Pittsburgh in Photography

Being passionate about both Pittsburgh and photography, few months ago I decided to put them together, for a personal project. Having some time to explore the city and increase my technical skills, I also started to study quite seriously anything I could discover about my two subjects. 

The first useful tool in my double research was discovering an issue of Next Level (whose tagline is art/photography/ideas) about Pittsburgh. It is published in London and each number focuses on one city, from any part of the World, provided it is vibrant and creative enough. PGH can definitely check both.

That particular issue, edition #22, was also related to the Pittsburgh Photo Fair that occurred in May 2013. That event, together with the Next Level zine, were the first steps of my research on Pittsburgh in the world of photography. My research, actually, started getting more and more interesting as I kept discovering that, nowadays, there is too little photography about Pittsburgh. I mean: about the contemporary Pittsburgh. 

We have great shots by Charles Teenie Harries or by Eugene Smith (just to quote the biggest projects) and you can always find the photo you need, about the very old Pittsburgh, on the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections. That is a website which I love, but there is little about what's going on now, or recently, about WHAT IS REALLY PITTSBURGH, TODAY.  

screenshot of the website

Charles Humphrey, executive director of the Pittsburgh Filmmakers since 1992, is pretty clear about this, in the opening article on Next Level #22. He says that until 5 years ago there was no BFA in photography, in Pittsburgh and the region, and the one that is now offered at Point Park University is connected to the journalism department. Even the Carnegie Museum of Art didn't recruited a photo curator until 2009 and in the history of the city, the most prolific photographers were coming from outside the region. They were focusing, in particular, on documenting Pittsburgh's Renaissance I project (1946-1973). 

According to him, even the most popular photographers currently active, who come from the Pittsburgh area, are mainly working (and being collected) elsewhere. Charlie thinks that Pittsburghers sometimes fail to recognize what they have.

With these intro to my study, I started looking for books about Pittsburgh, starting from the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Library. In my first session, I found these Photography books:

• Pittsburgh. Photos by Lynn Johnson - Spradlin Patrick 1987

• Pittsburgh then and now - A. G. Smith - University of Pittsburgh Press 1990

• Pittsburgh revealed: photos since 1850 - Carnegie Museum of Art 1997

• Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith Pittsburgh Project - 2001

• The Steps of Pittsburgh; a portrait of a city - Bob Regan - 2004

• Lost in Pittsburgh, a journey in Pittsburgh subculture - ZSUZSI MATOLCSY - 2011

Other great books I found are:

• Pittsburgh: a new portrait - Franklin Toker 2009

• Pittsburgh's Bridges - Walter C. Kidney - PHLF 1999

An then there is the world of books sport-related (Steelers and Penguins) with other travel guides dedicated to the city.

I also found this book of paintings by Ron Donogue: Essence of Pittsburgh. His paintings are always done en plen air, with great attention for the light and the composition. There is definitely a photographic approach to the subject, and despite it cannot be done in a "click", Ron wrote that he tries to capture the specific light of a place in a certain time/moment. 

That is the real Pittsburgh, to me, captured with a lot of details but too little people. 

In my photographic research, I also want to include the Pittsburgh Post Gazette section dedicated to the photos from the city (but not only) which can be seen here.

What I would like to see, in terms of photos, is the people, because I really think that the best of Pittsburgh is the Pittsburghers. Here you can find an example of what I mean: Vanessa German project "Love the front porch" based in the neighborhood of Homewood. This is what I want to see (and share) about Pittsburgh NOW.

Here you can find great skylines from Pittsburgh, by Matt Robinson, while here the GigaPan of Pittsburgh from the UPMC Tower. I also like Dave DiCello work, with HDR stunning photos of the 'Burgh. 

giga panorama

Dave DiCello photo

Still, I think that there is something missing. I am trying to research more about Pittsburgh in photography. All the previous examples are great but pretty specific and, to my opinion, too sectorial. Pittsburgh is wonderful because of everything-put-together. 

Considering the previous examples, I would like to see a mash-up of "people and youth, climbing the steps of the city, reaching the bridges and crossing them, with a crazy view of the rivers and of the hills, playing sport", for example. I know this sounds too much, but that is actually the Pittsburgh experience.

I would like to end this article talking about the Carnegie Museum of Art that has started to go social, let's say, with great projects that call the public to participate. I loved the "Oh Snap!" project, to celebrate some photos recently acquired by the Museum. People where invited to submit their best shots inspired by the new acquisitions. The categories were very different and there was plenty of choice to pick your favorite. 

At the Carnegie Museums they are doing great things not only for the upcoming Carnegie International 2013, but in general, to involve more people from any social background, any age, any field. It is Pittsburgh called to art, and Pittsburgh really loves art - as the Gallery Crawls in Downtown clearly show, together with the Unblurred events in Garfield/Bloomfield/Friendship. 

I will keep searching for more photos and projects. If you think I forgot something, do not hesitate in letting me know, by writing me your suggestion at beaspoli@gmail.com.

I just want to learn more and more, to share it back to all of you. 

My Pechakucha Night! vol.13

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and present my work at the Pechakucha Night organized by the AIA in the Cultural Trust Educational Center.

Pechakucha Night is a nice event that allows people to present whatever they want but using only 20 slides, and having 20 seconds to explain each slides. It started in japan, but soon became a popular format and a lot of cities all over the world are organizing that. I saw the 12th edition in June, in PGH, and manage to submit my slides for the 13th. It was great fun for me and for the audience, I can assure.

I talked about the Italian designer Bruno Munari, a master of creativity, and of his book "Fantasia", edited by "Laterza", but only in Italian. 

If you are willing to discover more about him, you can start reading "Design as Art", another masterpiece by him, edited by Penguin.

I spoked about the big distinction between the faculties we use while creating: FANTASY, CREATIVITY, INVENTION AND IMAGINATION.

The book gives you hints on how to use them (and when!) in the correct way. this lead to saving time and have more fun, for sure.

I'm going to talk about Bruno Munari, an Italian designer born in Milan in 1907 and died there in 1998. I'll first present his philosophy and then the book Fantasia, about how to manage fantasy and creativity. In this image, for example, he is showing creative ways to use an uncomfortable armchair. 

Mr Munari designed products for big Italian companies such as Olivetti or Danese furniture. He was also an artist. In 1954 he won the compasso d'oro, the most important design award in Italy, for one of the first polyurethane foam toys, the monkey Zizi standing on his shoulder.  

He also wrote a number of books about the design process and art. He was able to face problems of production and communication. Here you see one of his most fun and famous books, speak italian, a kind of appendix to the italian vocabulary, explaining our way to wave like crazy, while talking.

 

He approached the world from a diffrent perspective, totally unconventional. He analyzed the smallest components of a concept, and then synthetized those to create something new, starting from everyday issues and challenges. Here you see the X-hour clock, for the momentous times of the day.

His first concern was very practical. He always worked between factory ownners and machineries. He was able to understand them and to use them in a unique way, making the difference even when it seemed technically impossible, for the mass production technologies repeting the same actions.

He was more focused on create values, than temporary trends. The way to do this, according to him, was mainly through fun. In this case you see one of his most famous pieces, the chair for short visits, to be offered to people you cannot stand. For the 45degrees inclination of the seat, you cannot really sit there for that long, so you are obliged to leave quickly.

Mr munari's process dealt with tools and concepts. He was the first that, when the Xerox copier were sold, found a way to contraddict the main feature, that is obtaining identical copies. By playing with the original, he could obtain other originals from a copy machine. 

His sane obsession for the machines and his passion for contraddiction brought him to play with concepts and language. From the fifties he started producing "unuseful machines", a contraddiction even in the title, because the machines are supposed to be useful for their own nature. He did that before Calder, but he used meinly light materials and paper.

Mr Munari was a very practical man. This bed, called "abitacolo" (that means "capsule") weights 100 pounds and has been tested with 20 kids playing. It saves space and stimulates kid's creativity, being customizable. This bed has been included in the Moma collection. It stimulates creativity in the kids, having movable shelves and pockets. 

 Mr Munari wanted to share his knowledge, in particular with kids. He's aim was first to teach the people how to see the world in a different way. then how to reproduce it and finally how to create new pieces. He wasn't that interested in extraordinary things, but in the beautiful ordinary, much more durable and less expensive. 

 Fantasia that means Fantasy. this book teaches how to deal with creativity, moving from simple rules that, once consolidated in your mind,  can lead to incredible results, when you mix them. This book is fundamental for everyone has a lot of creativity but need a way to quickly go strict to the point and producing powerful solutions.

 Let's start with meaningful definitions and distinctions: fantasy is everything that wasn't existing before, even if unfeasable. You can freely use fantasy with no limits. It is the most easy to use, but can lead to a big loss of time in you don't quickly shift to the other faculties.

Is everything that wasn't existing before, but it's a technical issue. You don't have to think about aestethics at this very step. It's all about technique and how to create something from materials, tools and machinery. You must know the tools and how they interact with the materials. Then it's all about process and.. money, of course.

Is everything that wasn't existing but it is feasable in a global way, also from a technical point of view. It use fantasy but with a final aim. Creativity is the one used in the design process, mainly.

This faculty is very important and everyone should "train" to keep it flexible and always ready to be used. The book gives you ideas about how to increase it.

While fantasy, invention and creativity require you to think, imagination is only asking to see. You can visualize whatever you want, without necessarily think about how to obtain that. When you have to find an idea, it is important to use the correct faculty, to save time.

In the book he talks about materials, colors, dimensions, multiplication of pieces, subtractions or sum of parts... he presents common features that is always possible to mix, twist and interpret in a number of ways. All the best ideas start from simple themes remixed to obtain something new.

 These are examples Of his creativity. A part from the female brush, my favourite, i also love the collection of "flowers in the salad" that became also a book. Playing with vegetables and fruit he created stamps for children. These are all ideas you can recycle in a rainy day with your kids.

Start simple and then go on. we are surrounded by extraordinary objects, some of theme even unuseful, and just very appealing. But You can find cool ideas starting from nothing. In this case he thought of a problem, just for fun, such as how to send a message in the bottle and then add a post scriptum, once you close it.

The book gives a lot of hints on how to stimulate creativity. Munari presents workshops he did for kids with creative games. Munari's workshop can be very useful also for adults. If you have no time to manage your fantasy, this book can definitely change your life.

I leave you with a bunch of contacts. I'm not earning a euro, from this, I just want to share with you a piece of the best Italy. 

There is this book fantasia, only in italian, but also design as art, in english. At the Estorick Collection, in london, there is now a solo exhibit on him. I really hope you had fun, and wish you to have a lot of good and winning ideas, as Mr Munari had!

(Special thanks to ©Kevin Kunak, for the picture!)

Now Reading

http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Appalachia-Pittsburgh-Twenty-first-Century/dp/088748509X

Architect's Digest

In praise of Shadows, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki (1933)
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows]
Probably one of the best book I've ever read, that made me really think about the differences between the East and the West. Once you read this, you really star paying mora and more attention to what surrounds you. And not only concerning Japan. This book really refines your cognizance of the World.


The system of objects, Jean Baudrillard (1968)
[http://books.google.it/books?id=0T3-3Ce5VocC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&dq=system+of+objects&source=bl&ots=8JmKzfrzvo&sig=TneNTYlIFQyOCJHM1URIt7L7S5w&hl=it&ei=HTS1TfymD4XOswbk683mCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false]

Symbolic exchange and death, Jean Baudrillard (1976)
[http://www.egs.edu/faculty/jean-baudrillard/articles/symbolic-exchange-and-death-excerpts/]

The Transparency of Evil, Jean Baudrillard (1990)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/15/jean-baudrillard-transparency-of-evil

Baudrillard has been the equivalent of Freud in the (psycho)analysis, but transposed into everything could be thought, thaught and produced.
After reading Jean (and of course that's not an easy affair) nor going to the supermarket, nor going to the cinema or have a look on a review will be the same as in the past. Are you ready to discover a delirious point of view for Life?
All these books will upgrade your awareness about "reality".

Empire of signs, Roland Barthes (1970)
[http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/09/14/reviews/1419.html]

America, Jean Baudrillard (1988)
http://books.google.it/books?id=73CCg_I_rKsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jean+baudrillard,+america&hl=it&ei=QY-JTrCgHc-f-wbT49Q0&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false



Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas (1978)
http://books.google.it/books?id=-PxluDQUcFkC&q=rem+koolhaas,+delirious+new+york&dq=rem+koolhaas,+delirious+new+york&hl=it&ei=no-JTtuzMcqN-wbgqd0b&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ



Architecture of happyness ( )
http://books.google.it/books?id=Go0GpAWTkMkC&dq=architecture+of+happyness&hl=it&ei=yI-JTr2KJsic-wb91ZE2&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA



Artista e Designer, Bruno Munari ( )




On photography, Susan Sontag (1977)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Photography



Lezioni di fotografia, Luigi Ghirri






(to be continued)

Un buon libro sul comò