Unblurred - July on the Avenue

Small Press Pop Up, Karen Lillis and Laura Zurowski

So, so much fun at this month's Unblurred.

I love this time of year on Penn. On top of the regular gallery venues, the are tons of street things happening. There were a couple buskers, and several artists had tables set up, or were just sitting on stoops, selling zines and sketches. There was a terrific one-man percussion performer near the corner of Penn and Winebiddle. A half block away was a guy with a ukelele. Hmm. Funny stuff, there.

I stopped by the Irma Freeman Center and saw the series of copper foil portraits by Irma Freeman (1950's - 70's). This was a really nice exhibit. I'm sorry to say that I got there late to the party; Friday was the closing reception. But the portraits were really wonderful. There's a great shot at the link, and also a good one in the below gallery.

JR Holtz had a table of his retro paintings on glass set up near Most Wanted Fine Art. Mr. Holtz has shown his work at several of the Penn Avenue venues, as well as points across the city. He can also be found most Saturdays in the Strip District. Window on Penn Ave

Small Press Pittsburgh had a pop-up near the Clay Penn.This is a new venture, I believe. The next one will be during the Cultural District Gallery Crawl, on Friday, July 12 at the Toonseum. It's a great opportunity to pick up some cool local lit and zines. I picked up a copy of Weave, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Karen Lillis was on hand, along with Laura Zurowski and Sarah LaPonte. So, these kinds of pop up events are also a good time to meet some of the artists involved in the Pittsburgh Lit scene.

Most Wanted Fine Art played host to Graham Shearing and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh for the exhibit Conversations: 5:10. It was a nice little show. I think this is the first time that AAP has had a venture on Penn Ave. One really fun piece was taking place in the back corner: Jo-Ann Bates' American - Straight, Wave and Weave. A hybrid of installation, performance and formal representational art, it struck me as witty and conversational.

Lots more happening, and I'll be putting up a couple more posts over the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow!

Unblurred - Bits and Pieces

It was a dank and sultry night, up on Penn Avenue last Friday. Nobody was moving very fast; but why would they? It wasn't hot, but it was really humid. I was there early and left early, so I missed the throngs that usually come out after the sun goes down and it starts to get a little cooler. There's always at least a show or two that deserve special attention during the month, and I'll be coming back in a day or two to talk about one. But there's also a lot of other programming that doesn't fit the exhibition bill that are worth mentioning.

Catapult Pittsburgh is a co-working space that opened on Penn Avenue earlier this year, hosting Designers, Developers and Indy Workers. Catapult has also stepped up with a monthly Show and Tell which is a great way to start out your Unblurred evening. Last Friday, the lineup included Josh Lucas of RedBlueVoice.com, a crowdsourced political advocacy platform company, Deena Blumenfeld from Shining Light Prenatal Education, Lara Schenck, designer turned improv theater performer, and Norm Huelsman, who previewed Pittsburgh’s premiere new media conference, Podcamp Pittsburgh 7.

  

There's something new happening at Most Wanted Fine Art. In the back of the gallery is a nondescript door that leads to a basement shop. Partly a retail store that... "specializes in memorabilia of years gone by and part gallery/event space focused on the Art and Community of Collectible Culture." What did I see? Tons of comic books, action figures, and vinyl albums and miscellaneous items of popular culture. Worth checking out, if you have a penchant for nostalgia.

  

Awesome Books is, well, AWESOME! As with any independent, used bookstore, half the appeal is taking the time to peruse the shelves for just the book to bring home. Awesome Books is great fro that. They also have a selection of small press poetry chapbooks and novels from local authors. They do have a downtown location, but the original shop on Penn Avenue is the one with the cats. 

 

Along with these venues, Penn Avenue has a very active sidewalk scene during Unblurred events. Last Friday, Artica had a DJ in front of the store, a couple of drummers had set up in between two buildings near ImageBox, and JR Holtz had his table of painted glass pieces on the sidewalk in front of Most Wanted Fine Art.

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Also of note are two upcoming events. I heard about the Zine Fair when I stopped in at the Pittsburgh Beautification Project. This, by the way, is a really great active space, with several artists working in all kinds of media. The place is usually packed floor to ceiling with art, and they also host guest artists for the Unblurred event. One of the guest artists had some handouts about the Zine Fair, which really sounds great. You can find out about the activities, vendors and ongoing events over at their site. Briefly --

The Pittsburgh Zine Fair is back for it’s second year and is hosting a greater number of regional zine-makers and artists with featured appearances from the Carnegie Library Zine Collection, Just Seeds, Cyberpunk Apocalypse, Assemble, and The Roboto Zine Library. The event takes place on September 22nd 11am-7pm at Carnegie Mellon’s Wiegand Gym in the University Center. It is a Free Event open to the public!

 

On Saturday Oct 6, 2012, Most Wanted Fine Art turns Penn Ave and Winebiddle into an outdoor car-sized art gallery, with the event Vehicular Abstraction. From the event description --

Vehicular Abstraction is a free 4-hour art car exhibit and community event with the focus on licensed, registered, and insured vehicles that artists have permanently altered. These are not parade floats or puppets; the unique aspect of this medium is that they bring art every day to the city streets. Celebrity Judges, Live art performances, Local vendors tables, food sales, and children’s activities will also be happening as part of the event. The outdoor exhibit is suitable for all ages and includes indoor art displays at participating Penn Ave Art Galleries.

But wait! There's more! Most Wanted Fina Art is accepting vendors and entries for the event, there's tons of information on their event page on how you can participate. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the October edition of Unblurred.

African American Artists of Pittsburgh @ Brigadoon Art Salon through April 23

JR Holtz



James E. "Pe-Wee" White



George Gist



T More



Rene Stout

Some people may have come across a small salon next to Concept, gallery in Regent Square which until now has never had a formal show. The gallery is run by an insanely dedicated Pittsburgh character and collector named Pat MacCardle.

Read the full City Paper story.

The Brigadoon show is also a window into little-known aspects of the local art scene. Some contributors, for instance, were affiliated with The Archive, a 1970s-era Hill District studio and exhibition space run by artist Dennis Morgan. They include Gist; sculptor and collage artist Amir Rashidd; and the late Carl "Dingbat" Smith, a sculptor known for his inventive use of nails.

While some artists in the show have exhibited elsewhere, McArdle and many contributors agree that gallery opportunities for black artists are limited. And it's not just a matter of Pittsburgh's moribund art market, which sends even pros like Gist out of town to sell their work. "A lot of times when I'm in a show, I'm the only black guy in the show," says Meyers.

As always Pat has managed to introduce a me to a few people I was totally unfamiliar with.

The African American Artists of Pittsburgh continues through April 23. Brigadoon Art Salon, 1033 S. Braddock, Ave., Edgewood. 412-512-2830

There are no regular hours but Pat will likely be there if he can on Saturdays and Sundays.


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