From High Art to Low Art...From One "Ordinary Madness" to Another

That is "Ordinary Madness" at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and Steeler's Madness at the "Whatever It Takes" exhibit at Miller Gallery at CMU.
Ordinary Madness at the Carnegie is a terrific exhibit and high art in the best sense of the term. The exhibit is close to the end, only up through January 9th, so make haste to go if you want to see choice works by: Phillip Guston, Willem De Kooning, David Hockney,Tony Oursler, Charles Burchfield, Ed Ruscha and others, both well and less well-known. One hundred and seven works are included. Oridnary Madness refers to the premise that the "ordinary is in fact laced with the contradictory, uncanny, and surreal". I really enjoyed this exhibit. So much strong work by both famous and not so famous artists. For more information see

The exhibit "Whatever It Takes" at the Regina Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University draws from the everyday Steeler madness that is around us in Pittsburgh. The exhibit focuses on Steeler fan rituals, collections and obsessions. The exhibit is up through 1/30/11.The Steelers man cave, recreated from its basement home is amazing. A local cook? chef? Denny DeLuca who has painstakingly put his Steeler's memorabilia together in one room over the years recreated his space in the gallery.. It's fascinating. And the accompanying video of Mr. Deluca suggests that his collection is something he enjoys and has a sense of humor about. Whereas an item such as the Steeler's poodle....(a photo on exhibit) is much more...dark...in my view. For information on the exhibit,see

Adventures in hot metal: Carley Parrish

It's been a week since I accepted Carley Parrish's gracious invitation to stretch my skills and try my hand at casting in her studio. It was a small group at the studio: Carley Parrish, Mike Walsh, Adam Castleforth, and my friend Laurie Trok and myself. I am a complete novice when it comes to this type of medium. Honestly, it was absolutely a wonderful experience. I have not retrieved my experiments yet, but I will follow up with an image of my attempt!

What Carley was concentrating on for the evening was a molten aluminum pour. She was casting in two different types of sand relief and lost wax casting. The sand reliefs were very immediate, and offered an opportunity to experiment with carving or pressing. One sand, for carving, was mixed with something to keep it stable and was good for carving a relief into. It kept marks very well. The other sand was softer and better for taking an imprint. This was where my friend, Laurie Trok, and I were working.

Carley Parrish and Mike Walsh were working with a combination of things. Both had lost wax pieces prepared and both were also preparing sand for casting in relief. Theirs were much more complex, of course, planned as components for later assembly. Mike Walsh was also preparing for an exhibit that opened on December 18 at The Gallery 4.

All in all, it was a rewarding experience. Carley made the process seem much more accessible than I would have thought, bringing a very intuitive approach to a medium that I had always seen as requiring considerable planning. Unfortunately, I had to cut out before the drama of the pour really started. I will, however, be sure to update when the next hot metal pour will be held.

Please take a few minutes to view the slide show. The images are labeled and document the process up to loading the crucible.



Get to know Laurie Trok. I wish I could find some information on Adam Castleforth to share with you along with Laurie's, but I can find no trace in the e-phemeral.

If you want to acquaint yourself with some of Carley Parrish's work, stop by Hermanowski's (1907 Penn Ave) in the Strip District where you can see the impressive Strip Mural. Carley and her husband, Ed Parrish, have brought hot metal to many public events in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities. Their work is always good and their events are filled with fire and energy. Carley includes a number of mediums in her skills, and her work appears in many focused and group presentations. Recently, some of her works were included in the new Irma Freeman Center for Imagination in the exhibit Energy: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

You can definitely get to know Mike Walsh a little better Check out:

Coming Full Circle "20 Years Later"
Recent work by Mike Walsh
The Gallery 4
206 S, Highland Ave, 15206
Phone:
877.yinz.art
412.363.5050
hours:
tues - sat
1pm - 7pm

Reading Suggestions While Roasting Those Chesnuts Over an Open Fire

Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Santaleaks and Bagging the Beats at Midnight (the latter two are available online).

Keith Richards: A Life. I love the Rolling Stones, but it didn't really occur to me that this might turn out to be a good book. Then the reviews started pouring in. All good. Every one of them. And the book, which has a co-author, is engrossing.Richard's really knows how to turn a phrase, and he certainly doesn't seem the least bit concerned about offending people. He has a fascinating story to tell. I read half of the 547 page book the first night I got it. Brings the 60s and 70's to life. Great portraits of musicians and other artists. And celeberties. And groupies. The whole cast of characters. Too bad Hogarth isn't alive any longer, what he could do with this source material!!!!!

Santaleaks The title speaks for itself. And you thought the wikileaks cables were shocking! From The New Yorker, the link is here

Just Kids by Patti Smith This book came out maybe early this year? So it has been out for quite awhile. The subject is Patti Smith's love affair/friendship/creative fermenting with Robert Mapplethorpe.It is one of my favorite books. So well written. So evocative of NYC's underground. And a great story about the process of two people becoming artists. Patti Smith just received the National Book Award for this work.

Bagging The Beats At Midnight by Karen Lillis Karen's memoir of her time as a clerk in the famous St Mark's Bookstore in NYC. There are currently 4 installments. Like the Patti Smith book, it left me with an unanswered question, why on earth didn't I ever work in a NYC bookstore???!!! If I have my life to live over, this will be on the agenda, at least for awhile. Ofcourse the bookstores have to be as interesting as those in which Patti Smith and Karen Lillis worked.
Bagging the Beats at Midnight is so well-written, and a lot of fun.

Karen's piece is here
There is also a video of the editor of Undie Press reading a bit from the first installment here

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 12/10-11/10.

c. David Grim (taken 11/21/10)

Friday

The Pittsburgh Glass Center seems to be making the effort to build a bigger profile for its brand. Tonight they are hosting a reception at Future Tenant for a group show of 8 glass artists. It's called "Futilitarian" and starts at 6PM.

The Pretty Things Peepshow is in town, and appearing at the Rex Theater in the South Side. They are a premiere touring burlesque outfit from northern NJ, and several of its members have done time at the justly renowned Coney Island Circus Sideshow (including Heather Holliday and Danny Vomit). That fact alone should compel you to see this! The doors open at 8PM and the show starts at 10PM. Bring $15 to get in.

Saturday

This week's must-see art show is "Big Love" at the Panza Gallery (and that's not just because I'll have work there). Curated by Lawrenceville resident Cleo Zell, it features the work of approximately 40 artists, conveniently priced at $100 or less. Some of the creators involved include Kathleen Lolley, Mascha Vereshchenko, Gabe Felice, Heidi Tucker, Ryder Henry, Mario Zucca, Laura Jean McGlaughlin, Bob Ziller, Sid Kweller, Carley Parrish, Paul Leroy, etc. It runs from 6-9PM, but if you get a late start on the evening and think you have to skip it, stop in anyway. Events at Panza (115 Sedgwick Street, Millvale) invariably run past their scheduled times.

Apparently there's a new gallery space opening in Edgewood. It's called Verde Art Space (113 Edgewood Avenue), and it plans to be fully in business in the Spring. But if you are of the mind to, you can catch a preview today from 11AM-8PM.

And in Homestead, Artspace 105 (105 E. Eighth Ave.) is having a silent auction from 7-9PM. Robert Qualters, George Nama, and Paula Bland are just a few of the participating artists.

Pittsburgh Art Events 12/3/10.

c. David Grim (taken 11/21/10)

Friday

Yes, indeed. it's going to be COLD for this month's Unblurred. But that doesn't give you license to skip it. There is plenty worthwhile to see, and you'd be remiss if you didn't get out there and support some struggling artists. Do some holiday shopping somewhere other than Walmart.

Gabe Felice will be down at the newly-named Penn Avenue Art Studios (4810 Penn), working on a live art project. Appearing with him are Dan Devine, Perry and Danny Angel, and they are all there to support the Kullu Valley Bike Project. Ten bucks will get you into the after party, which includes wine, beer, and DJ's.

You could also do your holiday shopping at the Irma Freeman Center (5006 Penn) where they are hosting "I Made it! Affordable Art & Craft". Apparently City Parks will be there with some light up ornaments. Oh... and there's some bands too.

Seth Clark and Kelly Blevins are at Modern Formations (4919 Penn). The latter is this past year's Spring Salon winner, which means she already has a significant audience waiting to see what she will do. No pressure, Kelly! Meanwhile the ever-prolific Dean Cercone is showing at Most Wanted (5015 Penn Ave.) with someone named "Detrich" (as per the gallery site).

Not that I'd particularly want to go to the South Side on a Friday night, but if I did I'd go to Silver Eye Center for Photography (1015 East Carson St., 6:30PM) to see the work of the winners of their Photography's Fellowship 2010 Competition. Don't worry if you're not up to the mess of transit. You can see the images of Laura Heyman of Syracuse, NY, and Laura Bell of Girard, PA, through January 15th.

And then there's the rare event at James Gallery (413 S. Main Street) in the West End- a group show called "Pulp Friction". Its "Paper: burned, sliced, disguised, reclaimed, reconfigured" can be seen between 5:30-9PM. Good luck finding out who is participating, as the gallery's website seems to demonstrate a deliberate disinterest in providing any significant information. I do know that Tom Sarver is involved, so that's one bright spot.

The Next Three Days...Worth Seeing on the Big Screen and Great PR for Pittsburgh

No matter the reviews, John Morris and I were definitely going to see the thriller "The Next Three Days", given that the film was said to have loads of shots of Pittsburgh being Pittsburgh. As opposed to for example, the as yet unreleased "One For the Money" which made Pittsburgh into Trenton NJ.

The first reviews I saw ranged from indifferent to a downright bad one in the New York Times. However, the usually tough David Denby of The New Yorker liked the movie.........a lot. He calls it an "accomplished, intelligent, often exciting piece of work." The movie was written and directed by Paul Haggis who made Academy Award winner "Crash" and wrote the script for another Academy Award winner "Million Dollar Baby".

I am not a Hollywood movie person,being more an indepedent film fan, but this was fun, suspenseful, entertaining. While violent in parts, it had none of the person being tortured stuff that is frequently found in action films now, and which infuriates me.

It turns out that not only are scenes of Pittsburgh all over the movie, Pittsburgh is written in everywhere. And the city looks gorgeous (ofcourse).Since it is not actually a travelogue for Pittsburgh, yes, there are a lot of things missing if a person really wanted to "see" Pittsburgh. No time in this thriller to shoot details of our wonderful period architecture, or ramble through our big beautiful city parks.
However, I notice I don't know that I'll ever look at even mundane things, such as the I79 sign, in quite the same way again.

This movie will end up being seen by millions of people, and it will be really good PR for our city.

Several big Hollywood films have been made here recently (I am sure this is not news to anyone who lives in Pgh!).

A Pittsburgh Post Gazette interview with Paul Haggis(warning some plot spoilers)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09348/1020716-60.stm

Detroit's Heidelberg Project

Yesterday I got a brief tour of Detroit, courtesy of an old friend who lives in Ann Arbor and teaches in Flint. The trip was too short for me to really wrap my mind around Detroit as a whole--I did notice how spread out it was, but I didn't always get a sense of what part of this was just a wider-scale city planning or a car-centered urban vision vs. Rust Belt depopulation. Until we went seeking Heidelberg Street. As soon as we turned off Jefferson Avenue and entered the neighborhood of McDougall-Hunt, I could see the Detroit I'd heard about: the abandoned and half-burnt houses, the many empty lots where houses used to be, no evidence of any grocery stores, and some evidence of urban gardening.

Then we reached The Heidelberg Project. Due to my longtime East Coast chauvinism no doubt, I had never heard of this amazing outsider-artist, two-block-wide "installation," although it has been around since 1986--growing, evolving, getting demolished by Detroit police, and growing back again like unstoppable knotweed. One Detroit resident, Tyree Guyton, grew up on Heidelberg Street and witnessed the 1968 riots, from which he says Detroit has never recovered. After he began cleaning up the debris in empty lots and abandoned houses on his block, he started to create art by decorating the empty houses with the trashed items he'd found. The result is colorful, beautiful, and critical, and seems to succeed in getting attention for the plight of the neighborhood and the city--and Detroit's efforts to rally around creative community engagement. While we walked around, we overheard one of the street's residents explaining the project to a visitor, and saw foreign tourists stopping to shoot pictures and wander among the houses, the sculptures, and the makeshift billboards. We met an artist, Lisa Marie Rodriguez, who is an artist-in-residence at the Heidelberg, studying at Wayne State U. She's been working on an entranceway to the block and has constructed a welcome sign, a sun dial, and a meditation garden. She knew all the neighborhood residents who passed by and told us that the community wants to see not only that they get attention, but that someone sticks around and cares about the continued progress of the neighborhood. She considers herself an artist in residence for the long run.

This project is best described in images; see more pictures here.

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 11/19-20/10.

c. David Grim (taken 10/31/10)



Friday

It's that time of year again- the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is celebrating its Artist of the Year. Brian Dean Richmond has been a familiar face to anyone who's been on the Pittsburgh arts/music scene for the past couple of decades. Now you have a chance to understand the full scope of his creative output.

I've mostly associated Richmond with some of the best local bands of recent history- The Johnsons and The Working Poor among them... what I didn't know was that he is a prolific visual artist as well. Over the years I've seen him out, and he once shocked me by buying an unsolicited beer for me at Gooski's (I have no idea why). Still I've never had a conversation with him. I'm sure I've seen a few of his short films at Film Kitchen over the years, but I haven't really paid close attention to his paintings. Now I'll have the chance to remedy that (5:30-8PM, $5). Alongside Richmond, Gregory Witt will be honored as Emerging Artist of the Year.

If you make it downtown during the (newly-copyrighted) Light Up Night, stop in at the Space Gallery (812 Liberty Ave.) for a group show curated by Ally Reeves, with the rather unwieldly title "Scale: Aesthetic Turbulence and the Search for Lifestyle Panacea”. Artists featured in the show include Bill Daniel, Dana Bishop-Root, Derk Wolmuth, Teresa Foley, Gordon Kirkwood, Heidi Tucker, Jon Rubin and Caleb Gamble. The reception runs from 6-9PM.

And WildCard in Lawrenceville has turned over their walls to Kim Fox. She's made screen-printed box frames of her illustrations. The show is called "Prints Charming" and focuses on domestic and other pleasant themes. For free refreshments, show up at the store (4209 Butler Street) between 7-9PM.

Sunday

I wouldn't normally do this, but I'd like to mention Bobby Porter's wake at Kopec's
Corner in Lawrenceville (3523 Penn Ave, 9PM). I knew Porter, iconic frontman for the Thin White Line. He was a friendly guy with a large spirit and a lot of talent. Thanks, Bill D. for memorializing him in the City Paper this week.

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 11/5-6/10.

c. David Grim (taken 10/23/10)

Friday

It's once again time for the critical mass of the arts scene on First Friday. Of course enough is packed into this one day to fill the social calendars of discriminating viewers for the entire month, but we'll take what we can get and try to jam as much as possible into our limited hours.

Start with Unblurred in the Penn Avenue Corridor. As always it's a great opportunity for you to see a lot of stuff by a lot of different artists in one compact area. Check out Fumino Hora's installation at the Pittsburgh Glass Center- "The Way of Samsara" has to do with the cycle of reincarnation. Perhaps that's just the angle of perspective we need going into another cold season. Or maybe William W. Wade's non-characteristic attempts at experimental photography is more your speed? You can see that at Imagebox (4933 Penn Ave).

"Round 5: An exhibition of the Brewhouse Distillery Art Program" will be opening at C Space: Collective (4823 Penn Ave), and highlighting the efforts of Aimee Manion, Meghan Olson, Jaci Rice, Kara Skylling. and Ryan Woodring. And Unblurred veterans Jason Rosemeyer & Christian Breitkreutz will display their stuff at Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue). Meanwhile Garfield Artworks (4931 Penn) is jam-packed with work by Dennis Warner, Obsolete, Tom Jefferson, Ian Green, John Fox, Gnome, and Elma.

You could also head over to swellsville and check out Gallery Chiz (5831 Ellsworth Avenue). They have a selection of ceramics artists to honor the AAP Centennial. Perpetual favorite Laura Jean McLaughlin is one of the featured participants (along with Jane Freund, Marcia Winograd & Jordann Siri Wood). That runs from 5:30-8:30PM. The one-word descriptions included on the press material should be all you need to understand what each artist is up to. Meanwhile the German-born Jens Jensen is showing his colorful abstract paintings at the Steve Mendelson Gallery (5874 Ellsworth Avenue) from 6-8PM.

Did you check out the Three Rivers Arts Festival this year? If you did you likely saw the work of prize-winners Deanna Mance and Maria Mangano. And you can see it again at the 709 Penn Gallery (Downtown) at their opening reception between 6-8PM. But if you want to step off the beaten path, go to Point Breeze for an exhibition of Steve Hankin at his studio space (408 Lloyd Street). His realist style of painting can be appreciated from 6-8PM.

Saturday

Unfortunately some venues seem so far removed from the center of activity on the local arts scene that events tend to be neglected. Don't let that be the case forever. Get out to Hopmestead to visit Artspace 105 (105 East 8th Street) and see the drawings and watercolors of Rachna Rajen. The artist was a refugee from the first Gulf War, and is reputedly interested in electronica and other"aspects of modern life". This gets underway at 7PM.

Yelena Lamm unveils her sharply rendered paintings at Panza Gallery (115 Sedgwick St, Millvale) in an opening reception for "Forbidden Fruit" from 6-9PM. Naturally I'll be looking forward to that.

The Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Ave) over in Squirrel Hill is also hosting a reception from 5-8PM. Jane Haskell and Jeffrey Schwarz are the featured artists.

All weekend

Will this year FINALLY be the one that marks my long-awaited return visit to the films of the Three Rivers Film Festival? Who knows? But YOU can check out the entire schedule at the official site.

Ruth E. Levine Memorial Service Friday Nov 5th

Ruth Levine, a well known artist in Pittsburgh passed away in October. She was a tremendous artist and a wonderful and charismatic individual. A memorial service will be held tomorrow, Friday the 5th, at Heinz Chapel at 1:30. Ruth's passing is a blow to the Pittsburgh art community, as well as to her devoted family and her many (MANY!) friends. People loved Ruth.

The memorial, as well as a reception afterwards at the Sculpture Hall at Carnegie Museum of Art, is open to all.

I am very fortunate to have been one of her firends. I interviewed Ruth a couple of years ago. Here is a link to that interview. The interview includes links to images of Ruth's work.http://urbanbytes.blogspot.com/2009/10/ruth-levine-artist-wit-and-urban.html

Marilyn exhibit at Warhol, through January 2nd 2011

 

The photo above is from the opening......an irreverent take by some attendees on the Warhol/Marilyn link.

The exhibit is up through January 2nd and has many terrific photos of Marilyn, some large scale. Ofcourse, there is also artwork related to Marilyn. A standout for me was a terrific DeKooning painting. Personally, I would have liked a bit more archival material, but over all a very interesting exhibit. Personally, I'd go just for that DeKooning.

The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA is pleased to announce Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, an exhibition that captures the spark, sex appeal and sensation that was Marilyn Monroe through the art of Andy Warhol, Allen Jones, Peter Blake, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern, Henri Cartier-Bresson and many others. Documenting the iconic life of America’s favorite sex symbol in styles ranging from fashion photography to Pop Art, this exhibition is on view at the Warhol Museum from October 23, 2010 through January 2, 2011.
Read more at warhol.org: http://www.warhol.org/webcalendar/event.aspx?id=2007#ixzz14KAxQtFs

Another Saturday Night Event: Global Beats...AVA Lounge ...the Gypsy edition

October 30th Closing Reception Unsmoke Systems"The New Abstract"

Before you go off to your Halloween parties:Closing reception in Braddock for Unsmoke Systems "The New Abstract". Usually these openings also involve brick baked pizza and an outdoor fire.

UnSmoke Systems Artspace
1137 Braddock Ave
Braddock, PA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSING RECEPTION: October 30th 6-10pm
Featuring LIVE Musical/Theatrical performances

Vanishing Point aims to present work that confronts the notion of a “new abstract”. Inclusive to all medium, the exhibition presents abstraction as a means of reconciliation to the dislocation of self in modern life.

...Engaging concepts of science, personal histories, politics and beyond, these artists build upon the histories of abstract art to fashion a sense of stability in an environment ever changing, ever updating – an environment built upon a constant feed for more information, with its reference point focused evermore on the self in synthetic environments.

Through this visual “storm” these artists have honed their use of abstraction not only as a means to understand their world, but as a mechanism to locate themselves as an individual in a sea of turbulent messages and meaning. Our understanding of our self becomes more abstract each day – these artists represent a direction where abstraction is no longer universal, but an intrinsically personal understanding.

Artists

Jenna Hannum / Katie Hinton / Simona Josan / Michael Kalmbach / Adam Lister / Caroline Santa / Phillip Scarpone / Cullen Stephenson / Matthew West

Various members of Drew + the Medicinal Pen will present an original “theatrical” performance in conjunction with Vanishing Point at UnSmoke Systems (Braddock, PA). (www.myspace.com/drewandthemedicinalpen )

Curated by Brookes Britcher and Alexander Conner


adaptation (www.adaptationart.wordpress.com )
Our goal is to provide challenging and dynamic curatorial interventions to traditional and non-traditional art venues. We curate, develop and produce exhibitions and related events at off-site venues ranging from houses, storefronts, backyards as well as traditional gallery and museum spaces. The activities generated and developed by Adaptation attempt to provide a venue and a context for artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, designers, architects and others of the creative ilk to actively engage in the cross-pollination of ideas, practice and inspiration through the activation

of a space.

Saturday on the Northside Warhol Museum Marilyn Opening 24 hour party AND....

The Warhol Museum opens a big Marilyn exhibit tomorrow...and it is the Museum's 15th anniversary. To celebrate, they will be open, and for free...for 24 hours. I tried to get into the party 15 years ago and couldn't...I expect to have better luck tomorrow. See details for tomorrow below

Join us as we celebrate our newest exhibition, Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend, as well as our 15th anniversary with a free 24 hour RADical opening.

October 23 Activities:

Noon - 4pm silkscreening and other art activities
6pm - midnight silkscreening and other art activities
8pm - midnight DJ Les Noise spinning a mega Marilyn mix
8pm curator gallery tour with Director, Tom Sokolowski
9pm curator film tour with Curator of Film & Video, Geralyn Huxley
10pm film quiz contest
11pm Marilyn look-a-like contest with Milton Fine Curator of Art, Eric Shiner as MC
midnight thru Sunday, Oct. 24, 10am ongoing Marilyn film screening

Read more at warhol.org: http://www.warhol.org/webcalendar/event.aspx?id=1993#ixzz138XaKIYR

Also Tomorrow on the Northside: A hip hop concert sponsored by the Mattress Factory.
Free to museum members. 9 dollars for students with Pitt or CMU ID...12 dollars for everyone else.

PARADISE GRAY, FREESTYLE, HANDSDOWN + BZE JOIN SOANDRY
We are thrilled to announce additional performers and a very special host who will join Soandry on stage this Saturday at the New Hazlett Theater. Soandry will be joined by special guests and Pittsburgh and international favorites FREESTYLE, HANDSDOWN (ShaRon Don and Deejay Huggy), and BZE! We are honored to have PARADISE GRAY host this special event!
Tickets will also be available at the door:
$12 general admission
Mattress Factory members (+1) free at the door
Pitt & CMU students with I.D. are $9 at the door
Performance begins at 8pm

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 10/15-16/10.

c. David Grim (taken 9/25/10)

Friday

Lawrenceville has made attempts at an art crawl in the past. Years ago, when Digging Pitt was still open, a few of the neighborhood galleries made a half-hearted attempt to coordinate their efforts on Thursday nights, once a month. Unfortunately proper organization was always lacking. After that the businesses west of the 40th Street bridge got their act together, and sponsored what ended up being a fairly successful series of "Final Fridays". Even the retail stores stayed open late, and people began attending these events regularly. Eventually this too fizzled out, but I am at a loss as to why. Now another opportunity for "after-business-hours" fun along Butler is at hand.

Gallerycycle involves nine venues and starts at 6PM. It's part of what Bike PGH is promoting as a "Car-free Fridays" initiative. It looks like Fe Gallery (4102 Butler), with its "Out-of-Whack" multi-artist opening reception, and Wildcard's (4209 Butler) first anniversary group show, "Strangely Familiar: Uncanny Works on Paper" are the highlights of the evening. The latter features work by such local stalwarts as Mary Tremonte, Mike Budai, and Thommy Conroy, as well as relative newcomers like Heidi Tucker and Mario Zucca. That should be massively entertaining, folks!

Check out the schedule HERE.


If instead, you are willing to weather the hassles of the South Side on a weekend night- you must check out "Wicked Bitches" (7-10:30 PM), a group show of female artists at the Elixir Lounge (1500 Carson Street) that benefits the Animal Rescue League of Western PA. Pay your $5 and see the work of Pittsburgh luminaries like Lissa Brennan and Jenn Wertz.


Saturday

Come down to Guardian Storage (2839 Liberty Avenue, 6th floor) in the Strip District for PIX, Pittsburgh's FIRST independent comics expo. The expo runs from 10-5PM on both Saturday and Sunday. This amazing production is presented by the Toonseum, and sponsored by Copacetic Comics Co., The Sprout Fund and The National Cartoonists Society Foundation. There will be tons of local and regional exhibitors and a few heavy hitters like Kevin Huizenga, Ed Piskor, Jim Rugg, AND Frankie Santoro. Good stuff.

Look Up: Look Out For Kim Beck's SKYWRITING Project

More than a few of you will doubt hiring a plane to print out huge mysterious sentences over the city of Pittsburgh qualifies as art. If you were looking for a way to take a huge number of people out of their normal comfort zone, this might be a good plan.

Kim sent me the messages, most of which seem related to a giant sales pitch of some kind but are loaded with enough double meanings to leave a lot of questions. I like that it's not just targeted to the normal art world/ museum crowd.

When/Where: Friday Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Skywriting will last from 30-60 minutes depending on wind and air quality. The plane will fly over downtown Pittsburgh, the North Side and Oakland. Each letter will be one mile high and will be visible throughout the area. Follow http://www.twitter.com/idealcities for updates!

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 10/1-2/10.

c. David Grim (taken 9/25/10)

Friday

Once again events have conspired to line up all at once, like some sort of cultural eclipse. There is so much going on in the local arts scene that you are going to have difficulty seeing only a portion of it on Friday.

Downtown features its seasonal art crawl starting at 5:30PM. You can get an earful of cutting edge art at Wood Street Galleries with two separate sound installations called "Longplayer" and "Dark Matter". But if your predilections run more toward the visual (as many readers of this blog), you might enjoy the selection of new outdoor lighting installations along the streets and avenues of the Cultural District. They are part of the Pittsburgh Festival of Lights, and will be on display through the middle of October.

At SPACE Gallery (812 Liberty) they have an exhibition of "socially-engaged" printmaking including a cast of 200 international artists. This traveling show has been in the 'Burgh since August, but this month is your last chance to see it in this city. Additionally, if you head downtown you should make it a point to check out Eric Stern's piece(s) in the TXT group show at the 707/709 Penn Galleries. Also, the Pittsburgh Society of Artists has a group show called "Shelter" at the Society for Contemporary Craft – satellite gallery (One Mellon Center Gallery, 500 Grant Street in the lobby of the Steel Plaza T-Station). There's an emphasis on green and recycled materials in the included selections.

And stop in at Shaw Galleries (805 Liberty Ave.) for a fine assortment of Warhol photos and prints. After all, it's great to go look at his work at the museum... but it's another thing altogether to get the opportunity to actually purchase a piece of art history.

Unblurred October is upon us as well. The Irma Freeman Center (5006 Penn Ave.) is celebrating its anniversary with a selection of photographs from early-90's South Side hipster Brian Cummings. He seems to have captured the activities of a generation within the Pittsburgh urban underground. Check his images out along with performances by the Mud City Manglers and the Moodswingers.

Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 Penn Ave.) features the work of its proprietor Jason Sauer and tattoo artist Jason Angst (who toils at Tattoo Noir in Bloomfield) in a show called "Derby Cars and Skulls". I suspect that there is some truth in advertising with this title. Meanwhile Imagebox (4933 Penn) has paintings from the always-intriguing Susan Constance. Her work has evolved in unexpected and delightful ways over the years, so "Unreal Spaces" is a necessary stop in your nightly travels.

The Academy of the South Side returns to Penn Avenue for their second annual exhibition, entitled "Harvest 2". See paintings and video by participants in the programs at the International Children's Art Gallery (5020 Penn Avenue).

Saturday

If you haven't had your fill of art yet, you can make a trip (5-8PM) to Squirrel Hill and the Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Avenue). "Between Stillness and Movement" features the work of Carolyn Olbum & Ursula Neubauer.

Susan Constanse "Unreal Spaces" Opening at Image Box 10/1, 7-10

There are many things to see tomorrow night, with both the Gallery Crawl downtown and Unblurred going on. This exhibit "Unreal Spaces" (part of Unblurred)is a don't miss. I have seen some of the paintings in Susan's studio, and they are wonderful. I think it is best to let the artist describe the series, see below.

I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting works from my Unreal Spaces series at Imagebox. Opening in October, I’ll be exhibiting the newest work from this series. Hope you can make it for the reception on October 1.

Unreal Spaces series
Recent Works by Susan Constanse
October 1 – 29, 2010
Opening reception: Friday, October 1, 2010: 7-10PM
The show is available for viewing during the opening reception, all other times by appointment only. Contact Susan Constanse at susanconstanse@gmail.com to set up a meeting.
Imagebox
4933 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(412) 441-0930

Artist Statement
Unreal Spaces series

I am a habitual pedestrian, using public transportation only for journeys further than two miles. In my walks through the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, I became very aware of the structure of the streets, with its triangle blocks, breezeways and alleys. The streets echo back to the birth of the city, when pathways evolved along the contours of the land, seeking always the path of least resistance. The city has an organic quality to its structure, with houses and buildings evolving and decaying in their use and function. Much of the architecture has strange, almost purposeless, features.

The geography implied in Unreal Spaces references the architecture and contours of Pittsburgh. The works do not reflect a physical landscape but are a recording of foot travel and its purpose; an abstract auto-geography. As I travel between my home and various points around my city, I am fully engaged, taking the time to observe building facades and the odd corners and spaces between structures.
The paintings take several sessions over the course of a month. In this respect, the works are like a portrait, not of a moment but of a time span. The difference between a portrait and a photograph is just this distinction; that the artist records their observations over a period of time, providing a denser and more meaningful representation.

Light features highly in the work, specifically referenced in adding dimension and depth through veils, shafts and implied reflection. Palette, which is a subtle and complex vocabulary, is integral to my work. Color, in all of its values, provides a way of creating a subtext within individual works.

I am influenced by the design and color characteristics explored by painters like Klee and Kandinsky. Klee’s compositions and palette are emotionally orchestrated, implying movement and space beyond the confines of the individual works. Kandinsky is a master at reconciling objective and non-objective elements.

Materials
Paintings. The paint is applied in thin layers, building from broad foundations to greater complexity in color and in hand. The paintings are allowed to mature and are finished with Dammar varnish.
Works on paper. The works on paper allow a casual exploration of themes and materials.

Final Sale at Vacca's Drycleaners and Tailoring This Weekend

As so well described by Merge in the post below, lots going on in the Burgh this weekend.
Need some interesting clothing to go to all your events? Check out this sale:

Vacca's Drycleaners and Tailoring has been in business (at the current location) for 50 years. Sadly (for me, not for him) Mr Vacca retired several months ago (at age 80). He created a wonderful environment (definitely could have been a set for the show Madmen)in which he did the highest quality work possible, and he was an integral part of the community.
More on Mr. Vacca later , as I have a blog entry I am working on. I will be putting that up later this weekend.
Since his retirement, they have been having having very periodic sales at the store. I had wanted to post about these earlier, but I never knew when they were going to occur.
The final one will be this weekend. Fri- Sunday 10 am to
4pm in conjunction with the Little Italy Days in Bloomfield,
4623 Liberty Ave, bright blue facade.This was NOT a place where they got rid of the drycleaning/tailoring if no one picked it up after 30 days. Actually, there was such an overwhelming amount of clothing for sale that I only really started to look at it last weekend, once it had thinned down a bit. There is a lot of stuff there. I bought some great jeans and a vintage boys white cotton shirt that I love....and a boys black formal jacket. Among other things.
The prices are very low. There are also some other random items left in the store, including buttons, bows, ties, that kind of thing, and maybe they will put more out. There are some amazing vintage wedding dresses.
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Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 9/24-25/10.

I certainly could be forgiven for eschewing my semi-regular posting of weekend events this go 'round. It's the end of the month, and truthfully... I'm not overly excited about anything in the listings. These posts take time anyway, and sometimes I wonder if anyone even considers checking them out when they are making plans. Sometimes this feels like screaming into a vaccuum. But I guess anyone who has ever kept a blog for more than a week has similar stories, so I'll quit whining before I expose myself as a 'net cliché.

Friday

I'll make an admission right off the bat- I've never attended an art crawl in Sewickley. I've considered it, but I've never made it an actual priority. Most of the time this swell little community schedules its events to coincide with "first friday", so it loses out to Unblurred. Now it's seasonal so I have no excuse besides the time it takes to get there from my house. I'm not going to provide a detailed rundown (that would make no sense because I don't know any details from personal experience), but Pittsburgh Art Blog has posted the schedule HERE.

Saturday

The Andy Warhol Museum is sponsoring a field trip to Braddock! "Library Pop!" runs from 1-4PM, and offers a celebration of the Braddock Carnegie Libary (419 Library Street) that includes printmaking projects, an unveiling of some special Warhol wallpaper, and free food. Plus you'll finally have the opportunity to explore this wonderful historical building. The last time I saw the palce was at one of the very last Flux events several years ago. I don't know what condition the place is in nowadays... but I'm curious to find out how this local treasure is faring.

The second annual Pittsburgh Small Press Festival and Two-Day Expo will happen Saturday and Sunday (from 12-5PM) at Artists Image Resource (518 Foreland Street on the North Side). There will be vendors (books and food), literary word games, workshops, and free stuff for th efirst 500 attendees. Check it out. Who knows what else you'll find?

What I can tell you for certain is that opening receptions at the Michael Berger Gallery (30th South Sixth Street, South Side) are always worth the visit. The work is often stuff that wouldn't look out of place in a major international art museum. Recently the gallery seems to have a direct line to some of the best contemporary art from Asia I've ever seen. Check out Naijun Zhang: The Examiner and Heidi Taillefer from 4-6Pm. I hardly think you'll be disappointed.