From Warhol to Xiang, city celebrates wild, free
PITTSBURGH— This city has been reinventing itself since the disastrous loss of the steel industry in the 1980s. Those dedicated to art have taken a lead as part of that rejuvenation. And I am not talking about the fabulous museums and cultural events sponsored by the Frick, Mellon, Heinz and Carnegie Foundations.
Outside of Pittsburgh, the popular misconception is that legendary pop artist Andy Warhol was a native New Yorker. The Andy Warhol Museum is housed in a building that, until recently, was located in the wrong part of town. The full seven storeys are devoted to Warhol and his works, including displays where you can see screen tests from the days when his famed Factory studio ran the pop art scene in New York City.
Huge exhibition halls are devoted to his Elvis Presley, Mao Zedong and Marilyn Monroe pieces, as well to Warhol’s very early works as a student in Pittsburgh — including displays from his days when he designed fashion windows in New York City. An excellent chronological exhibit explains how Warhol ingratiated himself with the rich and famous, wanting to fit in with their crowd.
As if to underline this, the autographed Hollywood photo that Shirley Temple sent him when he was just a child is on display.
The building’s theatre doubles as a music hall in the evenings, attracting world-class performers year-round.
Founded in 1977, the warehouse that houses the Mattress Factory museum was purchased for a song, back when no one wanted any part of its neighbourhood. Today, it’s an established avant-garde gallery for contemporary world art. The huge space allows for whimsical and wild exhibitions, where sound, light or the lack thereof drive the often largescale, interactive exhibits.
Want an eye-opening display of street art? Just walk through the lanes near the Mattress Factory in the historically named Mexican War Streets. You will see the House Poem (408 Sampsonia Way), where exiled Chinese poet Huang Xiang covered his house with his poetry.
Nearby, at 1501 Arch St., is Randyland. Its self-appointed creator, Randy Gibson, is constantly working on his murals and different objets d’art when not giving tours of his house and grounds. “I want to dream on, if someone with no talent can use his heart and open his mind, we can find great journeys.” Gibson may tell you he knows nothing about art, but his enthusiasm will knock you over.