Out of this Furnace
2008
An evening celebrating arts and culture in the industrial community of Braddock, Pennsylvania, will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2008. The evening will present three special events, including the first screening of the Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International film series; the launch of Unsmoke Systems, Braddock’s new arts and cultural venue, with Out of This Furnace, an exhibition featuring 16 Pittsburgh-based artists; and an afterparty featuring DJs, live performances and open bar. Organized in collaboration with Carnegie Museum of Art and the Mayor’s Office of Braddock, the evening is free and open to the public.
The evening begins with a screening of Life on Mars artist Wilhelm Sasnal’s short films in Braddock Carnegie Library’s historic Music Hall from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. This event marks the first in the Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International film series.
Out of This Furnace, opening to the public in the newly renovated Unsmoke Systems building from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., takes its title from the book of the same name by Thomas Bell that narrates the history—through the stories of four generations of immigrants—of this former industrial town, which collapsed along with the steel industry in the early 1980s. The exhibition, like the space, celebrates the revitalization of the town through arts and culture. Heather Pesanti, assistant curator of contemporary art at Carnegie Museum of Art and organizer of the exhibition, asked Out of This Furnace artists to create work in reaction to Braddock’s history.
“The theme of this first exhibition really just chose itself. To my mind, it couldn’t be anything else but responding to the powerful, gritty, and historically rich site,” says Pesanti. “I fear the Braddock ghosts would return to haunt the space forever if we hadn’t honored them.”
Participating artists are:
Stephanie Armbruster
Bianca Butti
Dallah Cesen
Thommy Conroy & James Maszle
Kerry Gaydos
Christopher Kardambikis
Merissa Lombardo
Anton Miriello
David Montano
Danny Paracat
Carley Jean Parrish
Ed Parrish Jr.
Ally Reeves
Josh Tonies
Mary Tremonte
The exhibition is followed by an afterparty, featuring top Pittsburgh-based DJs and other performers, plus refreshments and open bar, from 10:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.
Unsmoke Systems is located at 1137 Braddock Avenue. The building, previously an abandoned Catholic schoolhouse located across from the Edgar S. Thompson steel mill, is a short walk from the Braddock Carnegie Library, location of the Sasnal film screening.
Out of This Furnace will be on view by appointment through August 2, 2008. Requests for scheduling visits should be directed to Jeb Feldman at braddockmayor@gmail.com.
Mayor John Fetterman, assisted by Deputy Mayor Jeb Feldman since 2006, has been vigorously engaged since 2001 in reviving Braddock through attracting artists, art, and culture to the region. Pesanti, who came to Pittsburgh in 2005 to work on the 2008 Carnegie International with Douglas Fogle, Carnegie Museum of Art’s curator of contemporary art and curator of the International, has been actively involved with Pittsburgh’s art community. She has visited scores of artist studios during her time here and organized several exhibitions, including Forum 58: Jonathan Borofsky—Human Structures and Forum 60: Rivane Neuenschwander, both at Carnegie Museum of Art, and the most recent Gestures show at the Mattress Factory, Illustrations of Catastrophe and Remote Times.
Images of Unsmoke Systems are available by contacting the communications office at 412.622.8690 or stitelert@carnegiemuseums.org
Support:
This project is supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund. Additional in-kind support has been provided by the Mattress Factory and Penn Brewery. Media sponsorship provided by WYEP and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Afterparty promotions by Nakturnal, a female-owned events, marketing, and promotions agency based in Pittsburgh.
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museum of Art, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site at www.cmoa.org.
IMAGE: taken from www.pittsburghgrapevine.com
The evening begins with a screening of Life on Mars artist Wilhelm Sasnal’s short films in Braddock Carnegie Library’s historic Music Hall from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. This event marks the first in the Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International film series.
Out of This Furnace, opening to the public in the newly renovated Unsmoke Systems building from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., takes its title from the book of the same name by Thomas Bell that narrates the history—through the stories of four generations of immigrants—of this former industrial town, which collapsed along with the steel industry in the early 1980s. The exhibition, like the space, celebrates the revitalization of the town through arts and culture. Heather Pesanti, assistant curator of contemporary art at Carnegie Museum of Art and organizer of the exhibition, asked Out of This Furnace artists to create work in reaction to Braddock’s history.
“The theme of this first exhibition really just chose itself. To my mind, it couldn’t be anything else but responding to the powerful, gritty, and historically rich site,” says Pesanti. “I fear the Braddock ghosts would return to haunt the space forever if we hadn’t honored them.”
Participating artists are:
Stephanie Armbruster
Bianca Butti
Dallah Cesen
Thommy Conroy & James Maszle
Kerry Gaydos
Christopher Kardambikis
Merissa Lombardo
Anton Miriello
David Montano
Danny Paracat
Carley Jean Parrish
Ed Parrish Jr.
Ally Reeves
Josh Tonies
Mary Tremonte
The exhibition is followed by an afterparty, featuring top Pittsburgh-based DJs and other performers, plus refreshments and open bar, from 10:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.
Unsmoke Systems is located at 1137 Braddock Avenue. The building, previously an abandoned Catholic schoolhouse located across from the Edgar S. Thompson steel mill, is a short walk from the Braddock Carnegie Library, location of the Sasnal film screening.
Out of This Furnace will be on view by appointment through August 2, 2008. Requests for scheduling visits should be directed to Jeb Feldman at braddockmayor@gmail.com.
Mayor John Fetterman, assisted by Deputy Mayor Jeb Feldman since 2006, has been vigorously engaged since 2001 in reviving Braddock through attracting artists, art, and culture to the region. Pesanti, who came to Pittsburgh in 2005 to work on the 2008 Carnegie International with Douglas Fogle, Carnegie Museum of Art’s curator of contemporary art and curator of the International, has been actively involved with Pittsburgh’s art community. She has visited scores of artist studios during her time here and organized several exhibitions, including Forum 58: Jonathan Borofsky—Human Structures and Forum 60: Rivane Neuenschwander, both at Carnegie Museum of Art, and the most recent Gestures show at the Mattress Factory, Illustrations of Catastrophe and Remote Times.
Images of Unsmoke Systems are available by contacting the communications office at 412.622.8690 or stitelert@carnegiemuseums.org
Support:
This project is supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund. Additional in-kind support has been provided by the Mattress Factory and Penn Brewery. Media sponsorship provided by WYEP and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Afterparty promotions by Nakturnal, a female-owned events, marketing, and promotions agency based in Pittsburgh.
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museum of Art, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site at www.cmoa.org.
IMAGE: taken from www.pittsburghgrapevine.com
