2015 Participating Artist: Scott Turri

Name: Scott Turri

Hometown: Plymouth Meeting, PA 

Current Location/ Neighborhood: Squirrel Hill

Favorite Regional Artist: Lorraine Glessner

Artist Statement: From the still image into the moving image creating animation has become an extension of my practice. Much of the vocabulary associated with my painting process is utilized in the animation. It combines photographic imagery from the natural world, and the built environment along with invented imagery that mimics the natural world; all of which has been manipulated digitally. So, therefore the product becomes an amalgamation of the natural world and cultural production. Because the imagery has been manipulated and filtered through various software tools, ultimately it all becomes synthetic. At times it becomes difficult to distinguish the origins of the various elements and therefore more difficult to easily classify. The parts have a certain consistency but are modularized and repackaged in variety of iterations these transformations provide a formal and conceptual link from one passage to another blurring the boundary between nature and what is human made. 

The animations operate within five architectural like facades. These facades help create a structured framework for what takes place behind, in front, or through this edifice. Also, the facades have skins attached to them, which reinforces the notion of the natural and built world and establishes a stationary environment for the moving parts. I created a portion of the animated sections with nonrepresentational linear elements, interested mainly in moving lines, in combination with the rhythmic pattern of bird flight, figure eights, ovals and circles. By building a variety of animated parts I then work at combining, looping and overlaying these lyrical components by sequencing these passages into a hypnotic rhythm with the intent of mimicking the ebb and flow of nature. 

See some of Scott's art here: www.scottturri.com

Scott is a writer too! Read his recent review of the exhibition UNLOADED. 

Cocoons and Mobile Homes 67.5_2

Acrylic on Canvas

40”H x 67.5”W

2015 Participating Artist: Oreen Cohen

Name: Oreen Cohen 

Hometown: Rochester, NY 

Current Location/ Neighborhood: Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh 

Influential or Favorite Regional Artist: Not really sure about regionally, but international I have been really into El Anatsui and Yael Bartana. 

Artist Statement:

As an observer and explorer, I draw insight from my surroundings by unpacking the embedded meanings, histories, and identities of place. ​By excavating incidental fragments of the built environment, I examine the psychological and physical ruins left behind by industrial decline. ​I am curious about how the residue of our histories culminate into our understanding of self and site. ​With a visceral approach towards material, I create publicly performed actions and sculptural interventions that attempt to transform vacant or abandoned space into a places of meaning.

I retrace textures of the built environment through repetitious labor. This process illuminates the conceptual material of space, experience, and memory. Aluminum rubbings, Stacked auto glass, salt dough bricks, welded steel, and the burial of a golden casket, serve as metaphors in my work that attempt to preserve vitality and transform post­industrial areas. By salvaging these fragments, I cultivate social allegories that re­interpret the past, solidify the present, and anticipate the future.

Website: ​www.OreenCohen.com

2015 Participating Artist: Lenore Thomas

We are excited to be working with such a talented group of regional artists. Check back often to learn more about our participating artists for the 2015 season! First up, artist Lenore Thomas! 

Name: Lenore Thomas
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Current Location/ Neighborhood: Edgewood, PA

Influential Regional Artists: I am influenced by the amazing women artists and curators that surround me in Pittsburgh. Some of them but by no means all of them are Natalie Settles, Ivette Spradlin, Vicky Clark, Delanie Jenkins, Barbara Weissberger, Stephanie Armbruster, Becky Slemmons, Anika Hirt, JoAnna Commandaros, Anna Divinsky, Elise Rugolo, Staycee Pearl, Casey Droege. I could go on and on. Pittsburgh is full of incredible women doing amazing things.

Artist Statement: Perception and personal observation provide the foundation for my most recent “landscape series,” which consists of mixed-media prints and paintings based on recreating the observed landscape through layers of overlapping abstract shapes. Grounded in pastoral midwestern topography, the series has grown to include rural sites of Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. As I travel from one location to another I photograph the landscapes that capture my interest. In general I am intrigued by landscapes that have an ambiguous sense of space, scale, distance and depth. Through my sketches, Photoshop experimentation, and color choices, I translate the landscapes into basic shapes and forms creating a flat, geometric interpretation of the original photograph. The flexibility of printmaking fosters this investigation; through multiple plate etchings and screenprinting I can build an image with a dozen or more layers in one piece. I am interested in the tension between the flat colors I choose and the sense of space and perspective created by the abstracted forms.
Two other elements also come into play - the background pattern and the choice of a title of each series. The backgrounds have evolved from the first series in 2011 which were based on either aesthetic preferences or patterns extracted or documented at actual locations (a grate in Pittsburgh, fragments from Missouri and Oklahoma). For the most recent backgrounds I am interested in the mathematical diagram of a hepteract, which represents three-dimensional images of a seven cube. For some, this pattern may be seen as purely decorative, but to others (especially mathematicians) the patterns reveal complex geometric representations of volume and space. Upon seeing the hepteract and other hypercubes, it became clear to me that these diagrams added another layer of perception to my landscapes. The carefully selected titles for this series have become an essential part of my process, as I want the text to have some specific, if non-literal, reference to the locations I am depicting. Recalling the comment of a friend on a particular sunrise he saw in Wisconsin - “This sunrise is like being in love” – I use his poetic response as an evocative title in combination with the specific to create an entry point for the abstracted images.

To see images of Lenore's work visit her website here:  www.lenorethomas.com

ALLOY PGH 2015 Artists Roster!

We are excited to announce the following artists who have been selected for Alloy Pittsburgh 2015!

Please stay tuned over the coming weeks for greater information on each participating artist and this summer’s events schedule for Alloy PGH.  We have some big items in the works and look forward to another great project at the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark!

Alloy Pittsburgh 2015

Artists:

Ricardo Robinson
Alyssa Kail
Lenore Thomas
Patrick Camut
Rose Clancy
Sarika Goulatia
Scott Turri
John Tronsor
Oreen Cohen
Nick Liadis
Dan Ivec

Artist Notification March 30th

Thanks to all of those who submitted proposals for Alloy Pittsburgh 2015!  Please be aware that notification of selected artists will be announced on March 30th, rather than March 23rd, 2015.  We have a great pool of applicants this year and look forward to an exciting project!

Expect more information then.

best,

Alloy PGH Team

CHANGE OF DATES!!

Alloy Pgh 2015 applicants please be aware that a required date has recently been changed in the project timeline.  The first on-site research period will be held on MAY 29 & 30, 2015.  Please disregard the previous date listed for may 22/23.  Please download or view the updated call for proposals via the tab on the right.

Thank you,

Alloy Pgh Team

ALLOY PGH 2015!!

Greetings from all of us on the Alloy Pgh Project team!  We are excited to open the call for this year's site based project at the Carrie Furnaces National Heritage Area.  Please visit the Call for Proposals link to find the updated submission process and important dates to keep in mind.  Its hard to believe that two years have passed since we put out this call in early 2013 and we look forward to another exciting project this summer/fall!

A special thanks to the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation for hosting the project once again at the beautiful Carrie Furnaces!


Alloy Pittsburgh was co-­‐founded by Pittsburgh artists and Indiana University of Pennsylvania faculty members, Sean Derry and Chris McGinnis. The project was developed in collaboration with the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation and Kipp Gallery at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The project is financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. Additional support is provided by the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.