Architecture + Water
Through May 12, Heinz Architectural Center
“Water has always been a commodity of architecture,”
Joseph Rosa observed during his last days as curator of architecture at
Carnegie Museum of Art. “But when people
think about architecture and water, they tend to think of them as not
connected. The five architectural
firms included in this show each look at the relationship between
architecture and water in a different way.”
The Yokohama International Port Terminal in Japan,
designed by Foreign Office Architects, reconsiders the pier, traditionally
a horizontal and strictly functional space, and turns it into a
destination, an “event space,” as Rosa calls
it. The flowing lines are
voluptuous, inspired by water, and call attention to the relationship
between the motion of the bay and the static shape of the structure.
In the Netherlands,
MVRDV has designed Quattro Villa, four apartments housed on a platform that
sits above the water like an oil rig but is anchored to the landscape. A resident can park a car next to a boat,
and use either method of transportation when leaving the villa.
The Lake Whitney Water Treatment Plant in Hamden, CT,
designed by Steven Holl and Michael Van Valkenburgh, integrates the water
purification process into the landscape design. In London,
Alsop Architects has put the Blackfriars Station on an existing bridge
over the Thames.
The station, at first glance the most traditional of the five
projects, is situated on the bridge and serves as a destination as well.
“The most theatrical, the most over-the-top,” says Rosa,
is the Blur Building
in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. Not only is the building really
beautiful, says Rosa, but with its interactive
“braincoats,” it takes architecture to the next level, cladding the people
as well as the building. The coats,
which are designed to help protect visitors as they walk through the mist
generated by the jets on the building’s exterior, are wired with sensors
and transmitters that are programmed according to questionnaires. If a wearer meets his or her match in the
fog, the coats blush, or turn pink.
Not a good match? The coats
turn green. “It’s the ultimate
pickup place if you are single,” says Rosa, laughing
at the personal havoc such a coat could cause.
The architects, Diller + Scofidio, recently were awarded
a MacArthur grant.
Contemporary
Directions
Glass from the Maxine and William Block Collection
April 6 July 7
Maxine and William Block, Sr., began building their extraordinary
collection of glass 13 years ago. "The last decade of the 20th century
has been a very exciting time for studio glass, as more artists, galleries,
collectors, and museums have become interested in this seductive
medium," says curator of decorative arts Sarah Nichols. "These
pieces reflect the wonderful versatility of glass, its ability to present
realism, narrative, and whimsy as well as light and color in very special
ways."
This exhibition is made up of 62 works, and is being organized in conjunction
with Toledo Museum of Art, where it will be shown in 2003. Eleven works
from contemporary glassmaker William Morris's Man Adorned series accompany the exhibition.
Forum: Jesse Bransford
March 16 – June 15
Jesse Bransford is one of a new breed of artists
inspired not only by ancient mythologies and symbols, but also by the new
vocabulary of the Internet, science fiction, Star Trek and video
games. In the Los Angeles Times critic, Holly Myers wrote about a Bransford
mural, “One might read the work as one would read a dream: packed with
fragments from a world of meaning but unbound by any order.” The
30-year-old artist, who lives and works in Brooklyn,
will be in residence for two-and-a-half weeks to create his wall painting,
which he titles “Where from Here? (άμφίβιοι)."
Bransford typically samples images from the popular
imagination—television and film, scientific diagrams, and historical
illustrations—but for his Forum installation, he used the Carnegie Museums’
collections as his primary field of exploration. Bransford photographed hundreds of
objects from both the Museum of Art
and Museum of Natural
History as possible sources for the finished
work. “Jesse manipulated these
sources, isolating them from their original context, and recombined them in
ways that create narrative and compositional relationships,” explains
Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Elizabeth Thomas.
During his residency, visitors will be able to watch
Bransford at work and to compare the artist’s progress with mechanicals of
the piece in finished form. A Lunch
& Learn program, where visitors can meet the artist, examine the work
in progress, and discuss Bransford’s art and methods is scheduled for March
7, when the artist will be midway through the process of painting. The fee, which includes lunch in the
Carnegie Café, is $22 for Carnegie members.
Also planned are a children’s gallery guide
directing kids to the images that inspired Bransford, as well as a series
of special gallery activities planned for Saturdays during the
exhibition. Call 412.622.3131 for
more information.
Treasure Hunt
Through June 2, 2002
The museum’s works on paper collection covers the
longest chronological period of any department in the museum. Treasure
Hunt showcases works on paper acquired during the last ten years and
reveals the quality and breadth of this important collection.
The exhibition includes Old Master prints, modern
European and American drawings, and pre-1945 photographs. “We’ve acquired a
tremendous amount in the last decade, and this exhibition is a chance to
show the highlights,” explains Linda Batis, Carnegie Museum of Art’s
associate curator of fine Arts.
In making acquisitions, says Batis, the museum seeks out
works that show how artists grappled with a particular challenge, such as
depicting dark tones or night subjects in prints. The museum also looks for works not yet
represented in the collection or that characterize a particular
school. “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 Tenth Annual
Antiques Show
April 19 – 21
The tenth anniversary of the annual Antiques Show,
sponsored by the Women’s Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art, will be a
rare opportunity to buy fine quality objects from around the country. “We always have 44 dealers,” explained
this year’s chair, Kitty Hillman.
“And it is very competitive.And it is very competitive. There are
more dealers who want to be included than we have space for.” This year’s show manager, Susie McMillan
of Wellesley, Massachusetts,
chose dealers that the committee knows firsthandfirsthand, or by
reputation. Two Pittsburgh
dealers, Michael Malley of East End Galleries and Mark Evers Antiques, will
be included.
The show often carries museum-quality antiques, so much
soand that decorative arts curator Sarah Nichols generally buys at least
one item for her department. "I'm delighted to be able to support the
Antiques Show, the Women's Committee, and the participating dealers by
actively looking for something that the museum can acquire for the
decorative arts collections,” she said.
“I have been very excited by the objects we've been able to purchase. They have all been interesting and
meaningful acquisitions."
The show’s preview party will be held April 18. Entrance to the show itself is $8 for
members, $10 for non-members. For
further information, call 412.622.3325.
Film and Video
March 7
– April 30
Mexico
– New Cinema
Mexico
has long been an important center for film production, highlighted in the
1950s by the astonishing works of the Spanish ex-patriot Luis Bunuel and in
more recent decades by the emergence of masters like Jaime Humberto
Hermosilla, Arturo Ripstein, and Maria Novaro. However, in the past three years there
has been an extraordinary explosion of Mexican films by talented new
directors. This series of eight
outstanding and sometimes “edgy” films highlights some of these recent
productions.
March 15 – April 21
Approaches to – National Cinemas
What does it mean to show a group of films from a
particular country? Highlighting two
new books from University of Pittsburgh
faculty – Marcia Landy, Italian Film,
and Sabine Hake, German National
Cinema – this series examines what it means to characterize a body of
films as a "national cinema."
The five films in this series will emphasize recent Italian and
German productions, with program notes and introductions by Professors
Landy and Hake.
Art Connection
Exhibition
March 16 through March 31
For 73 years instructional programs at Carnegie Museum
of Art have nurtured budding artists—and not only did Andy Warhol, Philip
Pearlstein, and Raymond Saunders deepen their understanding and passion for
art in classes at the Museum, they now have works in the permanent
collection.
This year, visitors can appreciate the creative output
of the current class of young artists in the Art Connection Exhibition, the Museum’s annual student art
exhibition, on view in the Hall of Sculpture from March 16 through March
31. Art Connection students receive studio training from local
artists and take part in special gallery talks, tours, and discussions
groups that expand their appreciation of the visual arts.
To kick off this year’s Art Connection Exhibition, the Museum
of Art will host a special
preview and reunion party on Friday, on March 15. To receive an invitation, former students
in the Art Connection or any of
its forerunners—Palettes, Tam O’Shanters, or Saturday Creative Art Classes—should send their name, address and email
to:
Darnell Warren, Carnegie Museum
of Art, 4400
Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080. warrend@carnegiemuseums.org
Summer Art Camps
Summer Art Camps for kids ages 4 to 13 spark young
artists’ imaginations as they learn try out a variety of media. Week-long, full- or half-day camps let
kids use cartooning or video animation to bring characters to life, explore
treasures of art and natural history with their sketchbooks, create
sculpture from found objects, or express themselves through printmaking,
diorama building, ceramics, dance, creative writing, or the many other
camps that focus on fun and creativity in the arts. Camps run June 24 through August 16. For information call 412.622.3288.
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