Affairs of the heart
Residents oppose putting Jane Seymour’s sculpture on Mount Washington overlook
A donated sculpture designed by actor Jane Seymour and meant to symbolize love without boundaries isn’t receiving a whole lot of affection from some Mount Washington residents.
Nearly 50 people turned out at a Zoom meeting Monday to speak against a proposal to display the “Open Heart” sculpture at one of the Grandview Avenue overlooks where crowds gather to take in and photograph the Downtown skyline.
The Mount Washington Community Development Corporation is entertaining the plan after being contacted by an anonymous donor who is willing to pay for the sculpture’s fabrication and transportation.
Gordon Davidson, MWCDC executive director, said the donor “is familiar with Mount Washington and he or she thought it would be a great location” for the artwork.
Monday evening’s session served as prelude to a city art commission meeting scheduled Wednesday during which a conceptual plan for the sculpture and its installation will be presented.
The MWCDC believes the proposal “has merit,” Mr. Davidson said. During Monday’s meeting, presenter Greg Panza said that Ms. Seymour has a large following because of her movie and TV work and that having one of her sculptures could work to the neighborhood’s benefit.
“Anywhere where one of these sculptures has been installed, it’s been a huge tourist attraction, where people come from all over who are fans to want to engage with the sculpture” and have their photo taken with it, he said.
The idea is that the S-shaped design, with what’s described as an “open heart” at each end, “would have the dramatic backdrop of the city of Pittsburgh skyline in the background.”
An official in Bradenton, Fla., where Ms. Seymour has a similar 7-foot sculpture, reviewed the Mount Washington plan with the actress’s team and shared “with her what a great location it would be,” Mr. Panza said.
“She had actually visited Pittsburgh and agreed that Mount Washington would be the ideal place for one of the sculptures,” he said.
But for many of those who attended Monday’s meeting, the plan generated little in the way of amore.
Some complained that the sculpture has no ties to the city. Others argued that it would desecrate the overlooks or detract from the postcard views or that it amounted to free advertising. Some wanted to pass it off to Station Square at the bottom of Mount Washington.
“It has no relevance to Mount Washington or Pittsburgh. She’s British. It’s her jewelry line from Kay’s Jewelers from 20 years ago,” resident Lisa Goedert stated.
Jason Andrews said he doesn’t believe “the sculpture is wrong for the city; I think it is wrong for the site.” He argued for a “more neutral location” where the piece wouldn’t “compete with one of the premier urban vistas in the country.”
“There’s like a sanctity to the overlook that can’t be imposed on,” he said.
Another resident, Bill Urbanic, said he would be opposed to placing anything — even a statue of Joe Magarac, the mythic steelworker — on one of the overlooks.
“I’m a minimalist,” he said. “I just think it does detract from the actual beauty of the city and the beautiful view people come up to see.”
But Mr. Panza pushed back against some of the community critics. He said he never thought the sculpture would end up being so controversial. MWCDC officials noted that it would not prevent
“It has no relevance to Mount Washington or Pittsburgh. She’s British. It’s her jewelry line from Kay’s Jewelers from 20 years ago.” Lisa Goedert, Mount Washington resident
people from accessing or enjoying the overlook.
“I can assure you the intention was to just add some beautification to a very blighted and neglected tourist attraction on Grandview Avenue with crumbling sidewalks, rusted railings with graffiti all over them, smashed up garbage cans,” he said.
“This was just something that was going to be a little bit of jewelry to add to a very bleak and, I think, poor representation of the tourist attraction that Grandview Avenue should be and isn’t.”
Despite the extensive opposition to the sculpture Monday night, Mr. Davidson said the MWCDC plans to go ahead with the presentation at the art commission meeting today. No vote is planned.
“We are making a presentation. We want the art commission to hear the presentation. We think it’s important,” he said.
Ms. Seymour, best known for her roles in the TV series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and in the James Bond movie “Live and Let Die,” is no stranger to Pittsburgh. She filmed here in the past and twirled a Terrible Towel at the Steelers home opener in 2011.
When Ms. Seymour unveiled the “Open Heart” sculpture in Bradenton, Fla., in 2019, KDKA reported that the same piece could be coming to Pittsburgh in the future with Mount Washington as a possible backdrop.
In fact, that same year, the MWCDC was approached about the possibility of installing the artwork along Grandview Avenue. But the discussion fizzled because of the lack of funding.
The MWCDC estimates the cost of the current project at $132,500 to $152,500, depending on the type of base used. The anonymous donor has pledged $125,000 for the sculpture’s fabrication and transport.
Supporters would like to have the artwork installed by July when Ms. Seymour is scheduled to visit Pittsburgh and would be on hand for a dedication.
The actor has said the sculpture and a jewelry line with a similar motif are meant to represent love without boundaries.
But even a Mount Washington resident who is fan of Ms. Seymour’s is ready to draw the line on this one.
“I love ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.’ I watched her for years, Jane Seymour. I think her jewelry’s beautiful. But this is not the protocol for Mount Washington,” Mary Beth Miller said, adding that residents should have been consulted before the proposal was advanced.