The Forks by Isaac Witkin

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The Forks is owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art. The Smithsonian includes this description of the piece in its Collections Search:

Silver–colored aluminum abstract piece meant to symbolize the area known as the fork of the Ohio where Pittsburgh had its beginnings. Pittsburgh was founded at the convergence of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers and later flourished as a vital industrial region. This sculpture is formed in welded, cast aluminum to produce a structure that reflects the force of the rivers and the metal industries it generated.

This 14 foot high sculpture was originally commissioned by the Alcoa Foundation for Allegheny Landing Sculpture Park. When the park was designed in 1983, the designated theme for the artwork was labor and industry. The Post Gazette art critic Donald Miller described the piece as suggesting molten metal, which represents the city’s industrial heritage well.

Pittsburgh Variations by George Sugarman

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Allegheny Landing was one of the first outdoor sculpture parks in the country. It was also perhaps, the first step that Pittsburgh took in recognizing the potential of our riverfront property and reclaiming it for recreation rather than industrial use. Now the Three Rivers Heritage Trails system is a part of this park, with the Northshore Trail going around one of the sculptures as it follows the Allegheny River.

In 1984 several sculptures were dedicated in this green space. After 30 years three need some TLC, and Pittsburgh Variations is one of them. The bright colors on the painted aluminum shapes aren’t quite as bright on this sculpture now, but more importantly, this piece of artwork seems to be one of the few that we’ve seen around the city that have been targeted by vandals. Most of the murals and artwork are left alone (for the most part), but this sculpture has taken on quite a bit of graffiti. In 2010 plans were established to renovate the park. This is a joint venture between Friends of Allegheny Landing, the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA), City of Pittsburgh, PA Fish and Boat Commission, and Riverlife. There are several phases to it. Phase One involved replacing the dock, which was done in 2013. We’re not sure exactly when they will remove this sculpture for work, but the CMOA (who owns the piece) will oversee it’s restoration.

Pittsburgh Variations is an interactive sculpture, designed to represent four foundations of this city. George Sugarman used paddlewheel shapes to symbolize our three rivers; a fire or crucible shape to represent industry; a golden triangle theme for business and finance; and tree shapes for Penn’s Woods – representing all of Pennsylvania’s forests and natural resources.

The sculpture has benches integrated into the design and it’s placed directly onto the ground without a pedestal, making it more accessible. Mr Sugarman was one of the first artists to forego a pedestal on his public art. In his New York Times obituary by Roberta Smith, Mr Sugarman was quoted as having said about that: Objects and living things crawled and spread out on the ground. You had to bend down to see them properly. Your body had a different relationship to them. In other interviews Mr Sugarman expressed a dislike for art being separated from it’s physical and social environment.

The Builders by George Danhires

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The Builders is a reminder of the actual people that have done the work to make Pittsburgh the city that it is today. Politicians take credit for the city’s Renaissance I and II, but the constuction crews, surveyors, metal workers, brick layers, heavy equipment operators, engineers and all the other craftsmen and laborers made it a reality.

The Mellon Stuart Company commissioned this sculpture and it was modeled after two of their employees. It was installed in Allegheny Landing, a sculpture park located between the 6th and 7th Street bridges, in 1984. The Carnegie Museum actually has ownership of the sculpture.

Mythic Source by Ned Smyth

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Mythic Source is a part of a larger piece of art. Titled separately and positioned apart, they are two companion pieces for one sculpture.

image from Google Earth

From the Google Earth image you can see Mythic Source right along the Allegheny River, in the middle of the North Shore Trail. Across the grass and sitting up above it, is Piazza Lavoro, the second part of this artwork.

Mythic Source hasn't held up as well as Piazza Lavoro. The mosaic figures are broken and pieces are missing. Although hundreds of people walk, run or ride across this artwork on a daily basis I've never noticed anyone stopping to look at it. The pavement is broken and crumbling. In 2013 we thought renovations were to begin here, but it didn't happen. Several renovations on this 30 plus year old sculpture park are scheduled, but so far the only improvements we've observed are on the fishing dock. Eventually this sculpture is supposed to be moved and restored.

The accompanying plaque for this says:

On the lower level, "Mythic Source" refers to life's aquatic origins and the sustaining powers of the waters."

UPDATE: In 2016 these two sculptures were repaired and slightly redesigned. Instead of just repairing the ground mosaic of Mythic Source, it was completely removed and relocated to Piazza Lavorno. Now at the top of the hill in Allegheny Landing, any flooding along the river should not affect it. It also removed it from being subjected to the larger volume of foot and bike traffic that travels past Mythic Source all day.

See photos of the repaired mosaics in the Piazza Lavoro entry.