Pittsburgh, PA

The Carnegie Museum presents a new exhibit, “Life on Mars,” which asks some difficult questions, while remaining a thoughtful and entertaining discussion. The exhibit debuted May 3rd and will run until January 11th, 2009. Here is some information on the exhibit straight from the blog the exhibit has been maintaining:

Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International, explores the important, yet continually perplexing, question of what it means to be human in the world today. Each artist brings a unique outlook to the question of humanity’s response to a world in which global events challenge and seem to threaten our everyday existence. Included in the exhibition will be some 200 works in diverse media, from painting, sculpture, and drawing to animation, film, installation, and performance.

“For the first time in 112 years the exhibition has a title other than Carnegie International,” said Fogle. “Life on Mars is very much a poetic gesture in terms of thinking about our place in the universe as humans. Are we alone in the universe? Do aliens exist? Or are we, ourselves, the strangers in our own worlds? To me contemporary art is as much about coming to terms with our own world as it is about creating a set of worlds parallel to those that we walk in everyday. The thematic premise behind the show has to do with the idea of the intimate moments in our daily life that we miss by walking through our worlds and not seeing what is right in front of us. It also has to do with the more infinite sense of being part of the larger universe and finding ourselves on the inside and looking out. All of the artists participating in the 2008 Carnegie International have been chosen because their work conveys this sensibility.”

The exhibit features the work of 40 artists representing 17 countries all with their own interpretation of the world we live in today.

The Carnegie Museum is located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in Oakland.

Visit the exhibit’s website to learn more about times, ticket prices and artists involved in the show.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends and enjoyed some of the events I posted last week.

Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum, Life on Mars, art, global, awareness, Oakland

Phipps Conservatory’s May Market is this weekend!

Shop for various garden plants and gardening tools, as well special green items, like eco-pots made from recycled grain husks. There will also be local experts on hand to answer all of your gardening questions and a special presentation by nationally syndicated gardening expert, Joe Lamp’l. If you are interested in listening to Lamp’l speak, you should rsvp for the talk by calling 412-441-4442 x 3803. There is no charge for the presentation or any other event taking place at the May Market.

The event takes place all weekend at Phipps Garden Center:

May 16th: 10am-7pm with local experts Q and A from noon-4pm
May 17th: 10am-7pm with Joe Lamp’l from 10:30-11:30 am and special presentation at 12:30
May 18th: 10am-5pm

Phipps Garden Center is located at 1059 Shady Avenue in Oakland. For more information, visit their website here.

Also going on this weekend is the 52nd annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival!

Join in on a multi-cultural celebration this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. There will be more than 30 nationalities represented in the form of ethnic entertainment, food, shopping and more.

Festival hours are as follows:
Friday: 4pm-10pm
Saturday: 12-10pm
Sunday: 12-6pm

Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults (13 and over), children (4-12) and free for children under 4. Tickets purchased at the door cost an extra $2 for adults only.

Check out the Folk Festival’s website for more info on performance times, parking and contact information.

And if you can still find the time, don’t forget to check out my previous post listing Saturday’s local events.

Pittsburgh, Phipps Garden Center, May Market, gardening, Folk Festival, David L. Lawrence Convention Center

For those of you not local to or frequent visitors of Oakland, now is your chance to further explore this great little area of Pittsburgh.

This Saturday come out to experience A Taste of Oakland; for only $5 you can tour more than 20 businesses, as well as sample local food and refreshments.

Participating restaurants include Dave and Andy’s, Hemingway’s, Mad Mex, Spice Cafe, Starbucks and more! There is also free parking at the UPMC lot on Meyran, free entry into the Carnegie Museum and free carousel rides in Schenley Plaza. You can also receive $5 off any performance of Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre’s production of an Ideal Husband or Wilde Tales.

The event takes place from 12-3pm Saturday and tickets can be purchased that day at Eureka Bank at 3455 Forbes and the Public Parklet at the corner of Forbes and S. Bouquet.

For more information, visit Only in Oakland’s website here.

Also on Saturday is the Good vs. Evil photography show at the Creative Treehouse.

The photography show will feature the work of local photographers each depicting one end of the broad spectrum of good and evil representations. There will photos for sale, as well as food and entertainment all for $5. The show is 18+ due to subject matter and will be hosted at the Creative Treehouse in Bellevue.

For more information on the photography show, please visit the Treehouse’s website here.

And if you can still find the time, don’t forget to check out the Silk Screen Film Festival. Details can be viewed in my previous post here.

Pittsburgh, Oakland, Carnegie Museum, Bellevue, Creative Treehouse, photography, music

The Silk Screen Film Festival is back in Pittsburgh from May 9th through the 18th. The festival showcases the cinematic achievements of filmmakers from all over the world, exploring the depths of the Asian-American experience.

The films will be shown at the Harris Theater, Melwood Screening Room, Regent Square Theater and at the Warhol. A complete film schedule can be found here, but I’d like to highlight a couple I think would be interesting.

Getting Home: Based on a true story. In Zhang Yang’s quasi-philosophical road comedy, working-class stiff Zhao (the famous Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan) is shocked when his drinking buddy and co-worker drops dead during a routine night out. Zhoa owes it to his long-time friend to transport his corpse to its final resting place. Director Zhang Yang also made the critically acclaimed Shower.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon: In her first feature film, director Joy Deitrich paints a nuanced portrait of a female Korean adoptee who must confront her damaged past. Estranged from her family due to a childhood indiscretion with her white brother, Jenny Mason seeks to regain a sense of home by exploring ties with the Asian Americans she meets in her new apartment building, until suddenly, her brother shows up at the door, stirring up long lost feelings that she has tried to bury.

Ploy: Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s psychological drama wherein three strangers are locked inside one hotel room. It starts with subtle suspicions and builds up to jealousy, as the appearance of a young woman triggers devastating consequences for a married couple.

In addition to providing thoughtful and memorable films to the Pittsburgh region, Silk Screen also has these goals in mind:

* Educate communities – Asian American and mainstream, local and national - about Asian and Asian American history, culture, experiences and issues;
* Bring Asian cultural education experiences to area schools and universities;
* Support ongoing development of Asian and Asian American independent cinema;
* Foster understanding across lines of race, ethnicity, religion, age, and region by bringing together the various Asian communities and the population at large within the Pittsburgh region;
* Sustain growth and encourage excellence in Asian American culture and Pittsburgh’s place within it. As the Festival grows, to become a full celebration of Asian heritage, build a more dynamic and multicultural community, and make Silk Screen a traveling event across the Commonwealth.

Neat!

For more information on showtimes, ticket prices, etc visit Silk Screen’s website here.

Don’t forget to visit Zombo Gallery this weekend to check out Ian Green’s exhibition!

Pittsburgh, Silk Screen, Asian American, film, festival

COMPANY MAN: TAKASHI MURAKAMI AND THE ART OF ‘BUSINESS ART’

Wednesday, April 23 at 6-7:30pm in Kresge Hall (CFA), Carnegie Mellon University.

THE ART OF BUSINESS/BUSINESS AS ART:
A DISCUSSION ON BUSINESS AND ART WITH SCOTT ROTHKOPF, SENIOR EDITOR OF ARTFORUM

Delegation, agency, team production, monitoring, group entrepreneurship‹all these terms inform the division of labor in contemporary artistic production. The business of art is conducted much like any other commercial venture in which something is bought, sold, or traded, and yet a work of art is not a commodity in the ordinary sense. Its value can fluctuate radically in an instant, depending on the influence of collectors, dealers, curators, critics, or connoisseurs. What kinds of negotiations must an artist make in order to retain a critical and creative edge within a competitive art market? How have contemporary artists used “the market” as both a medium of art, as well as a place of profit and gain? Is there a difference between consumerist luxury items and the “products” that artists like Murakami (in particular, his Louis Vuitton purse replicas) and Maywa Denki (their Japanese high-end robotic toys) produce? What is the line between entrepreneurial innovation and artistic invention?

“Business art is the step that comes after Art,” Andy Warhol famously opined in 1975. Yet despite the recent explosion of the international art market and the crossover superstardom of figures such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, perhaps only one artist has truly taken Warhol at his word: Takashi Murakami. This lecture will explore Murakami’s far-flung “business art” endeavors and their relationship to his painting and sculpture, within the context of precedents including Dalí, Warhol, and Haring. A household name in his native Japan, Murakami (b. 1963) first gained international celebrity in 2002 with his series of Louis Vuitton handbags, which grossed more than three-hundred million dollars in their first year of sales alone.

Although this corporate collaboration may be his most well-known foray into the world of commerce, it is but one point in a constellation of activities that dwarfs his gallery-bound paintings and sculpture in administrative scope and market reach. In addition to churning out finely crafted artworks coveted by collectors, he is busy producing related mass-market merchandise; running his own art fair; managing the careers of young Japanese artists; planning group exhibitions; hosting a radio show; and pursuing commercial “collaborations” in the form of advertising and branding projects with the likes of rapper Kanye West all under the auspices of his own multinational corporation, Kaikai Kiki, Co., Ltd., a “business art” venture unlike any before it. Indeed, if Warhol provided the model, Murakami has broken the mold.

Scott Rothkopf is a senior editor of Artforum, as well as an art historian and critic. He has been a guest curator at Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum, where he most recently co-organized “This Is Not a Time for Dreaming” (2004), a site-specific installation and film by the French artist Pierre Huyghe made in response to Le Corbusier’s only North American building, the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. At the Fogg, he was also curator and catalogue author for the exhibition “Mel Bochner Photographs 1966¬1969″ (2002), which traveled to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. As a frequent contributor to Artforum, Rothkopf has written on major exhibitions, including the Venice and Whitney biennials, and on artists such as Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Sol LeWitt, Diller+Scofidio, Carroll Dunham, Josiah McElheny, T. J. Willcox, and Karen Kilimnik, who was the subject of his 2007 book, Period Eye: Karen Kilimnik’s Fancy Pictures, co-authored with Meredith Martin. His other museum and gallery catalogue contributions include monographic essays on Wade Guyton, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Kelley Walker, and Terry Winters, as well as text on Takashi Murakami for his current traveling retrospective, organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, The School of Art, and the New Minor in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development.

For more information, contact Melissa Ragona, Assistant Professor of Art, School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University at mragona@andrew.cmu.edu.
Tel: (412) 779-9257

To read about other art events sponsored by Carnegie Mellon, check out my previous post here.

Pittsburgh, Takashi Murakami, Carnegie Mellon University, art, designer purses, commercial art

I have to apologize for not posting the film schedule earlier, but better late than never right?

The Jewish-Israeli Film Festival is back in Pittsburgh for its 15th year and is sure to capture the viewing attention of its audience as always. The festival is already in its second week of showing films, but I’d still like to present the film schedule below, as well as ways to buy tickets, showtimes, etc.

There is still time to see:

The First Basket @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 7pm on Tuesday
She’s Got It @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 7:30pm on Tuesday
Arranged @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 7pm on Wednesday

Two young women - an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim - meet and become friends as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. They soon learn that, despite their religious differences, they have much in common, not the least of which is that they are both going through arranged marriages.

Nina’s Home @ Westmoreland Mall (Greensburg) at 7pm on Thursday
Sixty Six @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 7:30pm on Thursday
The Band’s Visit @ Regent Square Theater at 9pm on Saturday
Nina’s Home @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 1pm on Sunday
Samuel Rosenberg: Pittsburgh’s Painter Laureate @ SouthSide Works Cinema at 4pm on Sunday
The Hope: Rick Recht Film and Concert @ Melwood Screening Room at 7pm on Sunday

I highly suggest you check out the Film Festival’s website to read about each film and see which one or ones you’d like to see.

Tickets may be purchased online up to a day before the screening at the UJF’s website here, except on weekends. Keep in mind that ticket orders are not processed on Saturday or Sundays, so plan accordingly. Tickets can also be purchased at each venue up to 30 minutes prior to the screening and are cash-only. Call ahead to 412-992-5203 to make sure your screening isn’t sold out already.

Ticket prices on opening nights are $35, cash only at the door, otherwise they are $8 for general admission, $7 ages 65 and over, $6 for groups of 12+ purchased in advance and $5 for students.

For more information on the Film Festival and Jewish culture, visit the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh’s website here.

The above picture credit is from the movie Love Dance.

Don’t forget to check out “Hips, Rum and Rock and Roll” this Saturday at Zombo Gallery! Check out yesterday’s post here for more info.

Pittsburgh, Jewish-Israeli Film Festival, UJF, films, Melwood Screening Room, Regents Square Theater, SouthSide Works Cinema

So by some strange sort of coincidence, it was St. Patrick’s Day Monday, it’s going to be the first day of Spring tomorrow and of course Easter is Sunday. Wow, what a festive week this time of year!

I especially like that it’s going to be Spring soon and with all the rain, it sure feels like it. So to celebrate this time of year, I suggest going to see the Spring Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory!

Here’s all the info you’ll need, straight from Phipp’s:

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is proud to announce the return of its glorious flower shows! The Spring Flower Show opens Saturday, March 15, 2008, featuring the bright, vibrant blooms and creative design that make Phipps a leader in horticultural display, and a great place to escape the lingering Pittsburgh winter.

This year’s show is traditional and elegant, and visitors will see the Conservatory transformed into a showcase of color and containers. Featuring garden adornments such as pedestals, urns, fountains and statuary, the Spring Flower Show promises to be an eye-catching event. Visitors can stroll through Phipps’ lush rooms and experience the majesty of the Spring Flower Show as the flowers make a triumphant comeback.

Visitors will delight in spring flower favorites, such as lily-flowering tulips, snapdragons, cineraria, hydrangea, cyclamen, delphinium and more. Other special features include a fountain in the Palm Court, cascading waterfalls, a chess board of snappy color combinations, stunning Greek-inspired columns and planters, as well as visitor favorites, like large hanging baskets full of color and the interactive fountain in the Victoria Room.

The Spring Flower Show opens Saturday, March 15 and runs through Sunday, April 13, 2008. Timed-ticketing is no longer required, but visitors may purchase advance passes on Phipps’ website here.

Phipp’s is located at 1 Schenley Park and is open daily from 9:30am-5pm M-F and until 10pm on Fridays. Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for students/senior citizens and $7 for children ages 2-18.

Don’t forget to visit the Wee Beasties exhibit at Zombo Gallery as well!

Pittsburgh, Oakland, Phipp’s Conservatory, spring flowers, spring

The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts is holding it’s 42nd annual conference here in Pittsburgh, starting March 19th and ending March 22nd. The conference is titled “CONFLUENCE: Innovation, Community, Environment” and will feature demonstrations, exhibits, lectures and more at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown.

For more information on the exhibitions and presentations, visit the NCECa’s website here.

In addition to the events going on at the Convention Center, there are many other exhibits going on in the city of Pittsburgh that also celebrate the art of ceramics.

Here are just a few courtesy of the Pittsburgh Galleries blog:

McGuinn Gallery, Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, 412-454-6352.
Out of Madness – Seven Potters Follow Ohr, Georgette Ore, Bart Fetz, Megan Quinn, John Britt, Tony Merino, Lisa Orr, Susan Filley. Features the work of seven potters whose work has been directly influenced by a condition of Mad-Pottery started by Ohr. Organized by Bart Fetz. Mar 19-May 18. Wed 9:00a.m.-6:00p.m., all other days 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Reception Mar 19, 4:30-6:00p.m.

Main gallery of the Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Avenue, 412-622-8830.
Hanging by a Thread, Alison Carter, Joshua Green, John Hasegawa, Philip Haralam, Eric Kao, Jean Keil, Lily Liu, Susan Ting, Yoko Sekino-Bove, May Wong. This invitational group exhibition is to increase the public awareness of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in Pittsburgh during March of 2008 and to invite the people of Pittsburgh to experience the current trends and diversity in contemporary ceramic arts. All the ceramic work will be displayed on the wall. Organized by Yoko Sekino-Bové. Mar 1-31. Wed-Thu 10:00a.m.-8:00p.m., Fri-Sat 10:00a.m.-5:30p.m. Reception Mar 21, 6:00-8:00p.m.

Fe Gallery, 4102 Butler Street, 412-860-6028.
From the Ground Up, Debbie Quick, HyunKyung Yoon, Akiko Jackson and others. Curated by Jill Larson. Several artists who take a progressive approach to a traditional medium- clay. Feb 22-Apr 18. Daily 12:00-4:00p.m.

Modern Formations Gallery and Performance Space, 4919 Penn Avenue, 412-362-0274.
Americana Refigured, Pavel Amromin, Renee Audette, Thaddeus Erdahl, Magdalene Gluszek, Tammy Marinuzzi, Beau Raymond, Matt Shaffer, Michael Schmidt. Ceramic figurative show focusing on contemporary ideals and what it means to live in todays American society. Organized by Beau Raymond. Mar 7-28. Wed-Sat 9:00a.m.-7:00p.m. and by appointment. Reception Mar 20, 7:00-9:00p.m.

I strongly suggest you check out the rest of the events going on around the city these next couple of weeks. For a good listing of events, make sure you visit the Pittsburgh Galleries blog here where events are categorized by neighborhood.

In the meantime, don’t forget about the two calls for artists/photographers that were posted here earlier this week.

Pittsburgh, NCECA, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown, Oakland, East End, Lawrenceville, art, ceramics, clay, Pittsburgh Galleries

I Made It! is having its first evening affair this Friday called the I Made It Fashionable, which will be a combo of a fashion and craft show, as well as featuring local dance and music acts. Sounds like a good time!

The event is being held at the Brew House in the South Side, which if you went to the craft show the last time it was there, you’ll know where you’re headed. If not, it’s on Mary Street by 21st Street. Doors open at 7:30 with the fashion show starting at 8pm. Following the fashion show will be performances by Jazzercize Troop Radical Pittsburgh and DJ J. Malls of The Big Throw Back.

The show is being sponsored by Sugar Boutique, Jet Boy Jet Girl, Jupe Boutique, Philip Pelusi in the South Hills, Penn Brewery, the music and dance acts and the Brew House Association.

Admission is $5 and you must be 21 to drink. I always find really neat stuff at their craft show, so I definitely plan on going!

For more information on I Made It! visit their Myspace or the Brew House’s site here.

Also going on this weekend is David Hare’s Vertical hour at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Now I’m not just promoting this play, because I graduated from Point Park but because it looks really interesting.

Here’s the summary straight from the REP’s website:

Hot off its successful international Broadway debut, The Vertical Hour is Hare’s contemporary story drawn right from today’s headlines. An impassioned debate between a former American female war correspondent turned Yale professor and her boyfriend’s British father ensues over the American management (or mismanagement) of the Iraq War and international relations. Funny, poignant, and at times disturbing, the encounter takes an unanticipated turn as the discussion ignites a dangerous attraction between the two, revealing the stark revelation that each is in flight from their own lives.

Showtimes are 8pm Thursday-Saturday, as well as a 2pm showing on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets run between $24-27, with a discount given to Point Park students, which I strongly suggest taking advantage of!

To buy tickets and for more information, visit the Pittsburgh Playhouse’s website here.

And here’s one last reminder that the Chihuly exhibit closes this Saturday so catch it while you can!

Pittsburgh, I Made It Fashionable, Brew House, craft show, fashion, Vertical Hour, Pittsburgh Playhouse, play, war

Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 1964 Oslo, Norway.

I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when twenty-two million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award in behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice.

I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeing to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation.

I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time — the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.

If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama, to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are travelling to find a new sense of dignity.

This same road has opened for all Americans a new ear of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a superhighway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create alliances to overcome their common problems.

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him.

I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.

I believe that even amid today’s motor bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land.

“And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.”

I still believe that we shall overcome.

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.

Every time I take a flight I am always mindful of the man people who make a successful journey possible — the known pilots and the unknown ground crew.

So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who have sat at the controls as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You honor, once again, Chief (Albert) Luthuli of South Africa, whose struggles with and for his people, are still met with the most brutal expression of man’s inhumanity to man.

You honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could never have left the earth.

Most of these people will never make the headlines and their names will not appear in Who’s Who. Yet when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvelous age in which we live — men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization — because these humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake.

I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners — all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty — and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

For photos of this event and to read other speeches, follow the link here.

Even though I don’t have work off today, I know many of you do, so please check out Carnegie Mellon University’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The schedule is as follows:

12:30-4:30 p.m.: Ongoing Exhibits and Activities; Artwork by fourth-grade students at Linden Academy will be on display in the University Center Art Gallery. Documentary films will play in the first and second floor lobby areas of the University Center, and Martin Luther King Jr. books will be available at the University Store and on the first floor of Hunt Library.

12:30-4:30 p.m.: Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Projects, McKenna Peter Wright Room

1:30-2:30 p.m.: Martin Luther King Jr. Writing Awards Presentation and Readings, Rangos Hall; Local high school students and Carnegie Mellon students will read personal narratives about racial difference and discrimination. The awards are sponsored by Carnegie Mellon’s Creative Writing Program, the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of the President.

2:00-3:00 p.m.: Children’s Programs, Art Gallery, First Floor; Scott Kuechenmeister-Hall of Carnegie Mellon’s Interfaith Council will present a puppet show.

2:30-3:40 p.m.: Community Conversation: Environmental Justice In Pittsburgh, McConomy Auditorium; Panelists representing a variety of Pittsburgh-based organizations will discuss environmental justice issues within the region.

4:30-5:00 p.m.: Candlelight Procession, begins in the Purnell Center lobby: Join members of the community to honor the work of Dr. King with a symbolic march for Civil Rights against racial segregation.

5:00-6:30 p.m.: Martin Luther King for the 21st Century: Hip Hop, Environmental Justice and The State of Black America, Keynote address and reception with Michael Eric Dyson, followed by student speaker Ashley Renee Brown, Rangos Ballroom; Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister and author of 15 books, including “Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster” and “The True Martin Luther King Jr.” Dyson also is a University Professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches theology, English and African-American studies.

For more information, visit CMU’s site here.

And to see what other cities are doing in honor of MLK, Jr Day visit the Arlington, Texas city blog.

Pittsburgh, Martin Luther King Jr, Oakland, Carnegie Mellon University, Michael Eric Dyson, Nobel Peace Prize

The 26th Annual Three Rivers Film Festival began this past Wednesday and is a great event that should not be missed! For those of you who are unfamiliar to the festival, it’s a film festival that shows independent, experimental and foreign films, documentaries, as well as some of the classics like Manhattan.

So here’s the schedule:

Friday Nov. 9
5:30 PF/PCA Member Show
Gallery opening includes a member screening. Melwood
7:00 The Nines
Editor Douglas Crise is scheduled to attend. Regent Square
7:00 The Rocket Harris
9:30 The Island Regent Square
9:30 Beauty In Trouble Harris
9:30 Double Feature, pt 1: Murder Party Melwood
11:00 Double Feature, pt 2: Blood Car Melwood

Sat. Nov. 10
2:00 Manual of Love Regent Square
2:00 The Rocket Harris
2:00 Rough Streets
reception at Melwood immediately following. Melwood
4:15 The Nines
Editor Douglas Crise is scheduled to attend. Regent Square
4:30 Times and Winds Harris
4:30 The Blue Eyed Six
Director Brian W. Kreider is scheduled to attend. Melwood
6:45 The Walker Regent Square
7:00 Kalkadoon Man with William Barton live
Reception at SPACE Gallery, immediately following.
Tickets – $10 available online. Harris
7:00 Mark McElhatten: Contemporary Cinema
Presented by the NYFF curator in person. Melwood
9:15 Persepolis Regent Square
9:15 Chronicle of an Escape Harris
9:30 Double Feature, pt 1Blood Car Melwood
11:00 Double Feature, pt 1Murder Party Melwood

Sunday Nov. 11
2:00 Chronicle of an Escape Harris
2:30 The Island Regent Square
3:00 Mark McElhatten: LaPore Tribute
Presented by the NYFF curator in person. Melwood
4:00 Times and Winds Harris
5:00 American Zombie Regent Square
5:00 The Blue Eyed Six
Director Brian W. Kreider is scheduled to attend. Melwood
6:30 Delirious Harris
7:00 Short Films Program A
Prizes announced and awarded. Melwood
7:30 The Band’s Visit Regent Square

Mon. Nov. 12
7:00 Manual of Love Regent Square
7:00 Chronicle of an Escape Harris
7:00 Guest curator: Adam Abrams Melwood
9:00 The Way I Spent the End of the World Regent Square
9:00 The Rocket Harris
9:15 Trigger Man Melwood

Tues. Nov. 13
7:00 The Way I Spent the End of the World Regent Square
7:00 Delirious Harris
8:00 Film Kitchen: Trailer Trash
Director Don Ramirez is scheduled to attend.
Reception at 7:00pm Melwood
9:00 Irina Palm Regent Square
9:00 Times and Winds Harris

Wed. Nov. 14
7:00 Irina Palm Regent Square
7:00 Trigger Man Melwood
7:30 Manhattan
reception immediately following. Harris
8:45 Short Films Program B
Prizes announced and awarded. Harris
9:00 American Zombie Regent Square

Thurs. Nov. 15
8:00 An Evening With Kenneth Anger
reception at Concept Art Gallery immediately following.
Tickets – $12 available online. Regent Square

The festival is put on by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and to see previous film festivals hosted by the organization, go to my post on the Janus Film Festival here.

For more information on movie descriptions, check out this weeks City Paper or visit the Film Festival’s website here.

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Three Rivers Film Festival, film, movies, independent, documentaries, Woody Allen, Harris Theater, Melwood Screening Room, Regent Square

Starting with today, I suggest everyone check out the Alternative Transportation Festival!

According to the festival’s website:

The Alternative Transportation Festival (ATF) is an event to raise public awareness of alternative means of transportation and advocate for the increased use of public transportation, car-sharing, alternative fuels, fuel efficient, hybrid and advanced vehicles, boats, bikes and other human-powered technologies.

Driven by locally-led innovation and a growing community of activists and operators, Pittsburgh has become a leader in the development of alternative transportation solutions to pressing national and international issues that arise from America’s fossil fuel dependence, including rising fuel costs, air pollution and global warming, economic and National security concerns.

The festival is being organized by Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities with support from Steel City Biofuels, Bike Pittsburgh, Restorative Events and Nakturnal.

If you’ve ridden the bus lately, you should have seen the flyer for this event, but just in case you didn’t, here’s some more info.

The event is taking place in three locations: Market Square, Schenley Plaza and South Side Works. Each location will feature live music and entertainment, as well as information on alternative transportation options and a chance to meet with other like minded individuals.

Schenley Plaza:
11am-1:30pm & 3-8pm
Music of Coz Serrapere, DJ Omar Abdul and the Zany Umbrella Circus

Market Square:
11am-1:30pm & 3-5pm
Music of DJ Zimmie

South Side Works:
11am-1:30pm & 3-8pm
Music by The Metropolitans

I am all for increasing public awareness on this issue. I think it’s nice that we participate in the National Dump the Pump Day and that more and more people are riding their bikes to work and despite most of them doing it to save gas money, it is still saving the environment and this is a step in the right direction.

I’m not sure Pittsburgh will ever be as non-reliant on cars as other cities, just because of how the city is laid out and the suburbs, but a step in this direction makes me happy. And since there’s no way we’re going to eliminate commuting to work via cars, I hope in the future there is at least a trend towards the usage of energy efficient cars.

And as for Saturday…

The Tom Museum is celebrating its one year anniversary!!

The event will be split into two halves; the first being a pre-event fundraiser for the Tom Museum with special guest Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, which will take place from 6 – 7 PM and will be in the lobby of the New Hazlett Theater. (Allegheny Square East)
Admission to this part of the event/fundraiser is $65.00.

After the fundraiser at 7:30pm, there will be a contest that sounds like a lot of fun!

From the Tom Museum’s website:
The New Hazlett Theater will host three teams of artists who will compete to build winning sculptures out of secret materials (read: junk to be unveiled at the event). The only supplies that the teams may bring with them to the challenge are the contents of one suitcase. Adding to the suspense of the evening is the arrival of Team West Virginia, led by WVU sculpture professor and artist Douglas Loewen. Tickets are $10.00 and will be available at the door.

Tom Sarver, Mike Cuccaro, Liz Hammond and Buddy Nutt will host the event. Music will be provided by DJ Mary Mack and Mr. & Mrs. Funky of Unfinished Symphonies. Judges for the event will include Heather Pesanti, Assistant Curator at The Carnegie Museum of Art; Mickey McManus, CEO of MAYA Design; Artist Thommy Conroy; and Karen Hartman from the Brew House Association.

For more information, visit the Tom Museum website.

Have a nice weekend everyone and enjoy the nice weather! I’ll be up at Clarion for their Autumn Leaf Festival, which is always a lot of fun!

And as always, go Steelers!!

Pittsburgh, public transportation, buses, alternative fuels, Tom Museum, art, Olympic Theater, Market Square, Schenley Park, South Side Works

Make sure you head out to the Pub tonight to check out some really great bands, which I can sincerely say each one is equally good and you won’t be disappointed. And yes, I’m biased since I’m friends with most of them, but still! And I have to add that the Main Events are the best joke band Pittsburgh has had to offer for a long time. They’re a lot of fun!

Also, don’t forget about the I Made It craft show Saturday from 12-5 at the Brewhouse (check my previous post for details), or the Janus Film Festival, which ends this weekend (again, see my previous post for more info).

And then Saturday evening, head out to Bellevue to check out the results from the 24 Hr Creative Marathon, which is also going to be a great time. And I’m not just saying that because Buddy Nutt will be performing, who if you don’t already know who he is, shame on you.

Regardless of the music being performed, the art is definitely worth checking out. The last Creative Marathon was quite successful and a lot of work ended up being sold. I’m definitely going to bring some money with me this time.

I plan on making it out to all the above mentioned events, so it’s going to be a busy weekend as usual; expensive if I buy artwork and crafts, but fun. Can’t wait!

Pittsburgh, Gito Gito Hustler, Radio Beats, Shut outs, Main Events, 31st Street Pub, I Made It, South Side, crafts, music, Janus Film Festival, Creative Marathon, Bellevue, art, Buddy Nutt

I am sure if you have driven through Oakland lately you have seen a group of Anti-War protesters. They usually hold up signs that say ‘honk for peace.’ The few times I have driven past them I have seen Army Recruiters giving them a hard time. I guess they are not alone; the police seem to be causing them trouble too.

“A war protest group has filed a lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh, claiming police officers are violating its First Amendment rights to free speech.” - PPG

I give these kids credit, because they’re standing up for what they feel is right.

“As part of the vigil, up to 30 protesters stand, walk, sit or lie down near the recruiting station to protest United States’ military involvement in Iraq.” – Read more @ Post-Gazette.com

I wish I was in a situation where I could do something like this one day. But sadly I have a job that would not like it if I took off a month. I would also probably get fired for being in a political movement. You might not know this but a lot of places have it in their policy that they can fire you if you bring unwanted attention to them with your personal life.

Thankfully that’s where college-age kids come to the rescue. They have the time and the resources to stand up for us all. Look that the war protests of the past. They have all started with young people.

I am glad to see protesters in Pittsburgh; it makes me feel good to know that people are not afraid to stand up and be counted. To stand up and say, “Hey I don’t agree with the status quo.”

I may not 100% agree with the protesters, but I do have the highest respect for them. Also if you don’t like the Anti-War protesters on Forbes, then you should start a Pro-War rally on 5th Ave. It’s called freedom of speech; don’t be afraid to use it.

Janus Films, a well-known foreign and classic film distributor is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and Pittsburgh Filmmakers is presenting Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films from September 21 through October 4th and is something that is not to be missed.

The films will be screened at three different theaters including Regent Square, Harris Theater and the Melwood Screening Room.

Films will include, Seven Samurai, Death of a Cyclist, Lola, Ballad of a Soldier and more.

For more information and scheduling, go to Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s website here.

I plan on catching at least one of these films, despite all of the other events happening the next two weekends. I highly suggest you do the same!

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Janus Films, Harris Theater, Melwood Screening Room, Regent Square, movies, film, foreign, classic, Lola, Seven Samurai, Death of a Cyclist, Ballad of a Soldier