'Too Shallow for Diving': Artists pour out ideas on water issues facing mankind
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"Glut Hut" by Roger Laib is part of the exhibition "Too Shallow for Diving: the 21st Century Is Treading Water" -
In "Too Shallow for Diving," David Stairs explores Africa's water crisis through maps, photographs and statistics, proposing the culpability of global human behaviors. This is Mitto Cushion Makers in Kampala -
"Glut Hut" by Roger Laib
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One of the hottest (literally as well as metaphorically) topics of the day is the environment, and artists take it head on in the exhibition "Too Shallow for Diving: The 21st Century Is Treading Water" at the American Jewish Museum, Squirrel Hill.
The list of artists represented is impressive, a mix of new, younger voices -- such as Vanessa German who will perform during Saturday's opening reception -- and pioneers in the arena of environmental art, such as Tim Collins and Reiko Goto, who were instrumental in the Nine Mile Run project that resuscitated the now highly popular stream and greenway.
Artist and educator Carolyn Speranza curated the exhibition with a focus on projects and artworks that address water issues affecting the planet and its human residents.
"All of the exhibition's artists received an honorarium to support the creation of new and provocative work," Ms. Speranza said in an e-mail.
Funding came from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, the Buhl Foundation and the Sprout Fund. See the Facebook page for updates.
An opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Ms. Speranza will speak about the show at 7:30 p.m. followed at 8 p.m. by Ms. German's spoken word performance, "Water: A Love Poem."
"Clean Water Action," a "citizen engagement event" held in collaboration with PennEnvironment, will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. May 24. Conrad "Dan" Volz Jr. will speak at 7 p.m. June 6. Mr. Volz recently resigned his position with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Healthy Environments and Communities due to his public health advocacy on water and natural gas drilling.
A closing reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 28.
All events are free and open to the public.
The artists and brief project descriptions follow:
• Tim Collins and Reiko Goto -- A documentation of the Pittsburgh Nine Mile Run and 3 Rivers: 2nd Nature projects carried out in collaboration with scientists, attorneys, engineers, city planners and landscape designers that were ground-breaking in their merging of community, art and environment.
First Published May 11, 2011 12:00 am
