Recently in Visual Art Category

88 local artists commemorate Pittsburgh's 250th birthday in poems and photographs for Along These Rivers, a 4th River project at the 2008 Three Rivers Arts Festival. All Along These Rivers artists are contributors to a book of the same title, edited by Judith R. Robinson and Michael Wurster. The project captures some of Pittsburgh's finest talents, as they attempt to capture the essence of the city itself.

Discarded shipping containers and art? The connection isn't obvious, but this year's Three Rivers Arts Festival will be making things clear with Contained, dynamic art installations inside used shipping containers. Contained runs from 12-8 pm, June 6-22, 2008, along Forbes Avenue between Market Square and Stanwix Street.

No birthday party is complete without cake, and this year Pittsburgh's 250th birthday will feature (non-perishable) cakes from members of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. Icing on the Cake, a visual arts exhibition for the Three Rivers Arts Festival, will be open daily from 12-8 pm, June 6-22, 2008, at the PPG Place Wintergarden in downtown Pittsburgh.

Ceramic artists Jeffrey Mongrain and Nicholas Kripal will address history and iconography in site-specific installations at Trinity Cathedral. Presented by the Three Rivers Arts Festival, viewing hours are Monday-Friday, 7 am - 5 pm; Saturday, 9 am - 1:30 pm; and Sunday, 7 am - 1:30 pm; June 6-22, 2008 at Trinity Cathedral, 328 Sixth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.

Larger-than-life sculptures of Joe Magarac take over Market Square as 4th River presents Magarac Attack. Curated by Artist Upstairs' Tavia LaFollette, Magarac Attack is a celebration of Pittsburgh folk-hero Joe Magarac, the superhuman steel worker, springing from ideas about both the icon and the communy imaginations that he engaged. Magarac Attack opens at Market Square on Saturday, June 14, 2008, and runs through June 20.

Schenley High School graduate Nathan Green returns to Pittsburgh for his first major outdoor sculpture installation at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. Dream Machine, a large-scale interactive sculpture, incorporates an array of modified recreational equipment and playing field symbols. Dream Machine opens in Market Square on Friday, June 6, and will be on display through the Three Rivers Arts Festival until June 22, 2008. Exhibit hours are 12 noon to 8 pm daily.