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Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette photos Pittsburgh artist Paul Bowden's sculpture "Head" is made of epoxy resin and realistic glass eyes. Click photo for larger image. 
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As an institution, it's the successor to the festival's historic fine arts -- as opposed to art/craft booth -- presentations. These comprised the two-dimensional exhibition that used to be housed outdoors under the familiar yellow pavilions, the sculpture and craft exhibitions that occupied the PPG Wintergarden (now displaying Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors work) and the photography exhibition that was shown in varying Downtown corporate buildings. Thus, some of the reordering that's been done has attracted criticism from traditionalists.
As an exhibition, it's a new kind of show for the festival, and it's carving out its own identity as it simultaneously works its way into the festival tradition. To do this, it has to prove its staying power.
The 2005 show is only the third Festival Annual, and the second organized by festival curator Katherine Talcott, but already it has made marked change and is heading in the direction of streamlined and sophisticated.
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| Detail of Tom Sarver's installation "Talking About the Weather," which is on display in the windows of the Arts Festival's offices at 937 Liberty Ave. Click photo for larger image. |
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Most obviously, it's entirely indoors, spread over the three floors of 937 Liberty Ave., where the festival offices are located.
Because the exhibition is out of the weather and secured, artists may confidently submit more varied and more precious objects for consideration, particularly in the two-dimensional category.
It's unlikely, for example, that we'd find in blustery pavilions Kathleen Montgomery's exquisite, throbbingly intense oil crayon and graphite images -- "Doll Baby," "Ornament," "Rats Star" and "Light Bulb" -- or the glorious, diaphanous layered fiber work of Tina Williams Brewer's circular triptych "Dance of the Source" and Rise Nagin's tri-paneled "Pulse (Second State)." Also possible now are audio/video pieces like Patricia Villalobos Echeverria's mesmerizing "Hovermar," skillfully projected onto nippled orbs that are at one moment awash with the tide, at another striated planets floating in space's blackness.
The varying personality of each of the floors also inspires pertinent submissions.
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Bill Cravis' installation "plenty scarce" includes a wall of oil containers (above) and a cast telephone sans receiver on a stand (below). Click photo for larger image. |
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Click photo for larger image. |
The downside of the locale is that the total footage is not equal to that of the former three sites, and that visitors have to familiarize themselves with the new location, farther from the central festival.
Other differences come from Talcott's curatorial eye, which brings discernment and a particular position. The quality is much more even than in shows past. Although the balance of established and emerging artists translates to some expression that is not as refined as others, it also ensures surprises and a sense of the new. The standards are higher and the show has a more contemporary lean.
Perhaps the best change -- particularly in tandem with a curator who's gone to pains to acquaint herself with the many artists working locally -- was the decision to limit exhibitors to regional artists, who sorely need more quality exhibition venues.
The first Annual introduced photographer Carrie Schneider to a broad public, and she returns this year with room for the multiples that are essential for her silent commentary, in this instance made through images of closed and active city swimming pools.
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| One of the six panels of Adam Grossi's conceptual painting "The Anatomy of My Creative Brain." Click photo for larger image. |
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New voices range from a sharp six-part conceptual work by Adam Grossi, "The Anatomy of My Creative Brain," which makes a pseudo-serious case for the differences in artists' minds, to a potent expressionistic painting, "Internal Affairs" by Alfonso Sloan, that suggests a perhaps alienated individual who's retreating inwardly.
Cassandra Jones' wall installation, "good cheer," catches viewers off guard and generates smiles, while a formidable row of works by Mark Zets, Shawn Quinlan, J. Rakieski and Deanne Dunbar are, to varying degrees, difficult to digest, but memorable as well as technically fine.
The Festival Annual is holding up well and progressing. As Talcott builds its reputation, the best local artists will want to be involved, adding to the inclusiveness of the festival and its importance in the region.
There are similarities to the questioning going on here and the efforts the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh is making with its own identity. The times call for self-examination.
That said, there's room, too, for the kind of off-the-cuff, free wheeling, even outdoors show that numbers of visitors have enjoyed over time, something festival director Elizabeth Reiss indicated may return when budget and staffing allow.
In the meantime, the commitment to building the Annual and the extension of run time are positive developments.
Some of the exhibiting artists, including Grossi and Pohl, will give performances during the free Walk-About-Reception to be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. June 17. Performances begin at 5:45 p.m. with Grossi's half-hour-long "A Metaphorically Technical Dissertation, with spontaneous Illustrated Diagrams by Thomas Doran and musical accompaniment by E. Shawn Qaissaunee."
The Annual will continue through July 22, ending with the Downtown Gallery Crawl that night. Gallery hours are noon-9 p.m. daily during the festival; afterward, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and noon-5 p.m. Saturdays. For information, call 412-281-8723 or visit www.artsfestival.net.
Picturing eyelashes
Rumor has it that festival curator Katherine Talcott is receiving so many photographs of Stacy Levy's "River Eyelash," taken from a number of vantage points, that they may generate an exhibition of their own post-festival.
