Homestead by Ian Green

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This is a great mural that captures the soul of the neighborhood. Ian Green presents us with a multi panel work of the people and history of Homestead.

We asked Mr Green to tell us a bit about the mural and the people in it. He had this to say:

I originally wanted to cover the whole wall with one big piece for the Homestead mural, but instead I tried to work the piece into the wall around its elements (pipes, fire escape, spaces between windows, etc). I wanted to tip my hat to the Homestead of Now, (like the painting of the millworker tipping his hat to the painting of the garment worker, Blemah Do) which was vibrant and holding on in its own way in the wake of the financial wreckage of the post–steel industry.

I hadn’t known the Homestead of the past. I wasn’t focused on the heyday, but on where I was in the moment.. So Old Timers, jitney drivers, shopkeepers were the subjects I had, but I did want to explore the significance of the 1892 strike as an indicator of the spirit of the people and their strength. The tiles that rise up out of the stack were done by members of the community. You can see their work on several of the tile panels. I thought of the sacrifices made being hurled up and outward like so much smoke, yet not forgotten but admired and remembered.

The river portrait was my homage to Nature before Mankind, or man–unkind as the case may be (environmentally speaking). The ruins of the post–industrial Homestead form the backdrop behind the muse holding up a vision of the past: a great river, alive and giving, as opposed to this tool for industry that it became. The turtle represents a speed of life we need to rekindle if we are to survive in this insanity.

The old timers in the Homestead mural are depicted almost exactly where the bench used to be that they sat on every day. They always had a kind word to say or at least a smile and a wave. When I moved in there in 1999, there was a constant energy between the jitney stands on Ann St. and Jack’s Variety. Jack’s was the REAL center of Homestead. That’s where you could find out what was really happening.

The tiles were donated by PennDot. I did all that tile work on the Homestead Mural with the much–needed help of a couple of friends and the Homestead Arts Council without which this project would not exist.

This panel depicts a dark time in the history of the area. The events that took place at the Homestead Steel mill in 1892 marked one of the bloodiest, most violent times in American labor history. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick were determined to bust the union. In the confrontation that ensued the Pinkerton guards brought in by Frick tried to surrender not once, but four times. It required 8,500 state militia men to restore control over Homestead. The community remained under martial law for five long months.

Summary:

Artist(s): Ian Green
Address: Ann St and 8th Ave
City: Homestead
Zip Code: 15120

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

Animal Adventure Mural by Laura Jean McLaughlin and Bob Ziller

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This mural is done on a jersey barrier along One Wild Place – the roadway that enters Highland Park from the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. Designed by Laura Jean McLaughlin and Bob Ziller, the various animals travel past local landmarks on the concrete wall. Their original design had to be modified when zoo officials requested that none of the endangered or extinct animals be anthropomorphized. They were OK with the attributes on non–threatened species though, so you'll still see some whimsical touches.

Another of Citipark’s programs, the Roving Art Cart, brought kids together with the artists to glue the tiles in place on pre–cut shapes. Artist Bob Ziller told us that they worked with over 1,000 kids on this mosaic! He said it truly is a public art project!

Some close ups working from left to right along the wall:

Summary:

Artist(s): Laura Jean McLaughlin, Bob Ziller
Address: One Wild Place
City: Pittsburgh (Highland Park)
Zip Code: 15206
Organization:

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

Borough of Etna by Holland Williams

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The Borough of Etna has (or had?) a free adult craft project each year. One year they did rug braiding, but in 2008 the project was creating a community mural with hand–painted tiles. A local ceramic⁄art studio hosted the project and a local artist designed it.

The mural shows Etna landmarks, past and present, along with Mt Etna, the borough’s namesake.

We rode out to see this mural on a bright, sunny morning. The drawback to that is that we had to photograph it from an angle to eliminate the glare from the sun reflecting off the tiles and to prevent the pronounced shadows from getting in the photographs.

There is a portion in the center of the mural that appears to honor local veterans. This was done using images of the Honorable Service Lapel Button (The Ruptured Duck) from WWII and the insignia of the American Legion.

Around the border of the mural, individual artists are identified on their own tiles.

There are other tiles that explain:

"This mural was made possible through grant funding received from the Pennsylvania council of the arts, a state agency funded by an annual appropriation and the national endowment for the arts and the borough of Etna. The mural was painted by local volunteers at Bob's Ceramics studios in the summer of 2008. Designed by Holland Williams and facilitated by Elaine Glassner.

Summary:

Artist(s): Holland Williams and multiple volunteers
Address: Sullivan Way and Crescent St.
City: Etna
Zip: 15223

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

Pittsburgh Recollections by Romare Bearden

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Originally installed in the Gateway Center T station in 1984, Pittsburgh Recollections was removed tile by tile and reassembled in the new T station in 2009. It was an expensive project, but at the time the mural was valued at $15 million.

The 12 x 12 inch tiles had to be removed carefully, cleaned and reassembled in the proper place. It was a painstaking process as the tiles had to be cut from the wall with concrete still attached and then the concrete had to be chipped away by hand. When reinstalled the tiles were mounted on panels this time, to make the process much easier should they ever need to move it again.

The mural shows scenes of Pittsburgh. Some from what the artist remembered from time spent here as a child. It also shows a history of the area, with images of early settlers, scenes from when the steel industry was at it's height, and the transition of the area into high tech industry.

Summary:

Artist(s): Romare Bearden
Address: Gateway Center 'T' Station
City: Pittsburgh
Zip: 15222

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

Sargent Electric Tile Mosaic - artist unknown

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This tile mosaic mural is on a building that used to be owned by Sargent Electric Company. If you look at the map for the Strip District murals, you'll find that Sargent Electric has a series of new murals covering the history of electricity at its current location as well.

This mural has only the one panel covering Benjamin Franklin’s discovery, hydroelectric power and what appears to be an early power plant. The murals at their new location pick up where this one left off and depict scenes regarding electric themes past, present and future.

Summary:

Artist(s): Unknown
Address:3424 Liberty Ave
City:Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)
Zip Code:15201
Organization:

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals