Opening day – TRAF 2013

A friend of mine was in town over the last week and wanted to go to the Three Rivers Arts Festival during her stay. So on Friday, we met Downtown and spent the afternoon leisurely strolling through the Artists Market.

As any Pittsburgher knows, the festival not only brings art in its various forms to downtown, it also heralds a week of rain. It didn't matter one little bit to me that the weather forecast said the chance of rain was a paltry 30%. I have experience with this festival and it always rains. So, with a sense of smugness, I packed up my umbrella, made sure my camera was sufficiently protected, and off I went.

It didn't rain, at all. And my companion and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Now, I just went the first day, so the artists that I saw may not be in their booths when you elect to roam the Artists Market since the booths rotate among a couple artists over the course of the festival. It's one of the nice features of the festival, and a very good reason to plan for several visits. You can preview the exhibitors for any session and plan your visit that way.

Seth Clark

There were so many great booths in the Artists Market this very first day of the festival. All of it was first rate, and spanned the spectrum from personal adornment to fine art and craft. Some were truly fun and appealing, and some were presenting works that spoke to personal vision. Seth Clark is a standout for me. I find his mixed media to be an interesting take on urban landscapes, surprisingly accurate in spirit to many of the less popular Pittsburgh neighborhoods and small municipalities in this region. Mr. Clark's work is also included in the Juried Visual Arts exhibit, a must-see show.

Daniel Baxter's Kreepy Doll Factory

   Highly recommended for FUN! Daniel Baxter's Kreepy Doll Factory is anything but creepy, with it's display of colorful dolls. Each doll is individually named, it's written right on the tag. No two dolls are alike, at all. Really, just tons of variety.

Sherry Rusinack

Sherry Rusinack is one of the festival's emerging artists. This is a "Scholarship program helping regional artists produce their first booth in an outdoor show" bringing artists into the market that might never have considered participating. Ms. Rusinack's work is deceptive, with its bright colors giving it a playful appeal. There is a definite feeling of walking into a world in motion, intensely personal and visionary.

Santiago "Chago" Gutierrez

 I believe I have the correct artist from the Nica Ceramic Art collective in crediting the above work. It was absolutely stunning, and I was intrigued by the process the artist used to create the effects.

Aimee Manion

Look at that sweet piece, isn't it lovely? There were several painters representing in the Art Market, but I found these to be very fresh-looking works. Aimee Manion's work has this dreamlike quality about it. I love her use of color, really bold but still clear and pure. Kind of like the sound of glass ringing, except on your eyes.

Hugh Hayden, American Hero #4

This piece by Hugh Hayden was installed next to the Wyndham Grand Hotel. My first take on this piece was that it was illustrating the demise of Detroit and the car industry. Sort of. This was the first conclusion that I reached since from a distance, the black stripes seemed to be the torn treads of tires. Closer examination, however, revealed that they were braided synthetic hair. The following explanation was provided at the site:

Hugh Hayden, American Hero 4

To be clear, I didn't find the piece compelling even when I was operating under my own interpretation. The explanation just left me cold. It is not just an apparent lack of connection between the presented work and the intention, but the entire dialog that is missing from this work makes it deliberately obtuse. There just isn't a way to map the intention from the presented work. (There are additional images in the gallery.) By contrast I found Chang-Jin Lee's Floating Echo appealing and quite beautiful.

Chang-Jin Lee, Floating Echo

Right? Isn't that just so peaceful? The work is located in Point State Park, beside the pedestrian walkway. I was soothed visually by this work. It was well placed, working well within its site. So, a theme of harmony, but maybe a new harmony implying a path of balance between nature and man-made intrusion.

The installation works remain in place for the duration of the festival. There are several, scattered throughout the downtown area, most of which I didn't get to see. It's a shame, really, that the festival isn't longer, or that some of it couldn't remain in place longer than the Artists Market.

Please, take a look through the gallery for additional pictures, especially of the folks that I haven't mentioned.

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.