Discovering Dippy
On July 12, Carnegie Museum of Natural History held a symposium on its most-revered resident, Diplodocus carnegii (aka “Dippy”), in honor of the 125th anniversary of its discovery. Speakers included Tom Rea, who literally wrote the book on the men behind Dippy’s discovery and subsequent celebrity; John Whitlock, one of the world’s experts on Diplodocus and its evolutionary relatives; Aja Carter, who discussed how studying extinct animals can inform new robot design; renowned natural history exhibition fabricator and fossil conservator Phil Fraley, who was responsible for transforming the museum’s dinosaurs for the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition; the museum’s newest paleontologist, Sarah Davis, who discussed how scientists reconstruct the colors of fossil vertebrates; and the museum’s longtime chief dinosaur curator Matt Lamanna, who spoke about some of Dippy’s bizarre cousins from the Southern Hemisphere landmasses, including Patagonia.
Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris at the Benedum Center
During the run of the Pittsburgh CLO’s production of The Color Purple in June, Carnegie Museum of Art partnered with the CLO to showcase a curated selection of prints from the museum’s Charles “Teenie” Harris collection. Theatergoers were treated to snapshots of Black 20th-century life in the lobby of the Benedum Center.
Charles “Teenie” Harris, Young Ahmad Jamal playing piano, Heinz Family Fund, © Carnegie Museum of Art, Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive
“We are blessed with a namesake who was constantly innovating, constantly changing and constantly challenging conventions. It’s in our DNA—if Andy saw an opportunity, he was going to take it.”
–Dan Law, associate director of The Andy Warhol Museum, speaking about The Pop District in the Observer.
Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, The Andy Warhol Museum; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.815
Calling All Artists
For the second year, Carnegie Museums is joining with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh on Envisioning A Just Pittsburgh, a call to community members of southwestern Pennsylvania to submit creative works of all kinds to help envision a just and equitable Pittsburgh. The deadline for submissions is October 20, with $17,000 in prizes set to be awarded.
Ahmad Jamal’s Dream (detail) by Lee Price
Latest Addition to the Miniature Railroad & Village®
A piece of Pittsburgh’s historic Chinatown is coming to Carnegie Science Center, to be unveiled on October 5. The Chinatown Inn on Third Avenue will be the next model installed in the Miniature Railroad & Village®. The business first opened in 1943 on the first floor of the On Leong Chinese Merchants Association Building and remains a popular staple of the food scene in downtown Pittsburgh. It’s considered an anchor of what was Pittsburgh’s Chinatown, which received Pennsylvania state historical landmark status in 2021. Earlier this year, Science Center visitors voted to include the Chinatown Inn in the display.
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