walnut Creek rally in support of Mehserle on July 19.
"As it happened, they had a lot of counter-protesters at that one so I made it a priority to capture both sides," Jermany said.
A reception for the photography show will take place from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Oaksterdam Tattoo located at 815 Washington St.
Jack Bryson, the father of two of Oscar Grant's friends who were with him the night he was killed, will speak at the reception, Jermany said.
Photographer Finds the Art in BART Protests
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