Great New Film on Iconic Pittsburgh Architect, Henry Hornbostel

OK, Hornbostel did works all over the country, but taught at Carnegie Tech, and designed so many loved buildings (110 building in the Pittsburgh area) here he is closely identified with the city.

The original Carnegie Mellon campus including

Hamerschlag Hall
CMU College of Fine Arts Building
 Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall
University of Pittsburgh's Thaw Hall
Pittsburgh City-County Building
 Rodef Shalom Temple
The Schenley Apartments (In Oakland)
Hamburg Hall (Originally the U.S. Breau of Mines Building)
Congregation B'nai Israel (Now, The Urban League Pittsburgh Charter school)


Henry Hornbostel Biography Pitch Video from New Perspective Productions on Vimeo.




The film contains great film footage of the building and extensive interviews with local architectural scholars & historians and tries to connect his buildings to his affable, constantly curious nature.

Long ignored as a stodgy architect trapped in the past, Hornbostel is now recognised  for designs filled with beauty, sensitivity, invention and lots of amazing engineering.

He also created one of my favorite NYC bridges- The Hell Gate.



Keep your eyes out for a repeat of the film on PBS.

Pittsburgh's Creative Scene

Pittsburgh is finally starting to gain national traction as a place where technology, art and creativity meet.

Best part about this video is how little thay had to stretch to make it. I can think of a lot of great area companies, game makers, ad agencies, designers and particularly architects that were not included. Also doesn't include the very large number of area firms applying creative technologies to things like weapon systems--something that they might not want to hype.

It's an easy come easy go situation, in that many of these start ups may not be around in a little while, but it looks like there's a lot more on the way.

A few of the companies listed.

Schell Games
Deep Local
Body Media
Songwhale
Maya Design
ModCloth
4 Moms
Interbots
Lightwave International
Beatbots
Animal
LEMUR
Evil Genius Designs

Some stuff they left out.

Yinzcam
Edge Studio
Slate XP
Left Right Studios
Etcetera Edutainment
ClankWorks

Open Studios, Holiday Concert and Many Other Events, December 9 @ CMU

Tour the Pittsburgh Biennial at the Miller Gallery in the Purnell Center for the Arts: Noon – 6 p.m., free admission

Attend the School of Music’s Annual Holiday Concert: Noon, Rangos Hall, University Center (free admission); 8 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland ($5 in advance, $7 at the door)

See student projects in the School of Architecture: 1:30 – 6:30 p.m., Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall (MMCH) and College of Fine Arts (CFA) building, free admission

Tour the School of Art Open Studio Day, “IDK, SRY”: 5 - 9 p.m., CFA third and fourth floors, free admission

The Open Studio features more than 40 senior artist studios with works in progress spanning sculpture, video and 2D, plus a Holiday Art Sale with everything from DIY fashion, paintings and prints to performances and predictions for mankind in 2012. A reception from 7 – 9 p.m. features WRCT 88.3FM DJs, food, drink and entertainment. For more information, call the School of Art at 412-268-2409.

The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry hosts “Envisioning High Point Pittsburgh”: 5 – 7 p.m., CFA 111, free admission, RSVP appreciated by email: studio-info@cmu.edu

STUDIO Fellow David Bear and a team of CMU architecture and civil and environmental engineering students will present the possibilities for transforming the rooftop of the 64-story U. S. Steel Tower into a publicly-accessible green roof park — a “pinnacle of perspective.” For more, go to www.studioforcreativeinquiry.org

School of Drama presents “Mad Forest” by Caryl Churchill: 8 p.m. through Dec. 10, Philip Chosky Theater, Purnell Center for the Arts ($15 adults/general, $10 students, at the door or in advance)

Check out all the details here.

Carnegie Mellon Recieves One Of The Largest College Donations Ever of $265 Million

CMU has truly marched into the big leagues of world class schools on so many levels, however it has lagged badly in one area--private donations.

To put this in context, Harvard University has an endowment of pretty close to $100 Billion. CMU's endowment is not much more than a billion. CMU is not Harvard, but it's not exactly chopped liver and has educated tons of very successful folks.

Hopefully, this is changing.

A philanthropist and former steel executive, William S. Dietrich II, will be making one of the largest single gifts to an American University of $265 million!

From the Post Gazette.

"It will provide to the university something it has had so little of throughout its history -- certainly during my time here: Discretionary funds that can be directed toward whatever the university thinks is the most important," he said.

At a university that Mr. Cohon said is associated with science, arts and business education, the gift also represents a commitment to another area: the humanities.

"Bill has always loved history and now he is making history with this wonderful gift," Mr. Cohon said. "Bill understands the special character of Carnegie Mellon with the unique ability of our faculty to work collaboratively at the intersections of science, technology, art, humanities, business and policy.

Should We Have A Panther Hollow Design Competition?

New York's High Line project took a space that was already there but that was rarely noticed or thought about and used it to transform and add to the way people thought about a whole part of Manhattan.

So, does Pittsburgh have a single space which with potentially small amount of effort and rethinking could be transformed in a huge way? An obvious concept is extending the waterfront parks--but this is already being thought about. Fixing and Allegheny Center is also a transformative project but no easy task.

However, the deep ravine in the center of Oakland is a place where the creation of a few amazing buildings which creatively use the rim, or a series of interesting paths or well who knows--could change the entire way we think about Oakland and all the neighborhoods that border the Hollow. Should Pittsburgh really try to ignore and evade some of the most interesting parts of it's geography in the way it's design does now?

As you can see from these images, soil erosion along large chunks of the rim is creating issues that must be dealt with anyway and soon.

What I have in mind is to hold some kind of design competition allowing an open ended contemplation of any and all ideas people might have for buildings, paths, ecological designs for any and all parts of The Hollow.

My personal guess is that many students at CMU, Pitt or the other schools in Oakland have drawn up an idea or two. Needless to say, this could easily then be tied to an exhibition at The Carnegie Museum Of Art and or The Miller Gallery. The Carnegie and area museums also have many paintings and historic objects that relate to this iconic yet mostly ignored urban space which could provide context.

No guarantee of executing or using any of the designs would be implied but most likely some type of cash prizes would be granted. Public voting on designs might also be considered. Using any of these ideas--would be a separate issue. The goal would be to invite all Pittsburghers and designers from around the world to publicly meditate on this unique space we should think about more.

Some Images Of Pittsburgh's Panther Hollow

So many things going on and a dozen posts I need to do.

Here are some images of Panther Hollow which I am partly posting because they relate to an idea I have in my head. Without a little context,I could have tried to tell you this was West Virginia. Such a weirdly magical and strangely isolated place in the heart of the city. Pittsburgh often doesn't play this up and make the best us of it's strange geography.

Bruce High Quality Foundation, Teach 4 Amerika Tour Visits Pittsburgh

For the last 30 or so years, it seems like the art world, lived with a huge contradiction-endorsing free form experimentation, active collaboration and public engagement--while still supporting an elite, hierarchical university system.

"The Bruce High Quality Foundation’s (BHQF) Teach 4 Amerika tour is a five-week, 11-city, coast-to-coast road trip that crosses state lines and institutional boundaries to inspire and enable local art students to define the future of their own educational experience. Traveling the byways of America in a limousine painted as a school bus, BHQF will visit university art departments, art schools, art institutions, and alternative spaces across the nation, bringing together concerned educators, artists, arts administrators, and—most importantly—students to brainstorm on the future of art schools. What are they for? How should they be organized? If not for careers, what is the essence of art itself? These fundamental questions have long haunted artists, and the BHQF are interested in putting the questions back in the hands of students across America. Curated by Nato Thompson, Chief Curator at Creative Time, Teach 4 Amerika will include a combination of dynamic public rallies and intimate conversations hosted by local partners in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland."

The rubber has really met the road, as more students and the wider public question more closely what art is, how should it be learned, who can participate? Does it take $150,000 or much more in college bills (including an MFA) to become an artist?

Not so ironically, the project attempted just to engage students at a group of art schools and a few trendy alternative spaces in this dialog.

Anyway, here's the great post they did about their visit to Pittsburgh.

"People that want to learn about art, who think making better work might be supported by a collaborative critical environment, ought to organize learning situations for themselves.

The pushback we’ve gotten on occasion from professors seems to assume we’re calling for an out and out revolt of the twenty-year-olds. But that’s not the case. We don’t think a group of twenty-year-old students would be served well by divorcing themselves from the wisdom of their forbears. Quite the contrary. We just don’t see why a generational difference should constitute a hierarchy. The best teachers we’ve met think they have something to learn from their students. And we’ve heard that the best way to learn is to teach. So if we really believe these time-honored clichés have any tooth to them, why don’t we scrap the power dynamic for something a bit more fluid?"

Fresh Baked Goods: CMU’s Master of Fine Arts Exhibition Opens at Bakery Square on March 26

FRESH BAKED GOODS: New site-specific works at Bakery Square
by 1st & 2nd year MFA students at Carnegie Mellon University

Curated by Adam Welch

Bakery Square gallery hours:
Wednesday-Friday, 5-8pm, Saturday 1-4pm

Nina Sarnelle
Agnes Bolt
Oscar Peters
Jonathan Armistead
Sung Rok Choi
Jesse England
Riley Harmon
Erin Womack
Felipe Castelblanco
Steve Gurysh
Craig Fahner
Scott Andrew
Dan Wilcox
Luke Loeffler

more info

MFA Season: Carnegie Mellon MFA Thesis Show Opens Tonight @Miller Gallery

As you can see from the links, the region has lots of good colleges, a good number of which, like CMU,Chatham, Kent State, WVU and IUP will be having their thesis shows starting. Sadly, it won't be very easy to see most of this work without an extreme amount of effort. As I have said before this is both a huge loss to both the artists and the public.

CMU MFA Thesis Show

UP DOWN UP DOWN
Carnegie Mellon 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition
Organized by the School of Art
March 18 - April 17, 2011

March 18, Fri. 6-8pm: Reception

March 22, Tues.
6:30-9:30pm
Critique and discussion with Tina Kukielski
Associate Curator, Carnegie Museum of Art

"I am writing on the threshold of the MFA thesis exhibition, where each year the graduate students extend themselves to produce something extraordinary. This stretching of imagination and ambition creates an adrenaline-fueled run-in for all concerned. Jesha will push the envelope; Sean will produce yet another magical bricolage; Dan will combine the poetic and the profound; Rob will puzzle us with some photographic conundrums; and Courtney will present us with a wry intellectual challenge. This year’s exhibit promises to be bold, ingenious, thought-provoking, and tinged with humor. I have seen them develop their work and grow in confidence over the last three years, through a mutually supportive camaraderie, which has seen them through their Carnegie Mellon journey. All have had to reappraise the notions they arrived with, and have undergone a rigorous period of critical evaluation, in order to recognize their fundamental motivations and to refine their mode of practice. Not only does this exhibit showcase their talent and considerable achievements, but it also represents the philosophy of the MFA program, which is to produce self-defined artists of exceptional ability and initiative, able to create opportunities for themselves and connect meaningfully with the communities and cultures around them."

Artists

Sean Glover
Jesha Chen
Daniel Luchman
Courtney Dow
James Robert Southard

Fitting the somewhat accurate stereotype of the CMU Art Dept, traditional painting and drawing seem light in this show. But I haven't seen it yet.

Miller Gallery
at Carnegie Mellon University
Purnell Center for the Arts
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Tues.-Sun., 12-6pm
Closed Mondays

Admission:
Free and open to the public

wats: ON? Festival Brings Together Speed Based Film, Multimedia Work @Carnegie Mellon, March 17-19

Lot's of stuff always going on at CMU, often related to the cutting edge of art, design and technology. This festival of lectures, film screenings, music and events caught my eye late.

wats:ON? Festival

"Notions of speed in contemporary culture are often tied to technology and its impact on everyday life. Information dissemination and interactions are accelerating, and with it hopes and fears of the future change with every new invention or discovery. Our culture of speed harnesses energies beyond our comprehension, while calling into question the nature of our everyday reality.


Speed is not merely acceleration, but a magnitude of velocity, fast or slow. It becomes a measure of time and space, of dislocation and change, of transformation and evolution. The extremes of fast and slow heighten our awareness of our surroundings, creating a seamless interface between the visceral and the subliminal. Speed creates a blur between what is real and what is imagined.
wats:ON 2011 will examine speed in relation to the production and presentation of creative work encompassing a range of interdisciplinary events."

As with everything else on the cutting edge, a lot of this stuff may not transend beyond the wow, geek factor into art. If 15% of it does, it's more than worth it.

See full schedule and info here

Yinz Cleveburgh and Random Art Links (May 7-12)

Another dump of stuff on topics from culture to economic development in the Cleveburgh region in no particular order. A bit of sports cannot be avoided.

Canton

The Canton Museum Of Art celebrates it's 75th aniversary by starting a new tradition.

Worthy of a post. (Anyone in or near Canton, Ohio wanna contribute to the blog?)

The Canton Museum sounds pretty sweet--and is collaborating sometimes with The Butler, in Youngstown.

Akron

The University Of Akron's University Park Alliance, could be a model for town & gown relationships. (Don't know too much about this, but will follow up) The huge schools in the region often remind one of Ben shouting; "Do you know who I am?!! Yes, we know who you are, perhaps you should get to know your towns better and not assume they are of no value.

Pittsburgh

Penguins/ Canadians goes to game 7 in Pittsburgh! Two of the strongest fan bases and traditions in Hockey.

Cold Night and another "rebuilding season", empties PNC Park.

The Onion suggests "Fan Euthanasia Night".

"I haven't seen so many people so relaxed and generally happy to be at a Pirates game in a long time." An estimated 200,000 Pirates fans who were unable to get tickets to the game reportedly listened to its radio broadcast while idling their cars inside closed garages." That's what I'm doing--they ain't gettin my money. (Well, as a taxpayer, I guess they already have.)

Major CMU Pow Wow in DC. (D.C. is the other arm of our megaregion) I haven't watched this video yet.

Erie

Edinboro University and some corporations in Northwest, PA have a contest called Inovation Erie. (Sorry, Deadline passed---that's why we need more posters and better regional information flow)

"People are inventing the future everyday, and some of them are in northwest Pennsylvania. If you're one of them, there’s a chance to take an idea you have for a product and begin the process of making an idea reality.

InnovationErie: Design Competition offers an opportunity to compete for prizes which provide not only monetary rewards, but chances to advance ideas through the use of contest prizes including prototyping, business plan development, logo design, etc.

The contest is open to all individuals, 18 and over, who reside in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The contest begins by submitting an electronic application by midnight, May 10, 2010. Entries will be reviewed by competition judges who will select semi-finalists. Semi-finalists will exhibit works at the Erie Art Museum where they'll compete for prizes as well as Best of Show, an award selected by the public.

About InnovationErie

A collaborative effort among professionals in the science, art, manufacturing, engineering and design (SAM & ED) industries, InnovationErie: Design Competition is a product design competition allowing people to showcase their product ideas, with the possibility of taking them to the next level: the marketplace. The competition seeks ideas for products that can be manufactured in the Erie region."

A potentially, great idea here. Notice how many colleges are in or not far from Erie, and yet very little seems to gel. Why is that? What can be done or should be done about it? Why is it only open to residents of "Northwest PA" (and how do you define that)? Would it be that bad if someone from Akron, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Morgantown, State College, or even Philly won? Isn't it a goal to come up with a great design or product to create "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"? Is it any wonder why this contest doesn't get wider attention?

Regional

Cool Cleveland has a detailed piece on The Cleveburgh Tech Belt--something that honestly already exists, but that most of us are not too aware of.

"Northeast Ohio and Southwest Pennsylvania together constitute one of the 20 megapolitans Lang and Nelson have identified. They call this region the “Steel Corridor,” a name that evokes its proud past but unfortunately does not point to a promising or particularly innovative and prosperous future. In 2007 Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17) his counterpart in Pennsylvania, Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04), tired of the continuing reference to the industrial past, coined the term “Tech Belt” and, in October 2007, convened the first “Tech Belt Summit,” inviting the region’s business and civic leaders to meet at Youngstown State University and begin to explore the shared future of this region.

The Tech Belt is, indeed, an impressively large region. Lang and Nelson note that our megapolitan region is home to 7.1 million people. It is larger than Ohio’s other megapolitan, the “Ohio Valley,” anchored by Columbus and Cincinnati (5.3 million) and is approximately the same scale as the “Carolina Piedmont,” anchored by Charlotte and Raleigh (7.0 million), the “Georgia Piedmont,” surrounding Atlanta (6.9 million), the “Florida Corridor,” linking Tampa and Orlando (7.8 million) and the “Greater Metroplex” of Dallas-Ft. Worth and Oklahoma City (7.9 million)."

Burgh Diaspora gives his thoughts on the Tech Belt and other regional initiatives.

Cleveland

Huge, important decisions about Cleveland's Downtown and the University Circle area and allegedly they want your input. (Sorry for not covering this well--- I don't live in Cleveland and wish someone there would contribute to this blog)

Today--Show up folks.

On Wed 5/12, WCPN’s Around Noon host Dee Perry will engage local college students in a panel discussion on ways to improve University Circle. Hear what young creatives have to say about the neighborhood and hear fresh ideas for improvement. 5PM @ Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Aud.

University Circle is a temporary home for more than 10,000 university and college students. The evening’s discussion will focus on the students’ current experiences in University Circle and whether their plans involve remaining in the area following graduation. They’ll also discuss the changes they’d recommend to businesses and community leaders to make the landscape of the neighborhood and Northeast Ohio region more attractive to them and their friends as a place to plant permanent roots.

“The students who are drawn here for educational purposes represent a very creative population,” says Perry. “It’s also a population that doesn’t often get a chance to share their thoughts in an open forum. I hope the interaction will be an enriching experience for the Circle Neighbors audience and the panelists.”

Participants will include students representing Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Cleveland Institute of Art. The event is a presentation of Circle Neighbors, coordinated by The Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Women’s Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra, MOCA, and the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Those interested in attending the discussion should visit the Womens Council Web site and click the RSVP button on the home page or call 216-707-2527."

As one can see town/ gown relations are finally a big topic.

Hands around your ankles Clevelanders, here it comes again. Progressive Field, will be getting some kind of major facelift.

"Progressive Field, first known as Jacobs Field, was built in the early 1990s primarily from revenue from the County’s sin taxes, which raised some $266 million for the stadium and arena. It opened in 1994. The County had to add revenues to the project because of cost overruns. In addition to the “sin” taxes each year the County has had to pay some $10 million on bonds let by Cuyahoga County to cover additional costs. These payments have cost taxpayers more than $100 million thus far and they continue to be paid. The stadium alone cost $176 million to build. It now has a seat capacity of 45,199.

The team is worth, according to a Forbes magazine compilation of MLB teams worth, $391 million. Dolan paid Jacobs $323 million for the team in 2000. Forbes says gross revenues of the team last year were $170 million. The team is 21st of the 30 teams in gross revenues. Gate receipts were $37 million, according to this listing."

That's all for now.

If you have thoughts, events, insight or images you want to share about art, music, film, urban design, architecture, transit or history in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Youngstown, Erie, Morgantown, Akron, Canton region--Cleveburgh, email me diggingpitt@gmail.com. We can hook you up to post.

This is not Hyper Local media, but regional media seeking local viewpoints.

Pop Pittsburgh Up

No time to go into this in depth--also I don't know much about it. Clearly some very positive things are happening in the city today and a major factor has been a shift by the major universities towards active engagement with the city--first I think at Point Park,and now dramatically at Carnegie Mellon, whose fingers can be seen in projects (The Waffle Shop, Future Tenant and many more) all over town. Ten years ago, I think the general pitch was that CMU, just happened to be in Pittsburgh and wasn't so happy about it.

Here's a video of a brain storming session for Pop Pittsburgh Up about new ways to attract new people to the region. (held in February)



Kudos also to the Foundations for finally, finally, finally putting more cash at street level.

Check out the site and search for more info. Pop Up is a project of cityLab Pgh.

If you have thoughts or insight you want to share about art, music, film, urban design, architecture, transit or history in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Youngstown, Erie, Morgantown, Akron, Canton region--Cleveburgh, email me diggingpitt@gmail.com

This is not Hyper Local media, but regional media seeking local viewpoints.

Insolvent By Design Part One: Pittsburgh Promise Problems

I hate to gloat, but one of the good things about the economic recession is it's blown sky high a lot of the convenient lies public figures have been telling us. As Warren Buffet said, when the tide goes out you learn who's been swimming naked.

Poor Luke, he's likely far from being our worst mayor, but the tide is out and more and more inconvenient truths about our budget are being revealed. Don't look to anyone else for help, like the county, state or feds, they're naked too.

The cash strapped city received a firm no from a coalition of almost all the colleges, to a "request" by the mayor for 5 million annually from non profits towards the city's general fund. The rejection letter contained this quote.

"a. When you solicited significant contributions to the Pittsburgh Promise from the non-profit community, you significantly diminished that community's capacity to support the City, a fact that you have acknowledged on other occasions."

Ever since the mayor announced the ambitious Pittsburgh Promise program, people have been wondering if there wasn't a wink agreement that contributions would replace tax payments to the city's general budget. It sure looks like that's what many non profit's thought.

The ironic thing is that the mayor needs the money, mostly to fill a massive hole in it's employee pension fund. In other words, we didn't have close to enough money to pay for our previous "promises", and yet Luke piled on some more.

The whole situation is IMHO, likely the product of a long chain of public policies that have worked to put more and more of Pittsburgh's land area in the hands of non tax paying uses.

How did this happen? It's a long story, many details of which I don't know but it sure as hell should be an area of study.

Be back with more thoughts.

Register For Mobile Art && Code Syposium

MOBILE ART && CODE is a symposium on the artistic and tactical potential of mobile, networked and locative media: November 6-8, 2009 at CMU!

Heads up on what looks to be an amazing event.

"ART && CODE is an event series and online community dedicated to the democratization of computer programming for artists, young people, and the rest of us.

This November 6-8, we continue our successful workshop/lecture series with MOBILE ART && CODE: Mobile Media and Interactive Arts - a symposium on the aesthetic and tactical potentials of mobile, networked and locative media. The three-day event will feature intimate, practical, arts-oriented programming workshops for popular mobile platforms (such as the iPhone, Android, Nokia Smartphones, Arduino, SMS, and Asterisk PBX systems) along with an all-day series of free lecture presentations that contextualizes the use of these technologies in a variety of contemporary critical, artistic and design practices.

MOBILE ART && CODE is made possible by a generous grant from Microsoft Research, with oversight by the Center for Computational Thinking at CMU. The ART && CODE symposium series is a project of the CMU STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, directed by Golan Levin. If you have questions or concerns about MOBILE ART && CODE, please email Golan Levin at golan@andrew.cmu.edu."

Welcome Students

Off-Campus Oakland Primer from Pitt News Multimedia on Vimeo.

We all know that Pittsburgh is now kind of a college town, with an economy tilted towards "Eds and Meds", and an energy level can be measured by the number of cups and vomit pools on Carson Street.

Welcome Freshmen! I found this video to help orient you to Oakland, assuming you are not from Pittsburgh which may also be helpful to yinz types that never crossed the river to see it.