Friendship's Octopus Garden Grows, Becomes More Awesome

I walk by this place pretty frequently but didn't notice how the garden had expanded in the back with more sculptures, details and creatively designed furniture.

The creator of the mosaic sculptures is local artist, Laura Jean McLaughlin. I don't know who designed the garden furniture.

First Impression - Knit The Bridge is Both Awesome & Underwhelming

A few initial personal impressions of The world's largest "yarn bombing" project, Knit The Bridge. (Opinion is my own and may change as I spend more time with it) 

Tons of people put lots of time, effort and love into this project and I'm very glad they did.

Awesome:

The awesome part of this sort of explains itself. The project was huge and pulling it off demonstrated a tremendously powerful community effort; technical skill and almost military coordination. Using an iconic bridge as a metaphoric demonstration of civil society involving almost 2000 people.

From The Post Gazette

"A niece in Toledo, Ohio, Rose Durant, also got involved. Ms. Deaniello didn't stop there, though, and brought in yet another acquaintance to create panels, 90-year-old Zella Poindexter, who lives in a Pittsburgh nursing home.

Much of the pre-site planning for Knit the Bridge was accomplished at the Spinning Plate gallery in East Liberty, where volunteers such as Ms. Deaniello, 71, were "little worker bees," she said, laughing.

The real buzz began early Saturday, when the actual assembly began. With the bridge closed off to vehicle and foot traffic, the low chatter of conversation from the mostly female crews was a backdrop as they stitched away hours in the sun."

Underwhelming:

The weakness of the project in some ways comes from it's greatest strength. 

Yarn Bombing as a movement tends to relate to street art and gather strength from pushing boundaries. Overwhelmingly the aesthetic is about softening the hard, technical world with the handmade, funky and chaotic. 

The main tower covering was machine knitted according to reports. Also, the most interesting aspects of the bridge like the cables were not "bombed". 

One also gets the strong impression that an effort was made to control and design out unexpected content or quirks- washing out anything remotely offensive or personal. (Could be wrong about that)

While I understand the physical and logistical barriers involved, the project fails to push the envelope in a way that creates true art. 

Views were from first look late Sunday evening. I may change my mind as I walk the bridge and soak it all in.

New Street Art: Benjamin Banneker Sign In The Hill District

I really like this raw folk art/ street art piece I saw in The Hill District. I think it's on Centre Ave but I'm not sure.



One thing street art can do is make people more aware of their regional or cultural history. My guess is that was the main intent of the creator of this work I saw in the hill. Sad to say, I had only a very vague idea of who Benjamin Banneker was-but I looked him up after seeing this.



From the Wikipedia

"The title page of an edition of Banneker's 1792 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris stated that the publication contained:


the Motions of the Sun and Moon, the True Places and Aspects of the Planets, the Rising and Setting of the Sun, Place and Age of the Moon, &c.—The Lunations, Conjunctions, Eclipses, Judgment of the Weather, Festivals, and other remarkable Days; Days for holding the Supreme and Circuit Courts of the United States, as also the useful Courts in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Also—several useful Tables, and valuable Receipts.—Various Selections from the Commonplace–Book of the Kentucky Philosopher, an American Sage; with interesting and entertaining Essays, in Prose and Verse—the whole comprising a greater, more pleasing, and useful Variety than any Work of the Kind and Price in North America.

The 1792 almanac included the times for the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Weather forecasts and dates for yearly feasts were also included. Readers also saw a tide table for the Chesapeake Bay and home treatments for illnesses. In his 1793 almanac, Banneker included letters sent between Thomas Jefferson and himself.[17] The title page of a Baltimore edition of his 1795 almanac had a woodcut portrait of him as he may have appeared, but which a writer later concluded was more likely a portrayal of an idealized African American youth."

I liked this work a lot.

James Simon's Welcome to Uptown Sign

Sorry about the low quality of these images, I don't drive and this is not a spot I normally pass with a camera at hand. When I did, there was a pretty serious back lighting situation.

Both me and Jean were a bit surprised by the weird location of this sign, which is in a parklet few neighborhood people would go. In fact, you really can only see it well, as you leave the area and head towards the South Side.

Beggars can't be choosers, and this was the spot the city must have given. James did a wonderful job bringing a creative and colorful entrance to the neighborhood.

You might know that James also did an amazing Welcome to Braddock sign.

Last Day To Submit Your Favorite Public Artwork for Contest on OnlyinPGH

No time for a fancy post--Only In PGH is hosting a cool online contest to choose Pittsburgh's favorite public art. MR Rogers? Roberto Clemente? Willie Stargell? The gangsa pigeon on Whole Foods? The downtown Magnolia tree? Jenny Holzer's Convention Center tribute to August Wilson? The Katz Plaza Eye Benches? The Octopus Garden in Friendship?

"To enter the contest, send a picture to submit@onlyinpgh.com and include your name, specific location where the photo was taken and a caption describing why the subject of the photo is your favorite piece of public art in Pittsburgh. One entry per person.

The prize this time around? A Pittsburgh art package that includes two tickets to the upcoming Gift to America: A Celebration of the Creation of the Millvale Murals by Maxo Vanka show, a “Faces of Vanka” poster and an onlyinpgh t-shirt! (Check out the Vanka Mural onlyinpgh profile for more info and a peak at the poster.)

Voting will open tomorrow at noon–don’t miss your chance!"

Check out the details on OnlyinPGH