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Architecture + Water
February
9 through May 12
The recent interest in
developing Pittsburgh’s riverfront aesthetically, rather than industrially,
is a part of a trend seen in many cities fortunate enough to have water
fronts. Locally, the leadership
group Riverlife Task Force has increased the dialogue and raised the
standards of public expectation for waterfront development, both public and
private.
The Van Alen Institute,
a New York organization committed to improving the design of public spaces,
has brought together five international examples of extraordinary designs,
all built or near completion, that relate water, the nearby spaces, and
human inhabitants in an innovative way.
Architecture + Water,
which opens February 9 in Heinz Architectural Center, uses models,
drawings, and other media to show each project in depth.
The Blur Building, a
media center designed by Diller + Scofidio that is part of a complex for
Swiss EXPO 2002 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, appears to hover over a
lake, as a grid with attached nozzles sprays a constant mist to create fog. As Herbert Muschamp wrote in The New York Times, “It is a
building about becoming a building, about imminence and immanence . . .
. Approached by pier, the Blur
hovers over Lake Neuchatel, [and is] manufactured from its water.” Computers adapt the strength of the spray
according to wind conditions; visitors are given plastic raincoats; and at
night the fog becomes a screen for projected images.
Also included in the
exhibition is Quattro Villa, a housing project in the Netherlands. Reacting to the recent practice of returning
“reclaimed” land to its marshy origins, the architects, MVRDV, have mounted
four two-story apartments on two elevator stilts, providing living space
while altering the environment minimally.
The Lake Whitney Water
Treatment Plant in Hamden, Connecticut, is the only United States project
in the exhibition. It consists of a stainless steel tank surrounded by a
waterworks park, with gardens corresponding to the various stages of water
filtration. Steven Holl Architects
and Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates collaborated on this
project. Muschamp writes that the
tank’s curving lines “suggest a segment of river frozen in mid-flow. The image evokes transition, from one place
or condition to another. . . .”
The exhibition also
includes Japan’s Yokohama International Port Terminal, by Foreign Office
Architects, as well as Blackfriars Bridge Station by Alsop Architects. This train station is situated in the
middle of an old railroad bridge, making one’s destination also a means of
access. As Muschamp says, it “turns transitional space into place.”
Treasure Hunt:
Recent Acquisitions of Works on Paper
Through June 2
The museum’s collection
of works on paper covers the longest chronological period of any department
in the museum, beginning with prints from the late fifteenth century.
“In our print
collection, we try to create as complete a historical overview of
printmaking as is possible for an institution like our,” explains Linda
Batis, associate curator of Fine Arts, Carnegie Museum of Art. “We’ve acquired a tremendous amount in
the last decade, and this exhibition is a chance to show the
highlights.” The exhibition focuses
on the last decade of collecting and includes old master prints, modern
European and American prints, European and American drawings, and
photographs, pre-1945.
In making acquisitions,
Batis says, the museum looks for works in media or by artists not yet
represented in the collection and that characterize a particular school of
printmaking, such as Italian Mannerist prints from the late 16th
century. “We have a mental picture
of what we need to tell the story, and we fill in the gaps as the market
presents opportunities.”
The museum also seeks
out works that show how artists grappled with a particular challenge, such
as depicting dark tones or night subjects in prints. “Artists started to think about that in
the late 16th century,” says Batis, “and we have some prints
that show how they dealt with that challenge.”
CMA art class alumni
Tam
O’Shanters, Pallettes,
Saturday
Creative Art Classes, The Art Connection
We want to hear from you!
If you
attended Saturday art classes at Carnegie Museum of Art in any of the above
programs, mark your calendars for March 15, 2002. That’s the date of a
special reunion party and preview of this year’s student exhibition, and we
want to include you.
Reminisce
with old friends, see what today’s kids are up to. Send your name, address
and email to:
Darnell
Warren, Children's Programs
Carnegie
Museum of Art
4400 Forbes
Avenue
Pittsburgh,
PA 15213-4080
Telephone: 412.622.3214
Email: warrend@carnegiemuseums.org
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