Urban Paradise by Gregg Valley

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Pittsburgh as Oz? My first impression of Urban Paradise, with the facetted style and the city surrounded by green, made me think of that mythical place. Maybe it was the style and colors that took my thoughts to emeralds and then to Emerald City. It’s certainly not the classic image of Pittsburgh surrounded by three rivers. In this vision there’s water in the foreground but the city is set back beyond green hills. An image of what it might be like if downtown had been the only section ever developed here. It does make you think of an idyllic spot though, with an abundance of nature everywhere you look. A very peaceful image, and that’s exactly what the local community was hoping for.

The mural is located on the side of a women’s shelter and one of the staff came out as we were admiring the mural. She explained that they had wanted an image of a calm oasis. Something to take your mind away from society and all of the stress and issues. With that for the goal, I’d have to say that Gregg Valley hit it out of the ballpark. The city is still there, yet it’s pushed out of the foreground by the calming sensation of nature enveloping you.

We found an article by Kelly Horein in the Duquesne Duke (5 Oct 2006) where Mr Valley explains a bit about the piece:

...the colorful waterfall scene depicted in the mural will bring nature into the city. He also described a unique process he used in the mural called faceting. By breaking up the colors into difference facets, he created the illusion of texture and depth in his painting.

The lush, green image also reminded me that Uptown had started a program to plant more trees in the area. The mural ties in nicely with the idea of bringing nature back into the city.