 The Lawrenceville Corporation
has participated in the development of public art projects that include
neighborhood
participation.
The Lawrenceville LifeLinks Public Art Project
The Lawrenceville Corporation, with funding
through the Department of City Planning’s Public Art Pittsburgh
Program, commissioned artist JoAnna Commandaros to create a permanent
installation along Lawrenceville’s Butler Street commercial
corridor.
After researching the neighborhood and interviewing
residents and business owners, Commandaros developed the concept
of the Lawrenceville LifeLinks charm bracelet. This sculpture was
installed on building facades along Butler Street in 2002.
The bracelets feature the following five neighborhood
icons of meaning to the community:
- the “Doughboy” statue,
which sits at the intersection of Butler Street, Penn Avenue,
and 34th Street (Doughboy Square) in commemoration of World
War I soldiers;
- angel wings, as found in Allegheny Cemetery
and representing the neighborhood’s
spirituality;
- a rose, representing the beauty and life-giving
sentiment of Lawrenceville;
- a door and steps, representing the entrance
to home, comfort, and security; and
- a star anchor support, found
as a decorative and functional structural support element
on many Lawrenceville buildings.
Neighborhood visitors can look for the LifeLinks
throughout Butler Street. The installations are mounted at:
- 3501
Butler Street
at corner of 35th/Butler; Chocolate Factory lofts/KMA & Associates
- 4113
Butler Street
at intersection of Butler/Main; H&R Block
- 5136 Butler Street
Slaughterhouse Gallery & Studios
- 5722 Butler
Sunoco Refinery
Root Conference by Keiko Miyamori
 During a residency at the Society
for Contemporary Craft in May 2003, artist Keiko
Miyamori worked with the 16:62
Design Zone to connect with Lawrenceville residents during the
creation of a large-scale sculpture.
Trees are often the centerpiece of Miyamori’s
art, representing the connections between nature and energy. For
this project, Miyamori explored the history and significance of
Allegheny Cemetery, one of Pittsburgh’s largest and oldest
burial grounds. She worked with Allegheny Cemetery staff and families
from the Lawrenceville Family
Support Center to learn
about the cemetery and to clean roots from uprooted trees, remnants
of a 2002 microburst storm. The cleaned and treated roots then “converged” at
Point State Park in an outdoor installation called Root Conference.
Several of the roots
have returned to Lawrenceville for separate but permanent homes.
View them outside of the Boys and Girls Club at the 4600 block
of Butler Street or outside the Ice House Artist Studios at 100
43rd Street.
|
