Friday, October 18, 2013
Dance troupe turns Carrie Furnace site into site-specific venue
Dance + Live Performance | Pittsburgh City Paper: Call it site-specific dance on a gargantuan scale. The Pillow Project takes its improvisational "Postjazz" movement style and video wizardry to a whole new level when it invades the Carrie Blast Furnaces, in Rankin, on Oct. 12, for a daylong extravaganza titled The Jazz Furnace.
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3 comments:
I'm not so sure if I read this correctly, but it seems like there is going to be live instillations around the carrie tower... If I'm right, that sounds really cool and I would love to check it out. Never mind, it was last weekend. It must have been really cool. I love when people use locations as a theme to create art (does that make sense?). The history of Pittsburgh is so significant and it's past steel industry is a big part of the community today. I'm not completely sure where I am going with this, so I'll just move on...
I love the idea of dance pieces and music as art instillations because they are a one-time-happening. Art instillations are great and still have a great impact on people but with dances, if they are performed more than once, they are never the same. Each breath the dancer takes is a different than the last. Nothing happens more than once and it's embedded in your mind forever. Everything is fleeting and it makes everything even more beautiful. Music too. Everyone hears the same thing differently. Every note is played differently and only one will it be heard that way. It's just all amazing!
What an awesome idea. Back when the steel industry in Pittsburgh was booming, this area would have been a symbol of oppression to the people. Although the industry helped the economy, workers were paid far below what their work was worth. Working conditions were horrendous and workers were given only one day off each year, the Forth of July. Needless to say, a person working in this sort of environment had no time to express him or herself through art or creation. After the industry moved away from Pittsburgh towards areas in the West, Pittsburgh had lots of cultural rebuilding to do. Organizations such as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust continue to rebuild and grow the arts in Pittsburgh. With all this in mind, having this installation in a steel mill is a brilliant and beautiful idea. It turns the steel mill into a symbol of art rather than an oppressor of art. This installation embodies just how far our city has come.
This sounds like something I would pay to see! I went on a tour of the Carrie Furnace last year and it was one of the most beautiful historic sites I have ever seen. The way that the furnace was decaying was something that was so striking and beautiful. I am also a big fan of dance, and dance installation art. Despite the fact that this was last weekend and I did not see it advertised anywhere, I would have loved to attend. On that topic, I do love when pieces are done one time, and one time only. To me, the piece becomes all the more special when it is limited. I love that it is an installation where people can experience each part or only some parts, because, any given thing is never viewed the same by two people.
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