Friday, August 24, 2007

Call for artists

Third Street Gallery: 220 Third Street, Carnegie, PA 15106
CALLING ALL ARTISTS!!!!!!
We are looking for artists who would like to display their work individually or in a
group show for the upcoming fall and winter season. There will be no cost to use the gallery. The artist will be responsible for all costs of opening reception and advertising. We will send out gallery mailing list with the artist providing postage. We will have a 50/50 commission.
Closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday: Open Wednesday - Saturday 11:00 - 4:00pm
www.3rdstreetgallery.net
Email:
thirdstgallery@verizon.net

Creative TreeHouse : 517 Lincoln Ave., 2nd floor in Bellevue
Punk Rock Art Show "Doughnuts and Art" Returns To Creative TreeHouse
Sat. August 25th starting at 6pm
Cost: $2 cover, 18+ only, free doughnuts and coffee, BYOB
www.CreativeTreeHousePgh.com for updates.
info@CreativeTreeHousePgh.com
.
Click Here For More Info

Art Festival On Walnut Street, Shadyside
September 14, 15, &16th, 2007

www.artfestival.com



Seton Hill University: Greensburg, PA
"Women In Art"
A juried exhibition showcasing women artists in all media.
Artists may submit slides of 1-3 pieces in any media, $15 entry fee
Deadline is September 14th
Email brode@setonhill.edu
724-830-1071


"Animal artwork"
Are animals creeping into your paintings? Get them ready for a special one-evening (or maybe a little longer) exhibit for the Indiana County Humane Society's Cause For Paws fundraiser, to be held Friday, September 28, 5-8 PM
in the First Commonwealth Main office building - the "Old Courthouse" on 6th and Philadelphia Streets in Indiana
Click Here For More Info


412-682-1298



"Enter The Paint Carnegie VII Show"
3rd Street Gallery, Carnegie PA
Drop off paintings September 1st Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Opening Reception September 7th, 6 to 9
Click Here For More Info





No Glass: Moxie DaDa Gallery
EXHIBIT: AUGUST4-AUGUST 25, 2007

Click Here For More Info

Digging Pitt Gallery Presents
Click Here For More Info

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Art & 'Tique on Hatfield

You know, I went to Art & Tique last weekend. I finally got the images off of my camera. I wish I could have stayed a little longer. I got to Hatfield just as most of the vendors were finishing setting up.

It was great day for it, too. Not to hot, considering that it's August, clear and sunny. A lot of the neighborhood was out All of the galleries on Hatfield had their doors open.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Drink and Draw with Olga

Our lovely burlesque queen was back last night. It was a small group, but we had a lot of fun anyway. Thanks, Amy, for sending the images on so quickly. I, being a complete putz, forgot to charge my camera batteries last night.

Want to get updates? Join us on MySpace or email us.

See ya...



Here is a calendar of the upcoming sessions --

9/4/07 , 9/18/07

Drink and Draw
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets every other Tuesday on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 penn ave, pittsburgh, pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome.

drink and draw
MySpace
brillobox
4104 penn ave
412.621.4900

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Congestion Pricing Debate

I doubt many people in Pittsburgh have been following the progress of the congestion pricing idea, which is basically a plan to reduce traffic in peak hours usually by using a sophisticated electronic toll system. London has been doing this since 2003 and now it looks like New York and or San Francisco will be giving the idea a try.



"The federal government says it will give New York City $354 million to implement a system of traffic control called congestion pricing.During weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., cars will be charged $8 and trucks $10 to enter Manhattan below 86th Street, the area that contains most of the places there people want to go. For vehicles already in the congestion zone, the tariff will be $4 a day for cars and $5.50 for trucks.

Critics say that congestion pricing will hurt businesses and jobs, but a leading New York business group says excess traffic and the accompanying long delays already cost the regional economy more than $13 billion and 50,000 jobs a year.

The New York Times reports: "Public opinion polls suggest that most Manhattan residents support the proposal but that residents of the other boroughs - Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx - do not." Coming from the people who would be paying the congestion tax, that's hardly a surprise." Of course, the looters in New Jersey, who don't even pay New York City taxes don't like the idea very much.

Given Pittsburgh's history as a city on the cutting edge of nothing, we can expect the idea to turn up here in about 30 years.

Bicycle Boulevards

I posted a couple of you tube videos on the Metroblog about Bicycle Boulevard's in Portland and Berkeley, streets,that while accessible to cars and emergency vehicles are made more friendly to bikes, mainly through signage and a variety of measures that slow cars down. A proposal is also out there to try this in Albuquerque, near the University of New Mexico campus.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Art & 'Tique on Hatfield

Hatfield Street Fair
At least 20 local businesses and artists from the Lawrenceville area will come together on one block for one day to showcase all that Lawrenceville has to offer in a block party setting. "Art & 'Tique on Hatfield" will be held on August 18, from 11AM to 5PM, rain or shine, and is free to the public. The location of the "festival" is between the 4700 and 4800 block of Hatfield Street(one block off of Butler). There will be fine art, antiques, clothing, food, music, and live performances.

"Art & 'Tique on Hatfield" is a collaboration between the Hatfield Street Galleries which is comprised of 4 galleries located on Hatfield Street: DNA Blue Collar, Society for Cultural Exchange, Trinity Gallery, and Zombo Gallery. It is a grass roots effort to unite community, commerce, and art.

For more information, contact Dan Gaser at 412-687-2458 or email at imdan@verizon.net

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Closing on August 18th @Digging Pitt and Diggng Pitt Too

Save the Date
Saturday, August 18
6PM - 9PM
Closing Reception at Digging Pitt Gallery and Digging Pitt Too


Maggy Aston: Drawings and Constructions - Side I more information

Maggy Aston works with naturally occurring forms rendered with sensitivity to line and form. Maggy Aston earned her B.F.A. from Maryland Institute and her M.F.A. in printmaking from West Virginia University in 1995. She currently lives on the banks of the Monongahela River in a small rural town south of Pittsburgh, PA. Aston teaches drawing and design at the California University of Pennsylvania. Tour the exhibit



Inside Out Six: Selections from the Flat Files - Side II more information

Digging Pitt Gallery welcomes new artists to its flat file archive on a continuing basis. Every once in a while we like to let every one know whose work can be found by digging through the flat files. Currently, Digging Pitt Gallery represents over 190 local, regional and national artists. The archive houses hundreds of works, from the experimental to the whimsical.


Big F***ing Thing @Digging Pitt Too more information and here
John Eastman

John Eastman is a painter, writer, and mixed media artist. His education of abstract art and skills are self-taught.



Digging Pitt Gallery
MySpace
Pittsburgh Arts - Digging Pitt Gallery
4417 Butler St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
p 412.605.0450
f 412.605.0451 Gallery Hours
TH 12 - 9
FR 12 - 7
SA 11 - 7
SU 11 - 7

Digging Pitt Too
45th and Plummer
Pittsburgh PA 15201
p 412-605.0450
SA 12 - 5
by appointment and other random times

Now showing @Trinity Gallery

Microcosmonaut/Cityscapes & Escapes
Kevin Clancy and Marty Ressler.
Trinity Gallery


I'm glad I made an effort to get into Trinity Gallery today. The current exhibits are worth the effort. Kevin Clancy, the Microcosmonaut exhibit, had some stunning work on display. Meditation on a line was intriguing, with its layers of cut paper. Keep an eye open for him in the upcoming Blogger Show.

In contrast to the internal dialog that Kevin Clancy shows in his work, Marty Ressler had these timeless Pittsburgh cityscapes. The paintings capture the unchanging character of some of Pittsburgh's older neighborhoods, with the row houses and the brick work.

Trinity Gallery has expanded its gallery space, adding a graceful room. Dan Gaser's photographs are featured in this new space. I got a fairy nice long-shot of his installed works, but the cyanatypes that are on the far right wall are among my favorite works by this artist. Well, at least I can provide a link to his other photographic works.


Kevin Clancy - Meditation on a line
Kevin Clancy - Bifurcation of the indivisible ego
Marty Ressler - Morning on Holmes Street
Photographs by Dan Gaser
Microcosmonaut/Cityscapes & Escapes
Kevin Clancy and Marty Ressler.
Trinity Gallery

8/5/2007 through 9/15/2007
4747 Hatfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Phone: (412) 687-2458
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
By appointment

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Alix @drink and draw

Our lovely model,Alix the amazing grey parrot, did a marvelous job on Tuesday night at brillobox's drink and draw.

Next up, Mark and his cast of characters, August 21, 6-9PM

Get on the email list for updates or join us on MySpace!



Monday, August 06, 2007

BRADDOCK ZINE SHOW









Saturday, July 28th, Jessica and I headed East to see The Zine Scene show: Braddock nine-year olds being encouraged by librarians and library students to make their own zines. Each zine displayed also featured one page blown up and mounted. Above are some highlights, and, here's the article from the City Paper.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Point Park Civic Center

One wild design of Frank Lloyd Wright, I think points out the limitations of even a creative genius . One of his most fantastic plans was for downtown Pittsburgh--It was called Point Park Center and here is a drawing.

"Development in Automobile-Scale of Point Park, Pittsburgh," called for a circular concrete and steel building of mammoth dimensions: one-fifth of a mile (300 m) in diameter and 175 feet (50 m) tall, the building would be capable of holding one-third of the city's population. The entire structure was wrapped by a spiraling roadway that Wright called the "Grand Auto Ramp," which accommodated traffic in both directions and would have been four and a half miles (7 km) long.[8] Even Wright's drawings for the project were enormous: Neil Levine describes them as "over eight feet [2.5 m] long by almost five feet [1.5 m] high."[9]

The decks of the Grand Auto Ramp were to be cantilevered from piers of reinforced concrete. The ramp enclosed the interior space, forming what Cleary describes as a vast atrium. Inside are individual structures supported by pylons, containing the main facilities of the building: the theaters, opera house, arena, and planetarium. Bridges and platforms connected the interior structures. The roof of the building was to offer a winter garden and gardens. The main structure was flanked by "Fast Ramps": ramps with a much narrower radius than the main ramp that allowed rapid movement from the higher levels of the Grand Auto Ramp to the bottom of the building.[10] The incorporation of the automobile into the building was a manifestation of Wright's expressed philosophy for the scheme: to provide "newly spacious means of entertainment for the citizen seated in his motor car Winter or Summer. A pleasurable use of that modern instrument is here designed instead of allowing it to remain the troublesome burden it has now become to the City."[11]

A projection from the central building toward the Point terminated in a 500 foot (150 m) tower, equipped for light shows. Multi-decked bridges over the Allegheny and Monongahela were attached to the central building. Pedestrians, cars, and trucks would cross on separate decks. Both bridges passed underneath the central structure, where traffic interchanges allowed travelers to head into the city, across either of the bridges, or up into the Civic Center itself. Open spaces on the site were occupied by parks, an outdoor concert area built to accommodate 15,000 people, and a zoo. "

The original concept ran against a lot of practical issues which Wright didn't feel a genius should have to address.

"Wright's presentation of this plan to the Allegheny Conference in the spring of 1947 was unsuccessful, primarily because of concerns about the plan's economic viability and architectural feasibility. In a meeting with conference officials at
Taliesin West, Wright seemed uninterested in how to handle traffic access to the bridges, and when asked how much the project would cost, answered that he did not care. When the officials returned to Pittsburgh to meet with Kaufmann they recommended against Wright's scheme; Kaufmann decided not to show the plans even to the rest of the committee.[14]"

The scheme was later adapted and there is drawing of this on the Wikipedia. it's great as a fantastical artwork, and also because some of the ideas in it appear in his later works like the Guggenheim in NY.

Wright proved to be, in spite of his genius, very much a product of his age in terms of his negative view of urban areas. Needless, to say he saw Pittsburgh as it was in 1947 as being a place with little worth saving. Thankfully for the city, It seems that nobody had the kind of cash on hand to attempt this lab experiment.

More On The Akron Art Museum

Charles Rosenblum, the architecture critic for The Pittsburgh City Paper wrote a nice piece on the Akron Art Museum's new expansion also. He also fessed up to have never had the urge to go there before this which is the reason so many cities fall over themselves to create a "Bilbao effect."

The strange thing about the reviews I have read so far is that few seem to talk abot the actual gallery and exhibitions spaces-- the aleged reason the place exists. I think if one asked many contemporary artist's their favorite NY exhibition spaces--the modest Whitney would come out near the top- in that it seems to be a building that is well adapted to it's function.I like it but, that could be because, it's the only museum that ever gave me a free lifetime pass!!!

Saturday, August 04, 2007

The New Akron Art Museum

Andrea Kirsh, An Art Historian in Philly took a trip to see the Akron's new art addition to it's museum and put up a nice post about it on Artblog. So far the response to this project has been very positive. Akron, likely didn't have the cash to tear down half the city for the latest Gehry ,so it looks like they half to settle for a sensitive, but highly creative structure that just might work well as an art museum. As you can see, the design doesnt lack drama. It's the first project in the US by the Austrian firm, Coop Himmelblau.

Friday, August 03, 2007

More James Kalm In NY



Thanks to James Kalm, we can get a nice look at a very good abstraction survey show at Lennon Weinberg called Taking Shape which I saw during my last visit. The show includes a work by Polly Apfelbaum.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Openings @ Pittsburgh Filmakers




David Grim's new shots will be featured at Pittsburgh Filmakers with an opening tomorrow night.

We Will Dance Again, an exhibition of David Grim's images from Asbury Park, NJ. Grim is an artist focusing primarily on photography, drawing and collage. Born in Allentown, PA, he moved to the western PA to attend the University of Pittsburgh. Grim has exhibited and guest-curated at Digging Pitt Gallery in Pittsburgh.


709 Penn Ave

invites you to Radical Riffs: Contemporary Music Series at 709 Penn Ave

New Music for Guitar From Latin America
Thursday, August 2nd
7:30 pm 709 Penn Ave

Featuring:
Colombian guitarist Guillermo Bocanegra will offer a recital this Thursday with music by some of the leading Latin American composers of our times. The concert will include pieces by Leo Brower, Graciela Paraskevaídis, and Pittsburgh-based composer Federico Garcia, among others, and will feature the Pittsburgh premiere of Carlos Mastropietro's "Violín Hechizo", a piece that is rapidly winning over players and public alike around the world.

Radical Riffs
Curator, Eden McNutt

SNOWBLIND @SPACE

There's a really amazing collaborative work included in the SNOWBLIND exhibit at SPACE in downtown. If you can make it down to see the exhiibit, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

With the exception of some large works on paper, most of the works were small scale. The installation was pretty good, especially the large number of panels that comprise change of address.

July 27 - September 15,2007
SPACE
812 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
phone 412.325.7723
SNOWBLIND
Guest-curated by Thad Kellstadt

Work by Heidi Anderson, Corey Antis, Chad Gordon, Christopher Herron and Josh Tonies.


A collaborative work by Chad Gordon, Christopher Herron and Josh Tonies - change of address


The following three images are detail panels from change of address




Christopher Herren - zectar 87 an akapoo (detail of dyptych)

Heidi Anderson - Tattoo Face