Pittsburgh is Mighty Beautiful: How bout we act like it?

No, doubt- the basic structure & setting of Pittsburgh is mighty beautiful. But does the city really act like a place that loves itself and protects its inherent beauty? Would a city that loved and valued itself build the kind of massive ugly highways along its north shore waterfront? Would it see garages and surface parking as the highest land use? A city has to live its brand. So, far the city only does an average to below average job of that. Be back with more thoughts and pictures of the ugly crap, the city still does to itself.

Rob Ford, Crack & The Dangers of Government Consolidation

Often, the greatest dangers come from comforting confidence in bad ideas. Clearly, the absurd level of municipal fragmentation in Pennsylvania can be a problem. But the blind belief that merging often radically different communities together can only produce good is equally dumb.

In Toronto,  the bitter political conflicts born in the forced merger of the city with its major suburbs elected a crack smoking mayor and a city so divided it seems unable to get rid of him.

From The Toronto Star

In 1998, the Harris government forced a shotgun wedding on Toronto and five surrounding suburbs, in spite of local referendum results opposing the move more than three to one . 

Not a single municipality affected was in favour of the merger, and all but one joined a legal challenge opposing it. The amalgamation bill was rammed through the Ontario legislature in one of the most bitterly contested battles in provincial history with opposition parties tabling 13,000 amendments over a two-week period in an ultimately futile filibuster.

The almost certain result in this case was a city dominated by suburban voters opposed to the basic values and interests of the city itself.

 What was unleashed on Toronto in 1998 was a diabolical masterstroke: a perpetual culture war between the suburbs and the city, where the later will almost always be outvoted by suburbanites with different values, priorities and motivations.

 Transit is a pregnant example. If the TTC only had to serve the former City of Toronto, it would actually turn a profit . Instead the beleaguered transit authority is whipsawed by populist politics and asked to deliver astronomically expensive subway service to the surrounding low-density sprawl. One of the first actions of Mayor Ford was to rip up Transit City, the guiding planning document for public transport even though it had been developed through years of consultation and had $1.3 billion in signed contracts.

No real surprise that Columbus, Ohio the regional poster child for a sprawling consolidated city now lags Pittsburgh & Cleveland in downtown construction.

Before one considers merging communities, consider what policies and interests would those voters bring. What would be the impact on land use policy, zoning & transit.

Sherry Rusinack: Hats Off To The Insane @ Pittsburgh's Box Heart Gallery

I don't usually say this, but this is not just a great show to see but an amazing chance to buy great cheap art, with few works selling for more than $200 and many for as little as $35.
Works are being swapped out as things sell, creating an ongoing instillation of insanity.

If I had a gripe, its that I wish there was even more work by this prolific, intuitive artist on display. May get back with some shots.

Hats Off to the Insane: New Work by Sherry Rusinack
Box Heart Gallery
October 15--November 9
4523 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224

Indie Lit Book Table at Polish Hill Arts Fest

Art All Night 2013 Highlights

Events included Live painting all night, Drawing from model, Cartooning all Night, Music & Dance Performances



Art All Night Parade




Perhaps more amazing and certainly more packed with work than I have ever seen it. These are just some of the things that caught my eye, that I was able to photograph.

More about Art All Night here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/art-architecture/anything-goes-at-lawrencevilles-art-all-night-684862/

Awesome!

Laura McLauglin and Bob Ziller at Awesome Books

It's been around a year since Awesome Books popped up in their Liberty Ave location in downtown Pittsburgh. The space, originally raw and bare, has become populated with a well chosen array of books, housing a selection of independent press books, and playing host to a number of events.

Laura McLaughlin and Bob Ziller have made the storefront into a haven not only for independent bookstores, but for local cultural events as well. Back in November, Awesome Books hosted a reading of A Film About Billy by Daniel McCloskey. Great story, if you haven't had a chance to read it yet. More recently, this little gem of a bookstore also played host to Moon Calling, an exhibition of paintings by Richard Rappaport.

Awesome Books is also beginning to publish their own indepenedent imprint, Lascaux Editions, a very exciting development.

So, here's where you come in, dear reader. The fine proprietors are seeking support to keep their storefront functioning and to continue with publishing books with their imprint. Several weeks ago, they began an Indiegogp campaign, now in its last few days. Support, however, is not without its rewards. Premiums included everything from limited edition prints to signed first editions. But don't let that influence you, Awesome Books deserves your support for the contributions they have brought to out cultural landscape.

Awesome Books
Indiegogo campaign929 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh PA 15222

Laurie Trok: Words for Poems

Laurie Trok (photo credit to Garret Jones)

Laurie Trok's Words for Poems is romantic and seductive. The gallery was dim, with most of the light coming from small flashlights playing over the pieces. The opening was very active, with guests interacting with the works by playing light over the installed cut paper pieces. The delicate shadows distended and contracted across the walls, imbuing the space with subtle movement.

The scale of the works ranged from intimate to grand. One section of the gallery was installed with dozens of tiny pieces scattered across the wall. The interplay between light and shadow was fascinating in this installation. Shadows cast across the individual pieces seemed in the act of reaching but not quite touching, creating a tension of desire.

Each of the paper cut pieces are complex and delicate, curved and suspended, with an illusion of floating. The artist suggests that the viewing of the exhibit is best at night, but each permutation of light will emphasize different aspects of the exhibit. The paper cut pieces themselves are marvelously detailed, and in a more uniform light, the works will tangle in your eye.

Words for Poems is a very short run exhibit. The doors opened on Saturday and the show closes on Friday, January 25. Laurie will be sitting the gallery Tuesday and Wednesday to extend the gallery hours, and Fe Gallery has regular hours on Thursday and Friday. It's well worth the effort to get to the exhibit while there is an opportunity.

Additional images available

More info about this exhibit

FeGALLERY | 4012 Butler Street, Pittsburgh PA 15201 | 412-254-4038
Thu - Fri: 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sat: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
www.fegallery.org

December Unblurred

It had drizzled all day on Friday. While that makes for a very dreary, hiding-in-the-house and drinking cocoa kind of day, it made for a glittery evening on Penn Ave for the lat Unblurred of 2012. The streets were alive with lights.

David Bernabo: Having Already Said Quite A Bit

David Bernabo's works were the highpoint of Ghosts, etc. at ModerrnFormations. The installation took up most of one wall in the back gallery. The light, fresh palette made me homesick for spring.

Ghosts, etc.
Modernformations Gallery and Performance Space
Exhibit runs until the 28th.
412-362-0274
4919 Penn Ave

Emily Eckel (left) and Joyce Compton (right) at the Irma Freeman Center

This was a really great exhibit! So many incredible variations on the theme of Dolls; some were sweet, some were frightening, but all of them were amazing. The dolls were created by a loosely organized group called the Jane Street Art Doll Collective, who explore the boundaries of dolls and doll-making.

Over the next two Saturdays, Chris Fondi will be conducting doll making classes. If you missed the opening reception, the show will be up for the first Unblurred of 2013, on January 4.

ART DOLLS³
Through January 4th. (closing reception)
The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination
Gallery Hours are 2 -5 PM on Saturdays in December
412-924-0634
5006 Penn Ave.

Gary D. Owens at Most Wanted Fine Art

Gary Owens' works at Most Wanted Fine Art were really energetic, almost frantic. Even the somewhat prosaic subject matter of a sleeping pet was approached with this incredible energy. I really do need to get a better camera; these images are a little washed out, but you can still read the texture really well.

The Doors of Perception
Most Wanted Fine Art
412-328-3747
5015 Penn

Steph Sciullo at
Stuff N Such Society

Heh heh. It's a rat. In a box.

This, along with many other oddities, are available for the off beat holiday shopper at the Stuff N Such Society. You know, to celebrate Krampus.

Stuff N Such Society
"The Art of Collectible Culture"
5015 Penn Ave (Basement)

Some Assembly Required

Oh, this was just a lot of fun! Attack Theatre plays hard, don't they?
For a limited time, coming to a neighborhood near you! ...for scheduling and location details
Enjoy the following VERY short clips.

Zero Landfill weekend @ Guardian Storage in The Strip

Session 1

Location

Guardian Storage - Strip District
2839 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222


A great, guilt free way for designers and architects to clean out their old samples, binders and stuff! A great source of supplies and inspiration for artists, crafters, designers and DYI fanatics!

Pollination Day - Friday 04/13 from 12-3 pm
Interior designers and architects are invited to drop off their expired specifications samples. Including carpet, wallcovering, fabric, stone, glass, tile, laminate, three ring binders and vinyl samples.

Harvest Days - Saturday & Sunday 04/14 & 15 from 12-3 pm
Artists and educators harvest creative supply items including fabric, carpet, ceramic tile, glass and wallcovering samples, three ring binders and specialty papers. Bring boxes or bags to carry your selections home.

More info.

New Regional Art Site, Art Hopper seeks writers

This comment was left on my post about Art Hopper by one of the site founders.

Thank your for highlighting the new site. Arthopper launched on January 1, 2012. The similarity to Glasstire is not an accident. I went to graduate school in San Antonio, love Glasstire, and wanted to recreate the experience here.

Any any all suggestions, comments and criticisms are welcome and encouraged. We want the site to work for all and to be a real community asset.

Buffalo is on the list of cities to add but we cannot do it all at once. If you know writers who are interested in submitting content please have them contact me. We are a volunteer effort now but will me moving toward a paid "society of correspondents."

Rick, I enjoy your work in Pittsburgh and hope we are able to collaborate.

John, we would welcome opinion pieces from you as well as important arts issues pieces.

Jimmy Kuehnle
Founder
Arthopper.org

Contact here if interested.

FYI, folks in and around Buffalo, that includes you!

Creative Clash! How Can Pittsburgh Take It's Tech and Creative Industries to the Next Level? Talk @ Carnegie Museum

This event, which costs $45 tomorrow night seems to be full, so I'm just passing it along.

Thursday, January 26, 2012
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Location: The Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh 15213-4080

Pittsburgh is a city rich with creativity and innovation. Now, how do we take our success to the next level? Heralding the Council’s new Creative Technology Network, and presented in partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Art, Creative Clash! will explore Pittsburgh’s history and future as a key innovator at the intersection of art and technology. Today, industries including design, gaming, filmmaking, advertising, education, fine-art, production, robotics, digital media – and much more – are coalescing to make Pittsburgh home to a thriving creative technology community. Join us, and join the conversation, as we examine what it takes to sustain and grow this exciting community!

Details here.

Good Conversation About Development and Consolidation On Urbanophile

Sorry, I will try to get back to posting more.

Urbanophile has a post up, debating the common assumption that a large number of our regional problems would be solved by combining local and county governments. Insane fragmentation makes it hard to argue against some level of consolidation, but it might have a downside.

The blog's author lived in Indianapolis for many years and is very familiar with the two main examples of "big box", consolidation, Columbus and Indy. He notes that there are few examples of real failure in this model, but perhaps no shining example of success. Sooner or later, one runs out of land to consume and one has to face the work of good design and good government. There's always a county line to to flee across at some point.

But another thing occurs to me. Because Midtown is part of a much larger city, it suffers from the problem of a diffusion of responsibility. That is, it can assume the rest of the city will carry the load in some respects. This manifests itself in a strong anti-development NIMBY contingent that is opposed to urbanization. Any proposed development of any kind is greeted by wailing and teeth-gnashing by opponents, who’ve been known to do things like pull their kids out of school to serve as props at mid-day zoning hearings where commissioners are told neighborhood kids will literally die if new apartments are approved.

I don’t know what the sentiment is in Bexley, but they’ve certainly implemented more actual urbanization than Midtown. I suspect one reason is that Bexley knows it has only its own tax base to rely on. If its residents want to keep quality schools, they can either approve more commercial and intense development, or watch their residential property taxes go up significantly over time. That focuses the mind wonderfully.

So I also hypothesize that in addition to making redevelopment more difficult for reasons of the structure of government, big box government also inculcates an anti-development mindset to a greater degree than small box government.

Also, interesting is that many of the examples of urbanist innovation and success in these regions have come from independent suburbs like Carmel, Indiana and Bexley, Ohio.

The downside is this.

On the downside, it seems almost inevitable that many of these unconsolidated suburbs will turn into complete failed cities, often left ignored and forgotten. There are plenty of beyond dysfunctional suburbs in Chicago just like this. I presume it is similar in places like Pittsburgh. I think it is notable that consolidated cities like Indianapolis and Nashville don’t have any truly failed suburbs. Another benefit of the big box city.

Can Cheerleading Go Too Far? Debate On Rust Wire

Seems a bunch of Cleveland area bloggers got together to talk about the pros and cons of civic boosterism. Things got heated and from what I can tell, a bit ugly.

From Rust Wire:

It's always a question, how much one should focus on the positive and ignore the often obvious problems out there?

A long quote from Cleveland blogger, Bridget Callahan:

"On one hand, the Boosters have understood this better than the rest of us. In their social media based world, it is important to stay on message, that’s how all good and effective propaganda works. You pick the message, in this case how awesome Cleveland is, and you pound it into people’s brains ad nauseum until it becomes unacceptable to believe anything else. The Boosters, by and large, are marketing people. They have a product, and they are pushing it. It’s not frank intellectual discussion, it’s not nuanced civic strategy. It is just straight up emotional reaction, and they want you to have it. The world has over and over again proved the effectiveness of propaganda. Most recently, let’s all think back to a certain recent Presidential election that had those Hope posters plastered on every rusty bridge and alley from coast to coast. Hope is not the way you run a government, but it is a way to get people emotionally involved. It breeds a feeling of us versus them, of camaraderie. It is true that lots of Clevelanders feel stupid telling people out of town where they are from. It can’t hurt to seed some civic pride. We’re a fucked up city, but lots of cities are, and the Boosters’ main mission is to convince other young people with expendable income to either move here or stay here because really it isn’t so bad. And for that particular population, it really isn’t so bad. Speaking from that class level, it’s pretty okay here.

( However, when you decide to bully people on their own blogs about their suspected lack of devotion to your message because they point out other people live here too, or when you yell at someone to leave town? That’s trolling. )"

My big problem with many boosters is what they are selling.

The real problem with professional boosters is that they are often promoting the wrong stuff. What their bosses say is good, whatever the latest new fad or project, the foundation and government crowd is chasing. Often, this turns out to be bad stuff. A good example is press stories about a corp or agency "investing" so many million dollars. In the short run, that's certainly great if you are a contractor working on the project (or a politician cutting a ribbon.) Rarely do stories look under the hood at what the long term positives or negatives are.

Cleveland needs boosters as long as they have their eyes open.

TEDxPittsburgh - Don Carter - 2.4 Million

I will likely be back with some more to say about this thought provoking video. Although, he touches on some great points, I'm perhaps a little less sure, The Sun Belt will become the "Drought Belt". A huge amount of western water is used/wasted by agriculture. Even so, water is a huge asset here.

"Overall, agriculture accounts for 83 percent of all water used in California. It's true that California grows the majority of America's fruits and vegetables, so liberal use of water by its agricultural sector would not be unexpected. However, few people would suspect that growing feed for cattle is the predominant agricultural use of water in California. In 1997, 1.7 million acres of the state were planted to alfalfa alone. Irrigated pasture and hayfields consume more water than any other single crop in California - more than a third of all irrigation water. Together, alfalfa and hay and pasturage account for approximately half of all water used in the state.

The story is similar in other western states. In Colorado, some 25 percent of all water consumed goes to alfalfa crops. 2 In Montana, agriculture takes 97 percent of all water used in the state, and just about the only irrigated crop there is hay and pasture forage; more than 5 million acres in the state are irrigated hay meadows. 3 In Nevada - the most arid state in the country - domestic water use amounted to 9.8 million gallons a day in 1993. By contrast, agriculture used 2.8 billion gallons of water per day. 4 Altogether, agriculture uses 83 percent of Nevada's water 5 - and the major crop is hay for cattle fodder. In Nevada, while cow pastures are flood irrigated, wetlands at wildlife refuges and the state's rivers often go bone-dry."

Water, however is just one of a host of resources wasted in by current patterns in the Sun Belt. Most people also don't realise how vital access to water for manufacturers.

He downplays many of the other assets in the region like our colleges, which are not close to being fully exploited. The term "Tech Belt" seems limiting, but I wouldn't mind the term "Knowledge Belt".

Check it out and share your thoughts. All predictions should be taken with a huge grain of salt. How many people thought a few years ago there would be a natural gas energy boom around here now?

Pittsburgh Sprawl Map and Talk on Urbanophile

Image from Urbanophile (Screen capture from TEDxPittsburgh - Don Carter - 2.4 Million)

Aaron Renn of The Urbanophile blog has a great post up, that includes a graphic display of sprawl in the Pittsburgh region. Also, included is the earlier and even more dramatic picture of sprawl in Buffalo, from a Chuck Banas post on the subject.

Read all the comments, which include many interesting links. Several people point out the map is a bit deceptive since it doesn't compare with the region's peak population of around 2.7-2.8 million reached in the 1960's. Even so, what one sees is a dramatic increase in land use for a population that stayed pretty close to the same.

A few people thought things didn't look that bad relative to sprawl in other regions.

My response:

I would love to see some kind of estimate of infrastructure costs per person. (LOL, since these are “public goods” nobody has likely tried to come up with that number)

My guess is that the Pittsburgh region has to have one of the highest costs. Whatever the relative level of sprawl here, one has to see every small bit of it as very, very expensive.

After, Venice, the Pittsburgh area has the largest number of bridges–over rivers, over hollows, over gorges and across valleys. These don’t come cheap. Add to that, a good number of tunnels.

Of course, that just scratches the surface of the massive environmental impact. Not surprisingly, the area is known for areas of very poor air quality and a flash flood risk from storm drainage problems.

The area also is pretty close to leading in the number of bridges considered substandard.

Washington Post Piece Says Pittsburgh is "in": Trashes Annoying Portland

From The Washington Post:

As a born-and-raised Pittsburgher, I’ll go a step further. Portland, with its elaborate facial hair and abundance of strip clubs, represents irony. Pittsburgh, with its working-class pragmatism, is the opposite: earnest and straightforward. It’s a place where people drink cheap beer and wave their Terrible Towels without self-consciousness. Hipsters take faux working-class attributes —brusque beards, Pabst Blue Ribbon and occupations such as butchery — and integrate them into their lives with an ironic wink and a superiority complex. In Pittsburgh, you can find all of the above, only without the derision and affectation. The natural life span of the hipster has come to an end. What was a lifestyle adopted to make fun of the mainstream has now become the mainstream. There are no more [expletive] hipsters to be looked at (The blog “Look at this [expletive] Hipster” hasn’t been updated since September), and jokes about them — much like every skit on Portlandia — have started to feel a minute or a paragraph too long.

Right, Pittsburghers don't do irony very well. Love it or leave it, it's pretty real around here.

Burgh Diaspora digs deeper into comparing the two cities and points out that Pittsburgh has a large number of assets that are built to last. It dug up this quote about Portland.

Why Portland Sucks And Pittsburgh Does Not

“We’re a small town that does not have a major university, that does not have a major arts school,” Schiff says. “We’re off the map in a number of ways.”

Be back with more thoughts about this.

The HillVille Looks At A Big Placemaking Trend: Downtown Skating Rinks

The HillVille, is a new project aimed at creating dialog among Appalachian cities. I'm really digging it's positive vibes.

Cities On the Rink: Ice Skating Designed for Downtown.

"Greenville, S.C. and Lexington, Ky., opened rinks this November for the first time. Knoxville’s Holidays on Ice has been in Market Square since the mid-2000s, and a rink opened in Pittsburgh’s PPG Place in 2001.

While ice-skating is quintessential wintery fun, it also represents a movement by city leaders toward creating public spaces that are active, engaging destinations even in the coldest months.

Dana Souza, parks and recreation director for the city of Greenville, said Ice on Main, a 3,200 square foot rink surrounded by a hotel, city hall, offices and restaurants, is indicative of the city’s values."

Great Lakes Urban Exchange Conference Comes To Larimer, Sept 15-17

I have no intimate knowledge of this group which aims to bring together, grass roots thinkers and doers to share knowledge and best practices, in dealing with many of the common problems and opportunities facing Rust Belt cities.

This is the third conference and the first one held in Pittsburgh. One cool thing is the organisers felt a downtown hotel would not be the right location--so it's centered right in the neighborhood of Larimer.

From Rust Wire

After GLUE’s 2010 “Urban Laboratories” event in Cleveland, workshop co-facilitators Fred Brown, of the Kingsley Association, and Pat Clark, a community development consultant and principal of Jackson Clark Partners, worked with GLUE director Sarah Szurpicki to reexamine and retool the annual GLUE experience. In particular, they saw an opportunity to do more with the energy these conferences generated, by being more deliberate about forging relationships across racial, socioeconomic, and neighborhood boundaries.

While Pittsburgh has made great strides in becoming America’s “most livable city,” some neighborhoods – like Larimer – have not reaped the benefits of its redevelopment. In spite of this, Larimer is home to innovative, collaborative organizing efforts to make sure that its residents have a say in the future of their neighborhood. The future they’re envisioning is ambitiously green. The work happening there may be a model for how Rust Belt cities ensure that every resident benefits from the revitalization of our cities.

Most likely, Rust Wire will do at least one direct post about the event.

Of course, if someone who attended or knows more about this would offer up a post, that would be awesome. Sadly, a family emergency has come up and I will be out of town right when there all these great things going on.

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.