Ladies of Stone by Eugenio Pedon

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Two of three figures from a sculpture that once topped the old post office building in downtown. Together the three figures are known by several titles: Stone Ladies, Stone Maidens, and Ladies of Stone. Individually these two are Navigation and Industry.

Navigation was depicted holding a rudder - which is mostly broken off on this copy. Industry is holding a mold. A mold of what, we have no clue, but some sort of industrial mold.

There were two copies of that original sculpture, so six individual stone ladies when the old post office building was demolished. Two of them are now together on the Northside, one is on Mt Washington, and the other copy of Industry is at a different Station Square location.

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.

Randy Pausch Bridge by multiple artists

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The late Professor Randy Pausch was an inspiration to the world. After viewing his Last Lecture video, or reading his book you can’t help looking at things a bit differently. What a tremendous loss for his family, friends, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and the world when he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2008.

This professor had a profound impact on us all. CMU chose to build a memorial to him on their campus, and we couldn’t imagine a nicer one than the Randy Pausch Bridge.

During the day is doesn’t appear to be exceptional. It’s a nice enough looking pedestrian walkway, but you wouldn’t really think twice about it as you crossed between the Purnell Center and Gates and Hillman Center buildings. At night though... well that’s a different story. At night the bridge comes alive in ever changing colors. Using more than 7000 LEDs, the computer generated patterns were designed to represent the metaphors that Professor Pausch used in The Last Lecture. There’s a description of each of them on a CMU web page. It is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful human being. We hope the students that use it never forget the man that inspired it.

Allentown Mural Asteroid Way by Lucas Stock

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This mural was along the route for the 2013 Pedal Pittsburgh ride, but it was positioned so it was behind you as you rode past it – so it was easily missed. On the return leg of the ride, which passed about a block north, the bright colors jumped out immediately from across a vacant lot. When I stopped at an intersection, a lady standing there with her son noticed where my attention was focused and told me that it was a new mural. She said they had gone over to look at it and thought the subject of it was Puerto Rico.

We had received an email about this mural so I already knew that the themes (provided by the artist, Lucas Stock) were historic landmarks, unique architecture, stained glass art, ethnic and religious symbolism and neighborhood diversity. The artist hadn’t mentioned anything specific about Puerto Rico, but now looking closely at the mural, I could see what looked like the Puerto Rican flag on the right side.

One of the perks of getting directly in touch with an artist is hearing or seeing some of the insight on the design process. In this case, Mr Stock shared some photos he took to document that process:

A pencil sketch of the original design. Photo by Lucas Stock

The filled in sketch. Photo by Lucas Stock

The final product. Photo by Lucas Stock

Konbit Shelter by Swoon, multiple artists

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The Konbit Shelter is not so much a public art project, but it is a unique architectural structure for our area and it's being built by the local artist collective known as Transformazium (which happens to be located across the street).

This project is an example of the shelters that artists, builders, architects and engineers are developing for areas that need inexpensive, safe structures that can stand up to many natural disasters. Specifically, this type of shelter is being used to provide help to rural areas of Haiti.

The buildings are constructed of long tubes filled with dirt (or with dirt and other stabilizers) and stacked to form a domed–shaped structure. You can read more about the construction here and more about this specific shelter and the problems Transformazium is having in the construction process here.

Update
Nov 2014

The shelter is still under construction. This is one of many projects that these artists are working on, so progress sometimes seems slow. The main structure has now been painted.

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.

First Historic District by Glenn Olcerst

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The lawyer and fine art photographer that lives here feels strongly about public art.  He established "Art in the Alley" along this road to encourage others to create public art here.  The first significant addition is this mosaic/inlay by Mr Olcerst himself. 

Made of over 2100 pieces of hand cut granite and porcelain, it depicts very early architecture.  The design is based on photographs taken at a church in Tulia, Italy. 

Some close-ups to show details: