You can still catch T stop dancers on film
public artworks seen inside Downtown transit stations in the free fare zone, including the “Pittsburgh Reflections” mosaic mural by Romare Bearden (Gateway station), “Thirteen Geometric Figures” by Sol LeWitt ( Wood Street), and the Rivers of Light painted aluminum and glass sculpture by Jane Haskell ( Steel Plaza). They also explored other artworks within a short walk of these subway stops.
They danced and filmed inside the T stations with guards, janitors and riders around them. Dancers wore masks while filming indoors; outdoor shoots with only one person on camera didn’t require the dancer to mask up.
The group also put out an open call online for artists to be part of the screening, a first for the “Constructed Sight” series. They received about 20 submissions from around the world and narrowed the list to eight based on creativity, variety and quality. Two of the selected films are by artists working overseas.
“It’s really just a platform
for artists to express whatever they want to express,” Simmons said. “It should be true to that artist’s voice and perspective.”
Each screening should feel like its own structured show that flows and perhaps motivates viewers to tune in again to see what happens next, Simmons said. There are hosts for each screening and even some comedic bits sprinkled in between the films.
Although “Constructed Sight” was conceived as an alternative way to share
dance during COVID- 19, Simmons has plans for it after theaters reopen. She’d like to try to do a series of screenings two or three times a year, she said, and maybe expand the focus to highlight public artworks and dancers in other places.
“It could make artwork from other cities more accessible to the people of Pittsburgh,” she said.