09/30/2012
In Search Of...
The Pittsburgh Society of Artists’ show, Scapes, opened on September 15 and will be on display at Panza Gallery in Millvale through October 13. Juror, Petra Fallaux, previous director of Carnegie Mellon’s Art Galleries, chose my image,
In Search Of, to be included amongst the different paintings, sculptures, fiber art, installations, and photography. Ms. Fallaux asked artists to escape the tedium of the norm when approaching the idea of Scapes. This appealed to me and I decided to create a landscape that is familiar but is transformed into a different reality which questions the actions of human beings and their effect on the environment. The piece is obviously a flooded and destroyed Pittsburgh, but it is not without signs of life.
As a child, living outside the city, when driving along the parkway, I would look up at the skyline and the PPG building would always stick out as a place of mystery and intrigue; almost a magical building, or a diamond in the rough, pulling me in. That is the feeling I tried to incorporate in this disparate landscape.
My image becomes a far cry from every Pittsburgher’s idea of a perfect city landscape. PPG, the only place separated in this environment, unaffected by the consequences and actions of man and nature, becomes a beacon of hope where people search for answers. The viewer is uniquely and interestingly included in the piece through the idea of separation. What kind of vessel are we looking out of and will we ever get out?
* Please click the link to explore this image in detail.
http://www.christopherruane.com/Set/Digital-Paintings/In-Search-Of *
