Opening day – TRAF 2013

A friend of mine was in town over the last week and wanted to go to the Three Rivers Arts Festival during her stay. So on Friday, we met Downtown and spent the afternoon leisurely strolling through the Artists Market.

As any Pittsburgher knows, the festival not only brings art in its various forms to downtown, it also heralds a week of rain. It didn't matter one little bit to me that the weather forecast said the chance of rain was a paltry 30%. I have experience with this festival and it always rains. So, with a sense of smugness, I packed up my umbrella, made sure my camera was sufficiently protected, and off I went.

It didn't rain, at all. And my companion and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Now, I just went the first day, so the artists that I saw may not be in their booths when you elect to roam the Artists Market since the booths rotate among a couple artists over the course of the festival. It's one of the nice features of the festival, and a very good reason to plan for several visits. You can preview the exhibitors for any session and plan your visit that way.

Seth Clark

There were so many great booths in the Artists Market this very first day of the festival. All of it was first rate, and spanned the spectrum from personal adornment to fine art and craft. Some were truly fun and appealing, and some were presenting works that spoke to personal vision. Seth Clark is a standout for me. I find his mixed media to be an interesting take on urban landscapes, surprisingly accurate in spirit to many of the less popular Pittsburgh neighborhoods and small municipalities in this region. Mr. Clark's work is also included in the Juried Visual Arts exhibit, a must-see show.

Daniel Baxter's Kreepy Doll Factory

   Highly recommended for FUN! Daniel Baxter's Kreepy Doll Factory is anything but creepy, with it's display of colorful dolls. Each doll is individually named, it's written right on the tag. No two dolls are alike, at all. Really, just tons of variety.

Sherry Rusinack

Sherry Rusinack is one of the festival's emerging artists. This is a "Scholarship program helping regional artists produce their first booth in an outdoor show" bringing artists into the market that might never have considered participating. Ms. Rusinack's work is deceptive, with its bright colors giving it a playful appeal. There is a definite feeling of walking into a world in motion, intensely personal and visionary.

Santiago "Chago" Gutierrez

 I believe I have the correct artist from the Nica Ceramic Art collective in crediting the above work. It was absolutely stunning, and I was intrigued by the process the artist used to create the effects.

Aimee Manion

Look at that sweet piece, isn't it lovely? There were several painters representing in the Art Market, but I found these to be very fresh-looking works. Aimee Manion's work has this dreamlike quality about it. I love her use of color, really bold but still clear and pure. Kind of like the sound of glass ringing, except on your eyes.

Hugh Hayden, American Hero #4

This piece by Hugh Hayden was installed next to the Wyndham Grand Hotel. My first take on this piece was that it was illustrating the demise of Detroit and the car industry. Sort of. This was the first conclusion that I reached since from a distance, the black stripes seemed to be the torn treads of tires. Closer examination, however, revealed that they were braided synthetic hair. The following explanation was provided at the site:

Hugh Hayden, American Hero 4

To be clear, I didn't find the piece compelling even when I was operating under my own interpretation. The explanation just left me cold. It is not just an apparent lack of connection between the presented work and the intention, but the entire dialog that is missing from this work makes it deliberately obtuse. There just isn't a way to map the intention from the presented work. (There are additional images in the gallery.) By contrast I found Chang-Jin Lee's Floating Echo appealing and quite beautiful.

Chang-Jin Lee, Floating Echo

Right? Isn't that just so peaceful? The work is located in Point State Park, beside the pedestrian walkway. I was soothed visually by this work. It was well placed, working well within its site. So, a theme of harmony, but maybe a new harmony implying a path of balance between nature and man-made intrusion.

The installation works remain in place for the duration of the festival. There are several, scattered throughout the downtown area, most of which I didn't get to see. It's a shame, really, that the festival isn't longer, or that some of it couldn't remain in place longer than the Artists Market.

Please, take a look through the gallery for additional pictures, especially of the folks that I haven't mentioned.