Some Assembly Required

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

It's Parking Day in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and over. Check out those parks!

Sorry for not posting. As you may know, parking day was started a few years ago to demonstrate the vast, unoticed space reserved for cars in our cities. People take spaces and turn them into almost anything-which means on some level,it's one of the world's largest public art festivals. Get out there and check out those spaces! Parking Day

Seeking Higher Ground: Works by Steve Ehret

 

 Unblurred always has some great shows, and ModernFormations Gallery consistently brings the best out in the artists that exhibit there. In Seeking Higher Ground, Steve Ehret's paintings and mixed media work is a high point for September's offerings along the Penn Ave arts corridor. 

As a whole, the show is sensual, with the works presented in gilded frames along the dusty, deep purple walls of the back gallery. Mr. Ehret's monochromatic works would, at first glance, seem to lean towards the austere. But on closer examination, there is a sense of whimsy in the subjects. 

 His self-imposed limitations on his palette place the emphasis on the details and characters in these small works. Close examination of the paintings reveals tiny figures and delicate convolutions in the landscapes. The mixed medium show a sense of exploration, with a loose gestural quality. Strictly from the cheap seats, and since I am a big fan of webgames, I got a sense of that aesthetic from these works. There is something in the works that heralds pop culture. That is more than likely something that I am bringing to the work, I am guilty of being purely subjective in my enjoyment of art. 

The exhibit is in place through September 28. 

Seeking Higher Ground: Works by Steve Ehret 

Through September 28, 2012 

ModernFormations 

4919 Penn Avenue. 

412.362.0274 

Gallery Hours 

*Thursdays 7pm - 9pm 

*Saturdays 1pm - 4pm 

*Private appointments are available by request

Unblurred - Bits and Pieces

It was a dank and sultry night, up on Penn Avenue last Friday. Nobody was moving very fast; but why would they? It wasn't hot, but it was really humid. I was there early and left early, so I missed the throngs that usually come out after the sun goes down and it starts to get a little cooler. There's always at least a show or two that deserve special attention during the month, and I'll be coming back in a day or two to talk about one. But there's also a lot of other programming that doesn't fit the exhibition bill that are worth mentioning.

Catapult Pittsburgh is a co-working space that opened on Penn Avenue earlier this year, hosting Designers, Developers and Indy Workers. Catapult has also stepped up with a monthly Show and Tell which is a great way to start out your Unblurred evening. Last Friday, the lineup included Josh Lucas of RedBlueVoice.com, a crowdsourced political advocacy platform company, Deena Blumenfeld from Shining Light Prenatal Education, Lara Schenck, designer turned improv theater performer, and Norm Huelsman, who previewed Pittsburgh’s premiere new media conference, Podcamp Pittsburgh 7.

  

There's something new happening at Most Wanted Fine Art. In the back of the gallery is a nondescript door that leads to a basement shop. Partly a retail store that... "specializes in memorabilia of years gone by and part gallery/event space focused on the Art and Community of Collectible Culture." What did I see? Tons of comic books, action figures, and vinyl albums and miscellaneous items of popular culture. Worth checking out, if you have a penchant for nostalgia.

  

Awesome Books is, well, AWESOME! As with any independent, used bookstore, half the appeal is taking the time to peruse the shelves for just the book to bring home. Awesome Books is great fro that. They also have a selection of small press poetry chapbooks and novels from local authors. They do have a downtown location, but the original shop on Penn Avenue is the one with the cats. 

 

Along with these venues, Penn Avenue has a very active sidewalk scene during Unblurred events. Last Friday, Artica had a DJ in front of the store, a couple of drummers had set up in between two buildings near ImageBox, and JR Holtz had his table of painted glass pieces on the sidewalk in front of Most Wanted Fine Art.

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Also of note are two upcoming events. I heard about the Zine Fair when I stopped in at the Pittsburgh Beautification Project. This, by the way, is a really great active space, with several artists working in all kinds of media. The place is usually packed floor to ceiling with art, and they also host guest artists for the Unblurred event. One of the guest artists had some handouts about the Zine Fair, which really sounds great. You can find out about the activities, vendors and ongoing events over at their site. Briefly --

The Pittsburgh Zine Fair is back for it’s second year and is hosting a greater number of regional zine-makers and artists with featured appearances from the Carnegie Library Zine Collection, Just Seeds, Cyberpunk Apocalypse, Assemble, and The Roboto Zine Library. The event takes place on September 22nd 11am-7pm at Carnegie Mellon’s Wiegand Gym in the University Center. It is a Free Event open to the public!

 

On Saturday Oct 6, 2012, Most Wanted Fine Art turns Penn Ave and Winebiddle into an outdoor car-sized art gallery, with the event Vehicular Abstraction. From the event description --

Vehicular Abstraction is a free 4-hour art car exhibit and community event with the focus on licensed, registered, and insured vehicles that artists have permanently altered. These are not parade floats or puppets; the unique aspect of this medium is that they bring art every day to the city streets. Celebrity Judges, Live art performances, Local vendors tables, food sales, and children’s activities will also be happening as part of the event. The outdoor exhibit is suitable for all ages and includes indoor art displays at participating Penn Ave Art Galleries.

But wait! There's more! Most Wanted Fina Art is accepting vendors and entries for the event, there's tons of information on their event page on how you can participate. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the October edition of Unblurred.

Opening Saturday, September 8th, 4-6 "Curator's Choice

Wonderful visual art seems to be all over Pittsburgh, all the time these days. Yet another example is the exhibit opening at Concept Gallery next Saturday,

"Curator's Choice:Celebrating 40 Years of Concept Gallery". Twenty three curators have selected works from "around the world". Including Western Pennsylvania, which is quite well-represented. Given the artists and the curotors listing this has to be a must see. And I, for one, will not miss the opening, which should be packed and fun. Though I will probably have to go back another time to really see the exhibit. Here is a list of the curators and artists:
Curators: Linda Benedict-Jones, Mel Berkovitz, Bob Bridges, Isabelle Chartier, Curt Gettman, Bob Gilliland, Murray Horne, Jeff Jarzynka, Barbara Jones, Tina Kukielski, Brian Lang, Barbara Luderowski, Garth Massingill, Heather McElwee, Janet McCall, Steve Mendelson, Clayton Merrell, Michael Olijnyk, Judy O'Toole, Kevin O'Toole, Graham Shearing, Henry Simonds, and Jack Tomayko
Artists:
Dylan Vitone, Gary Bukovnik, Joseph Lupo, Serge Clement, Gabe Felice, George Hetzel, A.C. Wooster, A.F. King, A. Bryan Wall..., Jonathan Chamberlain, Ryan Woodring, Jane Haskell, Julian Stanczak, Ed Panar, Ben Kinsley & Jessica Langley, Henry Koerner, Carin Mincemoyer, Ryder Henry, John Kiley, Bovey Lee, Not Vital, Elizabeth Deasy, Anna E. Mikolay, Leslie Gabosh, Kevin O'Toole, David Ludwig, A.S. Wall, A.B. Wall, Hugh Newell, Charles Linford, Jasper Lawman, Sarah Small, Joyce Werwie Perry, and Michelle Dresbold, Donald Rager, Vanessa German, Anna Bender, Kevin Dao, Randy Gentile, Rosamund Wolff Purcell, Gertrude Quastler, Jane Hyland, Christopher Taylor, Mark Sloan, Mark Catesby, Atelier Populaire Collective, Ayanah Moor, Terry Young, Hugh M Poe, Paul Schifino, Paul Bowden, Everett Sturgeon, Francisco Goya, Jake Chapman, E Caldwell Linker, Thommy Conroy, Leonard Leibowitz