Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 10/1-2/10.

c. David Grim (taken 9/25/10)

Friday

Once again events have conspired to line up all at once, like some sort of cultural eclipse. There is so much going on in the local arts scene that you are going to have difficulty seeing only a portion of it on Friday.

Downtown features its seasonal art crawl starting at 5:30PM. You can get an earful of cutting edge art at Wood Street Galleries with two separate sound installations called "Longplayer" and "Dark Matter". But if your predilections run more toward the visual (as many readers of this blog), you might enjoy the selection of new outdoor lighting installations along the streets and avenues of the Cultural District. They are part of the Pittsburgh Festival of Lights, and will be on display through the middle of October.

At SPACE Gallery (812 Liberty) they have an exhibition of "socially-engaged" printmaking including a cast of 200 international artists. This traveling show has been in the 'Burgh since August, but this month is your last chance to see it in this city. Additionally, if you head downtown you should make it a point to check out Eric Stern's piece(s) in the TXT group show at the 707/709 Penn Galleries. Also, the Pittsburgh Society of Artists has a group show called "Shelter" at the Society for Contemporary Craft – satellite gallery (One Mellon Center Gallery, 500 Grant Street in the lobby of the Steel Plaza T-Station). There's an emphasis on green and recycled materials in the included selections.

And stop in at Shaw Galleries (805 Liberty Ave.) for a fine assortment of Warhol photos and prints. After all, it's great to go look at his work at the museum... but it's another thing altogether to get the opportunity to actually purchase a piece of art history.

Unblurred October is upon us as well. The Irma Freeman Center (5006 Penn Ave.) is celebrating its anniversary with a selection of photographs from early-90's South Side hipster Brian Cummings. He seems to have captured the activities of a generation within the Pittsburgh urban underground. Check his images out along with performances by the Mud City Manglers and the Moodswingers.

Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 Penn Ave.) features the work of its proprietor Jason Sauer and tattoo artist Jason Angst (who toils at Tattoo Noir in Bloomfield) in a show called "Derby Cars and Skulls". I suspect that there is some truth in advertising with this title. Meanwhile Imagebox (4933 Penn) has paintings from the always-intriguing Susan Constance. Her work has evolved in unexpected and delightful ways over the years, so "Unreal Spaces" is a necessary stop in your nightly travels.

The Academy of the South Side returns to Penn Avenue for their second annual exhibition, entitled "Harvest 2". See paintings and video by participants in the programs at the International Children's Art Gallery (5020 Penn Avenue).

Saturday

If you haven't had your fill of art yet, you can make a trip (5-8PM) to Squirrel Hill and the Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Avenue). "Between Stillness and Movement" features the work of Carolyn Olbum & Ursula Neubauer.