Stone Maidens by Eugenio Pedon

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The metal placard on the base of this sculpture identifies it as Stone Maidens, but this is an incomplete sculpture. There should be three figures here instead of just two, and there are multiple titles for the grouping. These two individual figures are titled Navigation and Enlightenment. The Smithsonian Institute keeps an inventory of public artwork, and they list this piece by four different titles: Navigation, Enlightenment, Stone Maidens, Ladies of Stone, and Stone Ladies. Whatever you call it, it is two thirds of a sculpture originally created to top the Federal Building (which became the Post Office building) downtown in 1889. Rescued from demolition in 1966 this duo now grace the entrance to the Children’s Museum at the corner of W. Commons.

There were actually two identical sculptures that topped the old post office. The six individual figures from those two sculptures were all saved, but they were divided and spread out around the city. Why they were separated we don’t know, but the third figure in the grouping (Industry) is now at Station Square. In fact you can find Industry by itself, and Industry along with the second copy of Navigation, at two locations in Station Square.

The description in the Smithsonian inventory has the seated figure (Navigation) holding a rudder and the standing figure (Enlightenment) holding a lamp. When we look at Enlightenment, we think there is something missing from her raised arm, (perhaps a torch?), but since it appears that she has the lamp (or lantern) in her other hand we really don't know what else she might have been holding. We have been unable to locate a photo of the original trio before they were damaged. The other copy of Enlightenment is currently up on Mt Washington, and her raised arm is completely broken off on that copy.

The figures appear to be out of proportion because they were designed to be viewed standing on the street looking up at the Post Office roof.

The sculpture is part of the artifacts collection of the Pgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

History of Spring Hill Mosaic by Linda Wallen, multiple artists

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After the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh underwent an extensive remodeling and expansion effort, they sought to broaden their affect on the community. They approached this by linking up with other local organizations and venues to form a collaborative effort. They named this the Charm Bracelet Project, with the various organizations involved represented by individual charms, linked together for a purpose. Since it’s inception, the Charm Bracelet Project has tried to foster and strengthen the Northside community and to encourage creativity on every level. While it celebrates the individuality of the neighborhoods, it also brings them together with activities and a renewed sense of identity.

The bulk of the Charm Bracelet Projects and associated organizations are located in the heart of the old Allegheny City, but a few reach out into nearby neighborhoods. In Spring Hill, this mosaic mural was created as one of their programs.

The mural depicts the history of Spring Hill.

Artist Linda Wallen worked with local high school students in an after school program to create this. They interviewed residents of Spring Hill and researched the history of the area to come up with the design, then spent time at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild learning about tile and mosaic work.

Other residents also attended workshops and made their own tiles to be included in the border.

The mural is located in what was a vacant, overgrown lot. It will be the anchor now for a small community park being built there.

Spring Hill was named for having many natural springs in the area. One in particular was located near where the mural was installed. Unfortunately it is now covered over.

Initially home to mostly German immigrants, the mural includes the racing pigeons that they brought with them when they immigrated.

Agriculture was a big part of the history here, and Spring Hill is another of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods that depended on the steps for it’s early residents to go to and from the city below.

The mural and soon to be park are located across the street from the fire hall. We don’t know if this part of the design is a tribute to today’s firemen or yesterday’s, but it seems appropriate for the location.

There are lots of great details and whimsical touches in this mosaic.

Cloud Arbor by Ned Kahn

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We have a few sculptures around the city that are considered interactive. We also have some misting stations here and there to cool people off. In Buhl Community Park on the Northside though, we have melding of the ideas: A sculpture that creates a cloud. You can run through it like a water feature (like at PPG plaza); stand and wait for the cloud to wash over you; or stand back and watch the cloud form and float off.

Viewing the sculpture is a lot like watching the clouds roll by in a blue sky. You see it take shape and watch that shape change and morph with the wind, eventually dissipating. Every few minutes the cycle begins anew. There’s always something relaxing – almost hypnotic – about watching a water feature, and no less so when the water is vaporized.

Cloud Arbor was commissioned by the Children’s Museum to be a focal point in the revitalization of nearby Buhl Community Park. Funded by The Charity Randall Foundation, the sculpture is one of many pieces of artwork added to the Northside through the efforts of the Children’s Museum.

We found an article for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette by Kaitlynn Reily where artist Ned Kahn is quoted as saying If you step back and look at it, it’s incredibly beautiful and interesting. I feel the same way about clouds, and I just want to call people’s attention to it. He also said It demonstrates the swirling emotion of things we cannot see. It makes them visible.

The artwork is constructed with 64 poles that contain high pressure nozzles. Within the framework of the 32 foot tall poles, a cloud approximately 20 feet across will form. As the wind shapes and moves the cloud across the park some just watch the transformation, and some literally immerse themselves in it, taking advantage of the cool mist on a hot day.

On Ned Kahn’s website he makes this statement:

The confluence of science and art has fascinated me throughout my career. For the last twenty years, I have developed a body of work inspired by atmospheric physics, geology, astronomy and fluid motion. I strive to create artworks that enable viewers to observe and interact with natural processes. I am less interested in creating an alternative reality than I am in capturing, through my art, the mysteriousness of the world around us.

My artworks frequently incorporate flowing water, fog, sand and light to create complex and continually changing systems. Many of these works can be seen as observatories in that they frame and enhance our perception of natural phenomena. I am intrigued with the way patterns can emerge when things flow. These patterns are not static objects, they are patterns of behavior – recurring themes in nature.

Some details:

• -64 stainless steel 32 foot /3”diameter poles – 24 of them with nozzles
• -high pressure nozzles create vapor at 1000psi to form a cloud at regular intervals
• -4 poles with 18 nozzles ea
• -8 poles with 24 nozzles ea
• -12 poles with 22 nozzles ea
• -total of 528 nozzles
• -poles angled slightly inward to create the cloud effect
• -originally set to run 15 sec every 10 minutes

According to the artist, when the wind conditions are calm, the fog nozzles sculpt a spherical cloud, spinning and rising in the winter and spinning and falling in the summer. As the wind picks up, the spherical shape becomes distorted. The intent is to create a porous environment that merges with the atmosphere, blurring the boundary between atmosphere and architecture.

Articulated Cloud by Ned Kahn

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Ned Kahn is a California artist that specializes in combining art and science.  He uses the natural elements of earth, wind, water, and fire to create moving, almost living sculptures.  We have two of his pieces right across from each other.  One works with wind and the other is an interactive piece using wind and water.  More of his work is inside the Children's Museum.

The Children’s Museum has done a lot to promote art throughout the Northside neighborhoods. Their Charm Bracelet Project reaches up into Spring Hill and down to the Northshore.  Surrounding the actual museum though, there is a tremendous concentration of artwork – both old and new.   In the parking lot they have salvaged bits of wonderful architecture from some of the area’s old buildings.   Part of the museum is located in the historic Old Post Office with the beautiful dome.  At the same time they have commissioned very new, modern, interactive sculptures all around. One of those sculptures happens to be integrated into another of the buildings making up the museum.

If you aren’t paying attention you might not realize that the structure above the entrance is encased in a work of art. If you don’t pause and look up you might miss the small panels fluctuating in the breeze.

The facade of the building, done in collaboration with the architect (Koning/Eizenberg), is an aluminum frame with thousands of translucent, white plastic squares that move with the wind.  According to the artist's website, “the artwork is intended to suggest that the building has been enveloped by a digitized cloud”, making the wind visible.  The optical qualities of the material make the appearance change in different lighting and weather conditions.





This is Articulated Cloud by Ned Kahn. 43,000 small, hinged, polycarbonate panels are attached to a steel frame so that they can each move individually with the wind.

 


The effect can be quite subtle, requiring your attention to even notice the movement.


This is one of several sculptures surrounding the Children’s Museum that use wind to come to life. Next time you’re there, make sure you take a minute to look around outside the buildings and catch the artwork in motion.

Re-CARstruction by Keny Marshal

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This is pretty much what it looks like.  The artist took a Jeep Grand Wagoneer donated by Theresa Heinz, cut it up and reshaped it into this ball of car parts.  There are two You Tube videos on this. One that shows the car being taken apart, and one showing it being turned into this sculpture.

Steel Giraffe by Tim Kaulen

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Tim Kaulen has a history of recycling material in his art.  If anyone's been to the Carrie Furnaces in Rankin – or seen pictures of the Carrie Deer – then you've seen some of his work.  He was one of the group of artists that scavenged around the old mill site and created a huge deer head out of the scraps left behind when they closed the mill.

Here, Tim Kaulen has used recycled steel and some vegetation to create a giant child's pull toy.

Buhl Building Relief Sculptures by Sidney Waugh

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The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science opened in this building in 1939.  It was a big deal.  This was only the 5th planetarium to open in the country and the first one to install a state of the art, professional quality telescope for other than professionals use.  One of the first science museums (as opposed to the museums of natural history), this facility was built for everyone.  On the outside of the limestone structure,  Sidney Waugh created 6 relief sculptures.

Day: On the east side of the building, above a door is a small relief of a woman holding a bird.  The bird was considered a symbol of dawn.

Night: The same size as day, this image of a sleeping woman is almost hidden these days.  Because of the expansion of the Children's Museum, you need to walk all the way around to the back past the walkway to the main entrance to find it.

 The Heavens: This relief includes images portraying the sun, wind, rain and lightening.

The Earth: The plants here represent the carboniferous age plants which created the area's coal deposits.  The hammer is specifically a geologist's hammer.

There are two bronze relief images with gold leaf located over what used to be the main doors to the Buhl Planetarium.  They were meant to compare two eras of science and show tools of the trade then and now.

Primitive Science: This is represented by a Native American from the Mingo Tribe.  He is depicted with fire for smoke signals to show long distance communications; snowshoes (which were specific to North America), medicinal plants, bow and arrow, and a tree to represent the primeval forest.

 Modern Science: This relief shows what were modern tools at the time: a cathode-ray tube, microscope (for biology), globe (for geography), and laboratory beakers (for chemistry).

Mr Waugh may be best known for his work as chief designer for Steuben Glass for three decades, but the MIT graduate also did impressive public sculptures in several major cities.

The Underpass Gallery - A Charm Bracelet Project

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Underpass is the name of the art gallery on the west wall of the underpass beneath the Federal Street rail road bridge. This outdoor gallery is designed so that they can replace the art displayed there each year easily, and the structure of the wall can accomodate several artistic mediums. The Underpass is a part of the Charm Bracelet Project and according to their website, the idea is to celebrate the bridge, the concept of entry, the essence of the neighborhood – through art.

2015

There never was a 2014 or 2015 installment here. After the 2013 artwork was removed we found out that the railroad bridge was going to be replaced and the artwork would return after that was done. When we checked last, there was still construction going on. We're hopeful that this will change in 2016.

2014

2 May 2014: The 2013 mural has been removed and preparations are underway for this year’s installment. We will update this as soon as we see the 2014 mural in place.

2013

The installment for 2013 was = The Light at the End of the Tunnel by Casey Droege. This mural is a bit of a puzzle – both figuratively and literally. We are presented with what looks like part of an equation, but there is no equals sign. It’s full of symbols and we are left to decipher them on our own. Before we even have a chance to contact the artist and get the skinny on this piece, we suspect that he or she is not going to divulge much. From our previous research we’ve learned that some pieces are meant to make you think about them and figure out for yourself what it means to you. This looks like one of those.

Ah, but this is puzzling. This is definitely not the type of art that you can drive, walk, or ride your bike past and fully appreciate. We stood for quite a while trying to sort out the symbols and came up with our own thoughts on this. We won’t be posting them. We think it will be more fun for everyone else to post their own ideas about it.

Because of the supports on the underpass structure we can't offer you a clean shot of the entire mural, so here are some close ups starting on the left side:

The equation⁄puzzle has three bracketed segments. This is the left third.

The first set of parentheses in the first bracket.

Close up of the left two rows in the numerator.

Close up of rows 3 and 4 in the numerator.

Close up of the right two rows in the numerator.

Close up of the exponent.

The right half of the first bracket.

This is the transition between the left and center set of brackets.

This is the center bracket. The pillar is blocking the addition sign and the left parentheses by the roses.

Left portion of the center bracket.

Right portion of the center bracket

Closeup of above section.

Transition between the center and right brackets.

Right bracket.

Left side of the right bracket.

Right side of the right bracket.

The following description is included on the plaque beside this mural: In this mural, an equation is used to evaluate the desires, relationships and external forces of our everyday lives. Using the language of mathematics it seeks answers to the seemingly unquantifiable.

Update Oct 2013
We heard from the artist, Casey Droege, and she was kind enough to provide some more information on this mural:

"...the series started a few years ago as I began trying to quantify the unquantifiable- looking at important moments in my life and breaking them down by using objects from my archive and forcing them into this "math" language. I decided to use this format for the mural because it is a unique large scale piece that is really best seen by pedestrians. It gave me the room to play around with the experience of walking by. In one direction the equation equals something a little more positive "The light at the end of the tunnel" and in the other direction, it's a little more chaotic. If you notice when walking towards downtown, the equation tends to subtract the more positive things. Overall it's broken into three segments- the first (left) being everyday wants and needs, the second is interpersonal relationships, and the third is external forces/luck. Many of the symbols are pulled from my life (for instance the big blue note next to the dead flowers is something I've received). But some of the images were chosen to represent an idea or experience that could be interpreted more broadly, for instance the hole in the ground is meant to be loss of some sort. In the end, there's lots of room for interpretation of the images. A red door in Western cultures is seen as a sign of welcoming. A horse shoe can mean good luck or bad luck, but the direction differs depending on the country."

2012

Photo of installation by Jim Schafer

3Three∗∗∗ is the second piece of artwork to display in this unique art gallery. Dick Esterle used a dotted pattern of waves to create something that would look different as you passed through the area. Depending on where you would view this piece from, you definitely got a different feel for it. The time of day and lighting as well as how you transitioned the area (walking, biking, driving) also impacted your impression.

3Three∗∗∗ went on display in May 2012 and was replaced with new art in May of 2013.

2011

Photo of installation by Ed Massery

Blue Skies was the first installment at Underpass. We missed seeing this mural as it had already been replaced by the time we discovered the outdoor gallery. The folks from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh were kind enough to send us the above photo. On thier website they describe Kim Beck's piece as art that lit up the underpass with a slice of a sunny day on the Northside. We're sorry we missed the opportunity to see it.