Scott Fertig's Artist Tributes Blog

I was doing research for a post about the Henry Koener show at Chatham and stumbled on a great blog Scott Fertig "Dedicated to great artists who seem to be underserved on the internet." There are not a whole lot of posts but they focus mostly on artists's with some connection to Pittsburgh and Scott Fertig's life.

A few tributes Scott put up.

Joe Gregory

Michael Taylor

Ronald Hall

Sally Balick

Edward Sorel

Henry Koener

Anatoly Dverin

Speaking of Tributes, the blog died far too young just like Scott. (who I never met)But luckily his website is still up with some good documentation of his work.







"But Scott Fertig had a passion for faces, drawing caricatures both professionally and as a favorite pastime. Mr. Fertig, a Bon Air native who lived in Arlington, Va., died Friday of cancer. He was 41.

"Scott went everywhere with a drawing pad and paper," said his brother, Todd Fertig, of Jersey City, N.J. "He was drawing faces all the time and noticed similarities and forms that other people wouldn't notice."

Beyond caricatures, he also sold portraits and murals and had other artwork featured in galleries in both Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. His most prominent public artwork is the Times Project Wholey Warehouse Mural of a 1957 Chevy at 16th Street and Penn Avenue in the Strip District.

In 2002, the Washington Post wrote a feature story on Mr. Fertig, noting his habit of setting up shop at a local Starbucks and secretly drawing those around him."

Scott also had a nice blog of his caracatures and sketches.



Spend some time on the website. A lot of nice work there. I hope very much that the website and blogs stay up. It appears his family is doing that.

Classic Rob Rogers Cartoon

Classic

Luxury Goods and Art Markets Shift Towards Asia

I've speculated a few times on this blog about the effect China and India's rising wealth and spending power might have on the art world of the future. I'm pasting in this previous post in full without it's videos.

"If you watched any Olympic coverage, you got a nice visual display of the awesome transformation of Asia.This is not just a one city illusion, looked at by the numbers, Asia's rising trade surpluses, huge savings rates and currency surpluses demonstrate a vast potential spending power, most of which has yet to be unleashed. China for example has gone to great lengths to keep it's currency far lower than the market would, depressing it's citizens spending power.

The other thing that came across was the almost violent pride, that has developed in in China and it's similar in India-- which is starting to be seen in the exploding interest in Asian art.

I wonder about the place American Art, now plays in art history and the art market. In the post war world, we were the sun, everything seemed to revolve around us, especially the art market. The message in art history books was that all the paths of history lead to us, which was funny since a lot of the modernist movement, came from artists inspired by non western art."

Today's Times did a story about the staggering growth of China's luxury goods market and the efforts of Auction Houses to cash in on it.

"Christie’s and its rival Sotheby’s say that in the last few years Hong Kong has emerged as a top location for sales of expensive jewelry, gems and fine wines. Asians have also become major buyers of ultraluxury goods at their auctions in London, New York and Geneva."

Rolls Royce had the pleasant surprise of seeing 20 immediate orders for it's 250,000 Ghost despite taxes that double the price.

The story only touches on the art market. It seems so hard to separate, the value of art from the symbolism it represents. A Warhol soup can or Marilyn was an icon of an iconic age.In the same way the dynamic power of the "big dick" American abstract expressionists has come to symbolise America's power in the 1950's. Suppose we didn't have a big one back then? Would our art have been taken so seriously? Everything about American art and culture was seen as important partly because we were important. Will it always be so?

Open Thread Regional Review’s Open Reading Period Closes Nov. 1st!

Regular readers know I'm obsessed with the Pittsburgh art scene's extreme issolation from the outside world.

Yes, It's relatively easy to show your work here but very hard to make even regional connections without leaving the area entirely.This problem seems to be mirored by the even greater issolation of artists in West Virginia and Ohio. It doesn't have to be this way.

Anyway, print and online media are easy ways to try to break this loop

The Regional Review is a publication of Open Thread, a new regional arts organization based out of Pittsburgh. Open Thread seeks to establish frameworks for artistic discovery in the tri-state area, providing local artists, writers, performers, and vendors with opportunities for publication, performance, or exhibition.

October 8th, 2009 Adam Atkinson The open reading period for Volume Two of the Open Thread Regional Review closes on Sunday, November 1st at midnight! We’re considering unsolicited poems, stories, essays, paintings, drawings, prints, photos, video stills, documentation of 3-D work, comics, and mixed media and genres!

Who’s eligible? Any native or current resident of Open Thread’s target region: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Eligible writers and artists must also be in the early stages of a career in their respective field.

Here’s how to submit: go to www.openthread.org, register as an Open Thread member (free!), and then upload your work at www.openthread.org/submit! Be sure to read carefully: preference is given to work that meets our submission guidelines.

The Open Thread Regional Review is an essential collection of the region’s best emerging art and literature. Volume Two is scheduled for release in early 2010 and is supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund. Volume One is available for purchase at www.openthread.org/publications.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 10:42 am and is filed under Call For Submissions, Ohio, Open Thread, Pennsylvania, Publications, West Virginia . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Google Trike Now Mapping Off Road!

Most of are already pretty aware of Google's Street View but what about the world of dirt roads, alley's and bike paths where cars can't go.



"They go on to say that the best part about this new dataset is that we’ve been able to add a lot of new, detailed information to Google Maps - information that helps people better explore and get around the real world. For example, college students will be pleased to see maps of many campuses; and cyclists will now find many more trails and paths to explore. Soon we even plan on providing you with biking directions to take advantage of this new data. Of course, in the true Google spirit of “launch and iterate,” we plan to work with more data sources to add new features in the map.

Although no date is set, this is a much needed, and long over due function that will be a boon to cyclists and cycling. Oftentimes, the best driving directions are not the best roads to take a ride on. Also, since Google currently doesn’t have trail data, if you are looking for biking directions, and click “Walk There,” there is a chance that it will send you up E Carson St instead of the South Side Trail, for instance."

I'm waiting very eagerly for Google Bedroom View!

Artist's Open Studio Weekend

This weekend of events and happenings includes some great opportunities to see (and perhaps buy) artists work in their studios and work spaces.

The fifth annual Lawrenceville artist's studio tour on Saturday will open 16 artists work spaces and let you see work from video and performance, to traditional stained glass, textiles, sculpture and pottery.

Just download the PDF for a map.

My personal must sees would likely include the studios of

Connie Cantor

Encyclopedia Destructica

Ron Donoughe

Dan Gasser

But the Casey and Rachel Hallas studio looks very interesting.

I'm a little bummed, that Tugboat Press isn't opening up.

Then on Sunday



On Sunday, consider popping into Open studio event of Susan Constance and Christine Bethea in Bloomfield.

Orange Balloons, an aRt-O-noMic open studio event
Bloomfield, 4073 Liberty Ave – 2nd floor
Sunday, October 18, 2008: 12PM – 6PM

Now for my rant!

People familiar with the art scene and geography of Pittsburgh might guess that one could easily put together an amazing Bloomfield/Garfield/Lawrenceville open studio/ art weekend or something which could easily include 30 different art studios and galleries.

Don't hold your breath on that one.

Charles "Teenie" Harris at the Carnegie til Nov 1st

(Photo from Carnegie Museum of Art website)

If you have even a passing interest in photography, don't miss this exhibit . Pathos, humor,beauty, composition. It is all there. Pittsburgher Charles Teenie Harris has become more and more famous in recent years: There is a book of his work titled "One Shot" , a contemporary dance piece by Ronald K. Brown/Evidence that won rave reviews from the New York Times, and an ongoing series of exhibits at the Carnegie. The Carnegie owns most (or all?) of the late Mr. Harris's negatives and is archiving them and identifying those in the iamges as best they can.

I loved this exhibit, which literally led me to tear up. I actually haven't yet looked at the accompanying photos by Pittsburgh area children, but will on my next visit.

Here is the write up from the CMOA website about the exhibit:

"Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project, Part Three
Through November 1
Forum Gallery

In honor of the 101st birthday of the great chronicler of African American life in Pittsburgh, this exhibition pairs classic photographs by Charles “Teenie” Harris with prize-winning snapshots by children living in Pittsburgh neighborhoods today. Following in the footsteps of the legendary Teenie Harris, these local children have photographed the meaningful people, places, and things in their lives. In keeping with the theme of a child’s vision of Pittsburgh, the Teenie Harris images are selected by his son Charles A. Harris, including scenes of his own childhood. The children’s work is sponsored by the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the citywide “Gathering of Peace” antiviolence initiative.

Vintage prints and negatives in the Teenie Harris Archive were acquired with funds provided by the Heinz Family Fund, the Second Century Acquisition Fund, Milton and Nancy Washington, and by gift of the artist and the Harris Estate. General support for museum programs is provided by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Heinz Endowments, and Allegheny County Regional Asset District. Cataloging and scanning of the Teenie Harris Archive is supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for Preserving and Creating Access to Humanities Collections. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities."

For the NY Times Review of Ronald K. Brown/Evidence piece "One Shot" see here:

(Note this work was performed in Pittsburgh this past April).

Aaron Gorson: Painter of Pittsburgh's Industrial Scenes

Henry Gorson: 1872-1933.
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Gorson Mill Painting Centerpiece of Auction" inspired me to do this brief entry. You can read the article, which includes interesting information about Gorson's ties to the local Jewish community here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09280/1003450-437.stm

And additional images of Gorson's work can be found here:http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=aaron+Gorson+paintings&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Some stuff that I am doing (shameless self promotion post)

October is always a busy month for the arts. This month's first Friday is a good example. On October 2, there were gallery crawls in Downtown, on Penn Avenue and in Shadyside. It's a good thing that galleries have regular hours so that you can catch all of those shows that you missed on opening night. Right?

Unblurred

Click on images for detail

I have a two-person show at Most Wanted Fine Art during the month of October. Above, far left, is an installation shot from the gallery. The works on display are from the Unreal Spaces series and are some of my newest works. T.I.N.A. is the artist that I am showing with (center image). His work is very political/commentary/social. Interesting is that he is using a pochoir technique for producing original multiples. The exhibit is at --

MOST WANTED FINE ART - 5015 PENN AVE.
T.I.N.A. and Susan Constanse displaying their newest images just in time for the "G-20 reply". Meet the artists Friday night! Please stop by the space or make an appointment Wed-Fri 1PM-6PM, search "MWFA" on www.youtube.com.

While I was on Penn Avenue for the October Unblurred event, I didn't really get out to take a look at the other exhibits. I did pop across the street to Artica to say hello and was pleasantly surprised to find a collection of Vanessa German's assemblages (far right).

Orange Balloons, an aRt-O-noMic open studio event




I like having open studios. It gives me a chance to show off my newest work. My studio is such a great big place that I always ask a few artists if they would like to bring some work in and set up in the studio for the day. This year, in addition to my wonderful studio mate, Christine Bethea, Michelle Gregio and Laurenty Josep will be joining us for the day.

How do you find us? We are near the Bloomfield end of the Bloomfield Bridge, next door to Iron Eden and across the street from Paul Lumber. Look for the orange balloons!

Orange Balloons, an aRt-O-noMic open studio event
Bloomfield, 4073 Liberty Ave – 2nd floor
Sunday, October 18, 2008: 12PM – 6PM

soulpurpose



This little show in 709 Gallery ended up being a really terrific survey. The work presented is from a wide range of artists whose practices include glass, painting, drawing, assemblage and collage. The exhibit was meant to showcase Pittsburgh artists to the dignitaries and luminaries visiting our fair city for the G-20 Summit. But that doesn't mean that we, as citizens of this fair city, can't enjoy the selection too.


Christiane Leach


Vanessa German (foreground)


Susan Constanse


Installation, left wall


Josh Hogan


Christine Bethea

soulpurpose, 709 Penn Gallery, Closing reception, November 6
The Trust’s Education and Community Engagement Department will also host a survey of 15 local artists in an exhibition and sale called “soulpurpose: Local Artists Showcase.” The exhibition at 709 Penn Gallery will run Friday, September 11, through Friday, November 6, 2009. Participating artists include: Leslie Ansley, Christine Bethea, Margaret Burley, Susan Constanse, John Flatz, Vanessa German, Rita Gregory, Gary Guydosh, Josh Hogan, LaVerne Kemp, Christiane Leach, Saihou Njie, Sandra Moore, Susan Ragland, Mark Traughber and Richelle Wilson.

Pittsburgh Weekend Events: 10/2-3/09.

Friday

Is this the night of the seasonal Downtown gallery crawl in the Cultural District? It sure is, and naturally it falls right smack dab on the same night as Unblurred. What a surprise! The shower of events in the midst of the Golden Triangle gets under way at 5:30PM.

937 Liberty has a a group show of work focusing on a single object (I hear tell this will contain multiple perspectives on "rope"). The folks behind it belong to The Pittsburgh chapter of the American Society Of Media Photographers, which means that they get paid to make their images. That's cool. That must mean they are legitimate. Don't hold that against them.

SPACE (812 Liberty Avenue) is unveiling some "high-concept" project called Transfer Lounge, described as "a unique opportunity for artists from different parts of the world (from what I can gather- Valencia, Spain and Pittsburgh) to actively exchange their views and ideas around issues of mobility and transition." Unfortunately this tells me virtually nothing about what you might see if you make a visit.

Don't forget Soulpurpose at the 707/709 Galleries (Penn Avenue). The G20 might be over, but you can still see at least one curator's ideas about a balanced representation of local artists. Apparently Jen Cooney's "The Secret Lives of Stories" is still at 707, and this would be the single compelling reason for me to venture Downtown on a Friday evening. I saw her work a couple of years ago when the PCA and Filmmakers jointly hosted their Biennial, and it was easy to get caught up in her visual world. She seems to love Bigfoot, and for this reason alone, I must someday meet her.

Finally, I want to mention that a French Artist is showing installation art "highlighting simultaneously both the simplicity and the complexity of reality" (emphasis mine, quote theirs) at the Wood Street galleries. And that wraps up one crawl!

If you're going to Unblurred instead, consider dropping in on the Friendship Development Associates' birthday bash at 6PM. Be aware that this does cost money ($7 in advance, or $10 at the door). With all the free stuff going on this night, I'm sure the lines for beer won't be excessively long.

Despite what some other media sources are saying, Rick Byerly is reporting that the Rob Larson/Mike Egan collaboration is opening at Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue)
on Friday night. These guys have both appeared in the gallery before, so I know they are worth a stop. Egan does simple day-of-the-dead inspired paintings, and Larson appears to employ stencils and photographic prints extensively. It'll surely be an interesting mix.

Other Unblurred highlights include images from Susan Constance at Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 Penn Ave), glass work by Sheila Klein at the Pittsburgh Glass Center (5472 Penn Ave), a 3D exhibit of Joseph Materkowski's abstract paintings at FAST>>FWRD (3700 Penn Ave), an Autumn "ensemble" at SPACE (4823 Penn Avenue), and a collection of stuff over at Garfield Artworks that includes (among others) multimedia creators Becky Corrigan and Evan Knauer. Whew.

Of course Shadyside has their version of First Friday too, so you can go and check out a reception for Cliff Enright's watercolors over at Mendelson Gallery (5874 Ellsworth Avenue). They are rather bright abstracts that contain a broad enough palette to match any decor. Meanwhile Cory Rockwood has some more of his "Painted Shaped Canvassesd" over at Gallerie Chiz (5831 Ellsworth Avenue). I've seen some of his works over at Moxie Dada, and I enjoy their subtlety. Rockwood shares the space with Ryder Henry, whose futuristic cityscape paintings impressed me very much during this past August's Visionary Arts Fest in Schenley Plaza.

As if the concordance of art events during first Fridays in Pittsurgh isn't already overwhelming, the Kelly Strayhorn Theater (in the heart of East Liberty) is having a roll-out/call for artists for "Go East!", that is evidently seeking to compete with the other two regular monthly extravaganzas. They promise " A combination of live music, dance, theatre, film, spoken word, and more...crafts marketplace, music, free food and drink." Make sure to bring samples of your work on CD/DVD if you are interested in participating in such future events.

And if you happen to be in the Homestead area, you'll be close by the Pump House & Water tower, where four artists (including former Digging Pitt regular and current blog contributor Jean McClung) will display their work inspired by the Carrie Blast Furnaces (see Bittersweet Harvest for some previews).

Saturday

Another exhibition space is opening this weekend in Squirrel Hill, to join the ranks of Sirani Gallery on Forbes. The Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Avenue) will feature emerging, as well as international artists, and their grand inaugural celebration kicks off between 5-9PM with a group show of locals, including the very talented Aimee Manion (another veteran of VAF). If I had my way I'd already own one of her paintings, but I fear she's quickly leaving my price range.

Pitsburgh Society of Artists is having their annual show at Borelli Edwards in Lawrenceville (3583 Butler Street). The opening reception is from 6-8:30PM. I was too busy to submit anything, but that doesn't mean I won't stop by.

First G20 Chaos, Now Viagra Movie Restrictions

Umm, maybee hooking up with the world ain't worth it. Seems the latest film project downtown, a romantic comedy involving a Viagra salesman staring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal caused delays.

"The shoot took place along Smithfield Street between Forbes Avenue and Strawberry Way."

Commie and Anarchist weirdos, two Steelers losses in a row, a seventeenth straight Pirates losing season and now more trouble caused by Hollywood film stars.

October Regional Arts Roundup

An attempt to give a few highlights of shows in a slightly broader region mostly focusing on new exhibits and events opening in October or late September.

In Cleveland

The Cleveland Museum

Paul Gauguin: Paris, 1889
October 4, 2009–January 18, 2010

This landmark exhibition gathers about 75 paintings, works on paper, woodcarvings, and ceramics by Paul Gauguin and his contemporaries to explore how the artist created his signature style during the year 1889. Co-organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

The exhibition will also focus on Gauguin's early prints.

MOCA Cleveland

Hugging and Wrestling : Contemporary Israeli Photography and Video
On view September 12th, 2009 through January 10th, 2010

Julian Stanczak : Recent Work
On view September 12th, 2009 through January 10th, 2010

Julian Stanczak's work helped to define the Op, or "perceptual," art movement of the 1960's. Since that time, Stanczak has continued to make groundbreaking work primarily here in Cleveland, where he was a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art from 1964 - 1995. Visually stunning and metaphorically rich, Stanczaks newest works will be featured this fall in MOCA's 12th PULSE exhibition, a series presenting outstanding artists working in our region.

Artist talk on October 4th

Spaces Gallery

The Plum Academy
"An Institute for Situated Practices"

September 11 – October 23, 2009
Opening Reception: September 11, 6–9 p.m., free

Don't ask! Kind of a free form group of random readings, screenings, tours and talks.

CONVIVIUM33 GALLERY

The Best of Cleveland-CLEVELAND ARTS PRIZE WINNERS COLLABORATIVE

Nearly 50 years ago CAP began a tradition of identifying and honoring Cleveland’s outstanding artists on an annual basis. Since then the Arts Prize commissioned an Arts Prize medal, launched a scholarship program and established the tradition of holding an annual awards event to honor the accomplishments of Artists in Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland Arts Prize Winner’s Collaborative will showcase Cleveland’s best in the category of visual arts with a free public gallery exhibition and include two weekend workshops in the categories of design, literature and music and dance.

Akron

Akron Art Museum



The Legend of John Brown by Jacob Lawrence
October 16, 2009 - February 14, 2010

Judith Bear Isroff Gallery

"This fall marks the 150th anniversaries of John Brown’s anti-slavery raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, and his December 2, 1859 execution. To commemorate this famous Akron resident, the Akron Art Museum presents selections from Jacob Lawrence’s celebrated print series The Legend of John Brown. Lawrence, one of the most significant American artists of the 20th century, was also the first African American to depict the story of the controversial white abolitionist.

Lawrence’s screenprint series is from the collection of the Akron Art Museum and will be joined by related images and artifacts from the Summit County Historical Society and the Special Collections Division of the Akron Summit County Public Library."

Also

Familiar Faces:
Chuck Close in Ohio Collections
September 5, 2009 - January 3, 2010

Youngstown

The Butler Institute Of American Art

Sep 06, 2009 Through Nov 29, 2009
Jasper Johns: Works on Paper 1994-2007 (Youngstown)

Presented in conjunction with Matthew Marks Gallery, New York City, this exhibition offers recent works on paper by America's master of the avant garde. An exhibition catalogue accompanies this show.

Erie

The Erie Art Museum



Selections from the Permanent Collection
of Edinboro University

Main Gallery
September 25, 2009 through January 4, 2010

"The exhibition, curated by Bruce Gallery Director John Bavaro, and organized by Erie Art Museum Director John Vanco, features a large sampling of lithographs, etchings and drawings by some of the most prominent names in Western art, including Picasso, Dali, Redon, Goya, Degas, Matisse, Chagall and many others. The exhibition also features excellent prints by Hiroshige, Hokusai, Kunisada and other Japanese masters. Some of the notable pieces featured in the show include a platter by Peter Voulkos, an original 1960’s era drawing by Peter Saul, a signed “Liz” silkscreen by Andy Warhol and two signed lithographs by Kathe Kollwitz.

Edinboro University’s collection is strongest in printmaking, but also includes sculpture, ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, and fibers. The collection is eclectic, with works ranging from 19th and early 20th Century lithographs to Pop Art prints and Photorealistic silkscreen pieces. It also contains selections from prominent Edinboro art alumni and purchase award acquisitions from the former Edinboro Print National Competition. Acquired through purchase or private donations, the artwork serves the campus and surrounding community through availability for study, teaching, exhibition and institutional loans."

Greensburg

Westmoreland Museum Of American Art

Four Perspectives on Fifty Years
Sunday September 27, 2009 - Sunday January 03, 2010


Also

James Osher: Three Seconds with the Masters
Sunday September 27, 2009 - Sunday January 03, 2010

Carrie Furnace Project Opening Reception October 1st, Thursday 6-9

I'm gonna hype this show a bit more than usual because it's very likely you haven't heard of it or possibly of the venue it's in and also because it looks like a very, very good show.A combination of good artists dealing with a great subject and exhibiting in a great space.

The general theme of the show, is four artist's response to the amazing, Pittsburgh relic Carrie Furnace with work ranging from photography to sculpture.


Photo by George Mendel

George Thomas Mendel

"George Mendel is a freelance photographer with over 20 years of experience specializing in architectural and corporate event and location photography. His images have appeared in Architectural Lighting, Western Pennsylvania History, Pittsburgh Metropolitan, Pittsburgh Professional, and Mt. Lebanon magazines, to name a few. Mendel's images featured in the book "Death by Renaissance" and shown at The Silver Eye Gallery are now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution's affiliate museum/library, the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center."

George will be exhibiting a series of large scale panoramic photo works taken at the Carrie Furnace site.





"Jean McClung is an artist who lives and works in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. She has exhibited extensively and was recently featured in a group exhibit at Agni Gallery in N.Y.C. Jean had a one-person exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in 2006. While she is primarily a painter, her work since 2001 has mainly involved photographing street art and graffiti in urban areas. These photographs are then combined with painting and drawing, and used to create illuminated "paintings" and sculptures. These works are intended to celebrate the complexity, spontaneity, intensity and individuality of the urban world."

All of the exhibited works are derived from photo's taken at the Carrie Furnace site.





"Norman W. Schumm started photography as a freshman in high school and estimates that, since 1946, he has taken over 100,000 pictures. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 1959, he has spent many hours photographing the different moods of the city itself. Many of his Pittsburgh pictures grace the walls of Pittsburgh homes, offices, and distant cities where former Pittsburghers now live. His pictures have been published in books, posters, calendars, and post cares. Stefan Lorant, noted author and pioneer photojournalist, chose Norman to take photographs for three different editions of his book: "Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City."

Norman photographs primarily with a 4x5 view camera and uses both color and black & white film. He personally controls each step of the photographic process from the initial exposure to the developing and making of both color and black & white prints in his darkroom. Norman's personal preference is for the full tone, expressive black and white prints such as those taken by Ansel Adams."



Dee Briggs is a sculptor currently living and working between New York and Pittsburgh. Born in 1968 near Pittsburgh in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and raised in Wellsburg, West Virginia, Briggs moved to New York in 1986, and has recently returned to Western Pennsylvania. Briggs has two degrees in architecture from the City College of New York (BA '97) and Yale University (M.Arch '02), and has worked with several leading architecture firms in New York . After 15 years in architecture, Briggs began making sculpture full time in 2002. Most recently, she has been teaching in the Schools of Art and Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

Briggs works mostly in steel and bronze at various scales, and does all fabrication work herself. Currently, her work is rooted in the exploration of chirality, or 3 dimensional handedness, pursued through the study of basic principles of geometry and symmetry.I am very interested in the resulting relationships of line and plane, and the way in which each composition describes or implies space. Although my work often appears chaotic and whimsical, it is, in fact, highly ordered.

Really a whole bunch of reasons to see this show if you can. Dee Briggs and George Mendel are showing works of a size not easily shown in a lot of Pittsburgh venues; Jean hasn't shown in a while and is exhibiting new works inspired by Carrie furnace and I think Norman is showing a considerable body of amazing photos of the region's steel heritage.

More info and images can be found on Pittsburgh Grapevine

More info about Carrie Furnace and Steel Heritage can be found on Rivers Of Steel.

Open Gallery Hours:
October 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 &17 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm
& by Appointment through www.RiversofSteel.com 412.464.4020

Pump House & Water Tower
880 East Waterfront Drive
Homestead, PA 15120


View Larger Map

Heads Up: October 9TH Open Screening @ Melwood Screening Room

Pittsburgh Filmmakers welcomes all PF Students, Alumni, and PF/PCA Members to present their short films and videos at the Melwood! No censors, no rules, except as follows. (1) Each artist may present ONE work of up to 15 minutes. (2) Formats: DVD, MiniDV, 16mm, Super 8mm. (3) Please label the media, and attach your name, email and phone number.

How to submit: October 2-8, come to Filmmakers and drop off media; October 9, just bring your film or video to the event but note this is first come, first screened and last piece will starts no later than 10:00pm. Drop-offs may go to our receptionist's desk or to Faculty Mailbox (Room 209) on 2nd Floor.

GET:Larimer – Green Environmental Tourism – G20 Summit Tour

Obviously, this event has passed, but I hope to hear more.

The Post's, City Walkabout blog said the event was pretty well attended.

"Saturday update: It's exciting to report that, while many students in Oakland were just hanging out, possibly clueless, a dozen or so students among 35 people came out for the tour. On the hour-long walk around Larimer, we saw site after site that stakeholders have changed from grit to green -- community gardens and urban farms --"

While really very few people claiming to be awake, slightly informed or literate have much excuse for thinking Pittsburgh is a dirty smokey depressed city as a whole, it does have some neighborhoods, like Homewood and Larimer, which are thought to have almost no bright spots. A tour like this helps show that even this is a myth.

"GET:Larimer will be highlighting an existing community and how a group of individuals and organizations with shared vision can leverage the natural opportunities of blighted areas through sustainable economical development and social entrepreneurship to create real, positive, and lasting change.

While Larimer is a small neighborhood in the East End of the City of Pittsburgh, the solutions and ideas that will be described, demonstrated, and discussed can be applied to communities around our country and throughout the world. For this reason, GET:Larimer will also stress the idea of application of these concepts outside of the community of Larimer coupled with the knowledge that a community can be reborn through the determination of group of individuals seeking neighborhood improvement."

There should have been a lot more tours of this type during G20.

How's The Bridge Project Going In Cleveland?

Pittsburgh & Cleveland have similar histories, I think as blue collar company towns where decisions were handed down from bosses on the top, who funneled too many resources on Marquis projects (The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Cleveland Museum) while ignoring or destroying the special history or places that make each city unique.

For two evenings this weekend Cleveland is letting artists of all sorts take a crack at using a mile long abandoned lower level of a major bridge as a stage.

The Cleveland Festival of Art and Technology, “Ingenuity” will expand beyond its weekend summer festival and transform one of the most fascinating under-used urban spaces in the City into a center of art and performance on September 25 and 26, 2009. The streetcar level spans approximately one mile and includes, at the west end, a series of archways and rooms that will be animated by art installations, exhibits and performances. Key personnel include Director James Levin, KSU Urban Design Planner and Pop-Up City Director Terry Schwarz.

Ingenuity will venture out of its Public Square – PlayhouseSquare district and explore an urban space that lies central to Cleveland with spectacular views of downtown, the Cuyahoga River, the Flats, Lake Erie: the streetcar level of the Detroit Superior Bridge, immediately below and parallel to the vehicular level. Ingenuity will transform this span, about 50 feet wide in most sections, almost a mile long, with fabulous nooks, crannies, tunnels and cisterns at both the east and west ends, with art installations, exhibits and performances, many involving technology.

This experience will take place Friday September 25, opening at 4 pm, closing at midnight and continue Saturday September 26, from noon to midnight. It will be free to the public and include arts and crafts vendors, food and beverage vendors (including beer and wine), buskers and solo performers positioned across the great span of the bridge with the more complex installations and performances taking place at either end. The event will include, as at all Ingenuity events, most exhibits and performances are family friendly and each night closes with a musical event



Follow the project

#bridge2009 on Flickr
#bridge2009 on Twitter
#bridge2009 on YouTube
Facebook Event
Facebook Fan Page
Facebook Group

This site looks to have plenty of history and wow factor! Would love to hear from those who attended or participated.

Four Perspectives on Fifty Years Opens @ Westmoreland Museum Tonight

Although the Westmoreland Museum, is only fifty years old, it's well on the way to creating one of the more important collections of American art anywhere. Partly, this comes from the region's wealth and old money, as well as that a lot of the collection was built during a period when American realism, "Regionalism" and early modernism were considered unimportant. Already, it houses probably, the best and deepest collection of art and fine crafts made in Southwestern, PA.

As part of it's 50 year birthday, they invited four different art lovers to roam their store rooms and pick of their favorite works.

"A collaborative exhibition curated by friends of the museum—an artist, collector, art critic, and patron—all taken from the Museum's permanent collection. This exhibition will offer the unique perspectives of each of the guest curators while bringing together works from the collection that are seldom seen together. The guest curators: Adrienne Heinrich (artist), Marty O'Brien (collector); Graham Shearing (art critic); and Anne Robertshaw (patron)."

Take my word for it both Graham Shearing and Adrienne Heinrich have an "eye".

Also on view will be a show by Pittsburgh artist, James Osher which deals with the way we look at paintings in museums called, Three Seconds with the Masters.

"With the understanding that the average visitor to a museum or gallery spends more time reading labels than viewing the artwork, the artist has intentionally selected lengthy descriptive labels that require more than three seconds to read. The dynamic created by this work expands on the concept of "word as art" and while the labels do not have any contextual relationship to the paintings with which they are paired, they pose the question of how much curatorial influence they really have over the subject of the work."

Bob Ziller's Pittsburgh Beautification Project

I found this video along with some nice shot's of Bob Ziller's community project to pretty up the burgh on Bittersweet Harvest which is one of the best single sources of dope on the goings on here.

Some of these are on active businesses that boarded up for the G20.

This is agood example of the kind of small grass roots projects aided by The Sprout Fund.

Tim Kaulen Artist Of The Year Opening Tonight @ PCA

Finally, Tim Kaulen has been named the PCA's artist of the year. Tim has really made himself the city's defacto king of outdoor sculpture in spite of almost never receiving official commissions. Obviously, a lot of his work deals with and plays with the materials, history and scrap from the region's industrial past. He and other members of The Industrial Arts Co-Op have been placing temporary and often not exactly legal exhibitions of large scale sculpture in abandoned industrial sites in places like Akron, Ohio, Pittsburgh and even Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I tried to dig up a few videos that document a few of Tim's projects, the most amazing of which might be the Carrie Furnace deer. See a Gigapan of it here.



The Owl
Temporary Installation - Carrie Furnace
Rankin, Pittsburgh, PA (image from IAC site)

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 2009 Artist of the Year Exhibition offers exciting challenges. It is my intention to propose an equally creative solution using elements of sculpture, both organic and architectural, recycled materials and objects, and the play between history and the contemporary world. I am honored to present the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and surrounding communities of Pittsburgh with the opportunity for the public to engage in outdoor sculpture and this historic setting at Mellon Park.

I wish to create a series or family of large-scale public sculptures using classic American wooden and tin toy designs as the central theme. The grounds of Mellon Park are an excellent option for this concept as it flanks environments where play or play-like activity occurs on a daily basis. A final, topiary element will be used to physically blend the structural geometry of the toy theme to the landscape itself, giving the pieces a slow but changing personality.

The relationship this particular site has to the 19th century urban industry lends itself to connecting with mechanical toys of that era in both a whimsical and celebratory manner. There is a natural fit and relationship between the two, the site and the concept, which will further be exemplified through the work itself as it celebrates the glorious past of Pittsburgh, the evolving present, and the exciting future of urban spaces and man-made elements fusing with the natural world.



Sign piece on construction site Penn Ave in Bloomfield 2005.

The 2009 PCA Artist of the Year, Tim Kaulen, and the 2009 Emerging Artist, Dylan Vitone, are the featured exhibits this fall at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PCA). Both shows are on view from September 25 through November 8. An opening reception will be held on Friday, September 25, from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. The reception is open to the public; a $5 donation is requested; free to members.

Breaking News: Reverend Billy Was @ Lawrenceville March

As I suspected, Reverend Billy Talen was at this afternoon's G20 protest in Lawrenceville. (The AP says he led the march)

How did I provide you with this scoop. In my past life as an artist in NYC, I became friends with some artists and poet types who were close friends of his. This was during the general 1998-2001 period of the WTO protests in Seattle which I heard about.

Anyway, I have a general agreement with Reverend Billy. The idea that a time when many tapped out consumers are finally recovering from an irresponsible, unsustainable credit binge and choosing to buy less. While many lenders are recovering from the Fed's credit crack are lending more rationally, that the federal government, already having racked up 70trillion or more in hidden liabilities is now putting the nation on the hook for more of the same is simply amazing.

I'm a fraid that given his associations, that while I am highly entertained by him, I think his credentials as a peace activist to be thin.

Last Chance Special Offer

Tear gas in the air. Don't wait anymore. First rule of capitalism is rising demand = higher prices or shortages. I'm safe at undisclosed location watching TV in my Survivaball.

myG20 Protest Update 2

I won't keep on putting these things up. As stated before, the blog is not a good source of updated info at this point. I'm at home in Shadyside and have no intent of wandering too much till this evening and I haven't been monitoring all twitter tags aside from Myg20

The Post Gazette seems to have fairly accurate coverage.

Lawrenceville protest march was broken up by tear gas @ around 37Th and Buttler. A large group of protesters then headed up Liberty into Bloomfield. I hear helicopters but not enough activity to indicate much beyond the normal police state G20 vibe.

The Big O (not to be confused with the dirty O) is now in town.

myG20 Protest Update

OOPS, shouldn't have gotten involved in this. In the time since the last update crowds have grown downtown.

One protest is against the current regime in Ethiopia and looks considerable.

Also, the protest march planned to start in Lawrencville started in Arsenal park, and was quite a bit bigger than it looked at first, It's now heading across the 40th Street bridge with plans to come into downtown across a bridge, I think.

Last tweet on MYg20 said "The Line Is Drawn".

The rest of the tweets are by paid city or foundation employees beating off over positive press articles.

G2O Art & Protest Update

First of all, this blog is not an up to date source of all G20 info. With that in mind, here are a few updates from the MYg20 twitter feed.

The unpermited march that implied it might be a violent attempt to disrupt the conference appears very very small.

The Mattress factory updated shots of the march by Burmese monks to protest the oppression in Burma which did reach the no-go perimeter downtown. This march I think made no direct reference to China.

A much more taboo gathering happened in Oakland, with a protest by Free Tibet demonstrators. Tibet is an absolutely off the table topic. Not only does the G20 include China,which considers Tibet a province, it also includes India, which has given sanctuary to the Dalai Lama and shares a militarised and disputed border with China. In 1962, a bitter border war was fought between the two countries resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Go to Myg20 for updates or follow tags like #myg20, #g20 #Pittsburgh on Twitter.

two pieces of awesome from the G20.

The Mattress Factory Museum of Art hosting the Burmese Monks for their marches in Pittsburgh. Their photostream capturing marching, speaking at the Cities of Asylum space - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattressfactory/

* * *

Point Park University students dance flash mob welcoming the G20.

Burmese Freedom Protest March & Press Conference

Sorry, I meant to post about this before, Obviously the film screening was last night and the press conference is over. The Mattress Factory people just loaded some great photos on Flickr of the march to protest and raise awareness about the criminal regime that controls Burma.

This protest which will I think also go downtown can't be something The G20 leaders want to see. It's very hard to believe that either the regime in North Korea or the one in Burma would exist in their current form without the tacit support of China. Yes, Burma also has oil, which has drawn amoral and IMHO, very unwise investors. Any deal signed with criminals like this is hardly worth anything.

There will be a film screening of Burma VJ at the Mattress Factory on Wednesday September 23rd at 7:00 PM, followed by a reception and Q&A with a monk from the Saffron Revolution. The next day, Thursday September 24Th, at 9:00 AM a press conference will be held at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh with writer-in-residence Khet Mar and Burmese monks. This is a unique chance to meet Burmese monks from the frontline of a revolution, and to learn more about City of Asylum/Pittsburg’s newest writer-in-residence, Khet Mar. I hope to see you at one of these special events!

Survivaballs @ G20 Protests

Yes!! Some really cool G20 protest art has come to Pittsburgh! People are pulling out all the stops like jumping off bridges and making points with art.

One of the best has to be the "Survivaball" spoof product designed by a group of artist/activists who call themselves "The Yes Men". You might have seen their "retrospective" last year @CMU or seen their work in a group show @ The Warhol.

Will Reverend Billy Be In Pittsburgh For The G20?

Already, mostly sick and bored with the protest antics. Where's Reverend Billy? He and Peter Schiff warned us of the troubles we were getting into. Hopefuly he will come to protest the bizarre actions of global governments to keep already over leveraged and broke shoppers in the stores.

For your G20 art fix, see G-SPOT at Fe Gallery

The inimitable Fe gallery is presenting the exhibit G Spot. It includes a number of artists from the recent Visionary Arts Festival. This will be another terrific exhibit from Fe.

From the Fe website:

An exhibition of artwork at Fe Gallery in Lawrenceville
G-SPOT
As the world descends on Pittsburgh for the G - 20 Summit, we invite you to plunge into G-Spot
September 24 - 26, 2009
Artwork by artists from the Visionary Arts Festival

Thursday September 24, 7 - 9 pm: OPENING RECEPTION

Exhibition Hours
9/25 12 - 4 pm9/26 12- 4 pm
Fe Arts Gallery 4102 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15201 412-860-6028 info@fegallery.org

Artists in the exhibit include;Alberto Almarza,Ian Green,Kyle Ethan Fischer,Randie Snow,Garry Piles,Christine Bethea,David Grim,Deanna Mance,Matthew Marrino

Arabella Proffer @Box Heart Gallery

Splendor and Safety Pins is a charming exhibit. The works are very sweet, small portraits of imaginary luminaries. The first thing thought of when I walked in the gallery was steampunk. from the artist statement --

Channeling costume history of the Renaissance through the Georgian period, each highly detailed painting is Proffer's depiction of old world aristocratic decadence; these mannerist gothic and punk portraits of imaginary nobility explore the roles that beauty, vanity, entitlement and virtue play in shaping aesthetic outcomes. Concerned with identity, first impressions, and the ideas and representations of counter-culture and tradition, each piece explores how piercing, tattoos, and punk rock style might have been adopted by aristocrats and social elites as part of their decoration for serious portraits to be left as a reminder of their legacy.

The paintings' descriptions were captivating, with a short biography of the individuals pictured. The exhibit is up through October 10.


September 15 - October 10
Splendor and Safety Pins
Box Heart
4523 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224
P. 412.687.8858
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 5 pm

2009 Pittsburgh Parking Day Map

View 2009 Pittsburgh Park(ing) Day in a larger map

The second Pittsburgh Parking Day on September 18th was a relative success. There were a good number of projects spread around and a lot of symbolic support from sponsors and politicians.However, from what I could tell the event still has failed to spark serious publicity about Pittsburgh's antiquated and regressive land use and parking policies. Put on a Green T shirt, take the picture, next event! That's Pittsburgh.

Here are some images taken by Chuck Alcorn , People used their spaces for demonstrations, some as mini parks, a few sold stuff and many handed out literature about parking day and their own organizations. I only managed to see the three spaces on Craig street.

New Pittsburgh Transplant's Tour Of Detroit

PE in Detroit from Promiscuous Eye on Vimeo.

I got an email from the women who made this video who, it seems has recently moved here and will be acting as an art advisor and roving curator.

"Ingrid LaFleur Whitehead is local contemporary art advisor and independent curator specializing in emerging artists of the African Diaspora. Whitehead is a recent transplant from Detroit, Michigan."

The video gives a nice snapshot of some of the people that felt motivated and inspired to do creative stuff in the city.

Some Trouble With My Twitter Updates

I really can't explain it but something has gone wrong with the twitter update feed on this blog and for now it's been removed. Tweets that seemed even weirder than normal were not mine.

I will try to fix this

What I Learned On Artscan: Some Shows Of CMU Alumni In September

In spite of the current hype, the vibe I get from most Pittsburgh artists is one a general lack of opportunity and isolation from the global art world (and art market) in spite of living in a town with several college art programs. Pittsburgh is a nice place to live and work as an artist and also to get your legs with local show but it remains a tougher job to build a career here than need be.

CMU, has something called Artscan, which tries to list some of the shows and projects it's alumni and professors are in at any given time. I seriously doubt they list everything. One or two of these shows have just passed since they don't list in the summer and a few will open in October.

Here are some selections. One notices off the bat that almost everything current professors are doing gets exhaustive coverage. Mostly I will focus on some out of town shows people are in.

Kim Beck, Associate Professor of Art, was awarded the 2009 Prix Award of Distinction at Ars Electronica for her project with recent Visiting Faculty, Osman Khan, "when laughter trips at the threshold of the divine." She spoke in the Ars Electronica symposium and exhibits at the OK Center for Contemporary Arts in Linz Austria. Beck's work is also featured two shows in Baltimore, MD: a solo exhibition titled Ownership Society at the Julio Fine Arts Gallery at Loyola College, as well as in In Our Nature a group show at the Maryland Art Place. There will be an Artist Talk / Reception Thursday, September 24, 4-6pm at Loyola, and a reception at Maryland Art Place the same evening from 6-8pm. Her work is also on view in Reanimation Library: Center City Branch at Vox Populi in Philadelphia, PA. This summer she created an installation at Incident Report in Hudson, NY.

Bob Bingham, Professor of Art, Robin Hewlett (BFA '04), and Ally Reeves (MFA '08) are exhibiting the 'One Mile Garden' project at the Coleman Center for the Arts, in York, AL. The exhibit is a culmination of a two year project to catalyze a food production and distribution system in small town USA. The opening reception is September 25.

Susan Schwalb (BFA '65) exhibits her work in Re-Inventing Silverpoint: An Ancient Technique for the 21st Century at Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY,

Deborah Kass (BFA '74) participates in The Female Gaze: Women Look at Women, a group show at Cheim & Read, NYC, through September 19.

Charles Ritchie (MFA '80) presents a solo exhibit Charles Ritchie: Books and Pages, 2004-2009 at Bravin Lee programs in NYC, opening October 23 - November 28

Laura Sharp Wilson (BFA '87) presented a solo show, Spiritual Showgirls, at Friesen Gallery in Sun Valley, ID, July 29 - August 31.

Castaneda/Reiman (BFA '92) present Sculptures of Paintings of Places We've Never Been, a solo show at DCKT in NYC through October 11.

Carolina Loyola Garcia (MFA '00) is working in collaboration with several artists and curator Ima Picó on Transfer Lounge, a project that opens September 17 - October 23 at Forja Arte Contemporáneo in Valencia, Spain and on October 2 at SPACE in Pittsburgh

Mark Baugh-Sasaki (BFA '04) was awarded a residency to create a permanent installation at I-Park in Connecticut, September 2-16. There will be an opening reception on September 19 and a catalog produced at the end of the residency

Full list here. List is only of CMU alumn, staff or faculty.

People's Park and Other Protest Films with Tom Palazzolo @ Melwood Screening Room Sept 22

Filmmaker, Tom Palazzolo will be @ The Melwood Screening room in Oakland to introduce a selection of films which capture the trials and turmoil of the late sixties and early seventies.

"Assembly Line — This intimate and starkly photographed narrative tells the tale of factory worker Eddie Ryan who throws himself into the neon glitz of downtown Philadelphia on his night off, thinking a wallet full of cash will buy him excitement, companionship and meaning in life. To his distress he finds all the invites and come-ons to a good time are a con and a fraud – he can spend his money but it buys him nothing, and he manages to connect with no one. (Morton Hellig, USA, 1961, 30 min)

America's in Real Trouble — This free-wheeling reportage from the street captures all the disconcerting contrasts of patriotic Vietnam-era parades as they move in lock-step through the poverty-ridden ghetto of Chicago’s Near Northside. The soundtrack is exclusively composed of music that was heard over the radio that very same moment in time, mostly country songs that celebrate the conservative virtues of God and Country. The result is an unmediated "snapshot of the moment" that resembles a home movie in its naive pacing and composition; but it is precisely this casual and spontaneous approach that manages to capture the mood and mentality of the day more effectively than all the staged Hollywood spectacles. (Tom Palazzolo, USA, 1968, 15 min)

People's Park — This fiercely partisan version of the People’s Park story captures not only the famous incident – the street battles between the people of Berkeley intent on defending a park they created and the police and national guard acting on behalf of the property owners – but also a radical style of filmmaking that sought to shed light on aspects of the story ignored by the major media outlets. This is protest cinema at its most compelling. (The San Francisco Newsreel Group, USA, 1969, 25 min)

Love It/Leave It — This film fluidly weaves sound and image together to create a hallucinatory montage of urban America at the height of anti-war demonstrations. Equal parts totalitarian nightmare and candy-coated consumer fun fair, like most of Palazzolo’s work, it’s devoid of overt editorial comment and full of ambiguity – a searching to capture the spirit and times and people without imposing the filmmaker’s own political agenda. (Tom Palazzolo, USA, 1970, 15 min)"

Don't Miss The Harry Grant Show @ Be Galleries

The images and more info about the Harry Grant show @ Be galleries are finally up.
I'll just link to them since there are 52 images and also because this gallery can be a little uptight about these things.

This work is not as anal as it looks, there's a wonderful balance between tight control and playful improvisation that runs through these works, which also are quite painterly.Harry obviously has a highly tuned design and color sense.

One is reminded very much early baroque music and great jazz performance, with Harry riffing and improvising from set compositions.

Really a must see show.

“Harry Grant (aka Henry Grant) (1922- ) is a life-long resident of Pittsburgh. He was graduated with a degree in architecture from Carnegie Institute of Technology (Carnegie Mellon University) in 1947.

He has designed numerous buildings including the former Westinghouse Energy Center in Monroeville, the new Canonsburg hospital and the west wing of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. He has painted throughout his architectural career, and his art works are included in several private and corporate collections. In 1999 he was one of nine artists selected to celebrate the Fortieth Anniversary Invitational at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Harry Grant has retired from the practice of Architecture but has continued to work on his other art.”

All proceeds benefit the Paul E. Mochnick and Harry B. Grant Fund for the Visual and Performing Arts at the Pittsburgh Foundation

Click here for images and go to Harry Grant Exhibition.

The show ends Saturday, September 26Th.

We Still Need Bloggers

It's kind of official- Pittsburgh now has way too much stuff going on be covered by one or two unpaid people. It was always my hope that we could have a large number of people- at least 10 posting on all the diverse events, opportunities and issues in the Pittsburgh regional art scene.This would then allow us time to redesign the blog into a possible magazine format and perhaps figure out ways to get a little compensation for our efforts through advertising.

I am trying very hard to keep the energy going through the G20. As thousands of reporters, bloggers and others turn their googly eyes and web browsers in our direction, it's important they get a good look at all the great things going on here.

We really need posters! See the side for details and if you think you can do one post a month on here about Pittsburgh's broad cultural scene- send an email.

John Morris: Some Studio Shots

One of the great potential things about blogs is the chance to see artist's work in progress. I'd like that to happen a lot more on here. I'm also not sure where things are going. As a somewhat successful artist in NY, I got pretty pressured into "making product". I feel a lot better not worrying about that.

Here are a few shots of stuff happening in my studio in no particular order. The work is very much in process and I'm a bit shy about telling you what I'm doing. Basically, I'm working with acrylic paints.









I really think it would be great the other blog contributors, Susan, Merge, Jessica and Jean felt free to post more of their own work. A lot more thoughts on that later.