By Nicole Gencarelli
All photos courtesy of Dr. Brenda Mitchell
The both of you established ALLOY Pittsburgh in 2012, and you recently had your second opening in September 2015. What was some of the inspiration that led to the creation of this project? What drew you to the Carrie Furnace in particular?
Sean: I think we had similar motivations, Chris may have had some different ones early on, but we shared many of the initial motivations. I really wanted to expand the impact and engagement of IUP in the area, and make a space in Pittsburgh we could not only highlight student work, but bring students down and expose them to work, and various programs and artists. [In regards to using the Carrie Furnace] I was interested in doing something from a site based perspective and that was not necessarily a gallery-type space. The Carrie Furnace is such a compelling site, and it sums up so much of what is happening and has happened in Pittsburgh, it seemed like an ideal location for creating this incubator of creativity.
Chris: For me, I share a few of those with Sean, but the beginning of it for me started with an interest in the Industrial past of the area, and came from a research perspective in regard to my own studio interests. Being from the region here, and then moving back here after graduate school, I found a renewed interest in structures like the Carrie Furnace. I was really excited about doing something there, whether it was in the form of studio work, which I did do, or actually being able to use the site. I had worked with a project for the Rivers of Steel called the Greenhouse Project before this came out, mostly working in the archives. It did not really connect with the Carrie specifically though. When Sean and I met we realized we had this shared interest in doing something at the site, and there wasn't a whole lot going on in the arts there, and we saw a lot of potential. Again, being from the region I also have an interest in wanting to create work that celebrates and recognizes the history and the industrial history, the community and cultural history within the region. I don’t know how exactly that will all manifest yet, but these sorts of projects will get at the uniqueness of the place.
I know a lot of the artists you bring in are from the area, do you think the artist share that sediment about connecting to a place they grew up around by never really though about that much before?
Sean: it’s pretty varied, maybe a third of the artists are originally from Pittsburgh, you know we have quite a few that have been in the city for five or six years, some may be in the city for graduate school, etc. I think an exciting thing for me about the project is that we select artists who will bring in a diverse perspective, so that it really is an incubator where people are playing off other ideas, and people are approaching the site in playful ways, and in serious ways, and inspiring social critique … there is a balance in the program that way.
As part of the initial research stage, you bring in a lot of different people who discuss and educate the artists on all aspects of the Carrie Furnace Site, from historians and ecologists to former Still Mill workers. How does that impact the artist’s?
Chris: An important part of the program is the wide variety of people and input. [Specific to the former workers] we recognized after the first project how powerful of an experience that was. Not only having them speak about the history of the site, but explain what it was like to work there, explain what these items did, or anecdotes about specific areas (such as someone stepped here and just missed burning their leg off), things we don't think about now because of how quiet and still the site is now. Workers really offer insight and share powerful experiences — artists tend to get a lot out of those visits.
Can you describe the general timeline of the program and the general timeline an artist goes through once they are accepted into the ALLOY Program?
Chris: We had always conceived the project as a biennial program, in order to keep the project fresh, and give time for writing grants. After the artist’s are selected they go through two of what we call “research laboratories.” Those are the opportunities for us to see [the artists'] investigation of the site, and that is when we have the workers come in, historians, other artists, etc, and we just let them have access to the site, wander and really just let them discover things. After the research labs are done, we let the artists work and then install their projects. The projects opened on the 26th of September.
As a part of their residency, the artists conduct research on the Carrie Furnace, along with Pittsburgh's post-industrial landscape and the historical significance of preserving industrial sites. Why do you value and expect this research component from the artists? What are your thoughts on the value of research in contemporary art?
Chris: I think it can be understood in a few different ways. I really value basic “book” research. I think learning information that way is very important and something that is important to my own career. There is also experiential research, which I think is more akin to what the artist’s complete on site. In addition to the programs we provide, the artists have access to the archives and artifacts from the mill’s history — from hard hats to medallions and clothes to blue prints and documents. The research we really wanted to focus on with the Carrie was more experiential, site-based research. Through this, we want the artists to grasp what the site was and has the potential to be in the future. I think that is an exciting research topic because there is less of a defined, clear answer and more of a reliance on digging into their own creative interests to come up with a personal product after the research period.
Sean: And I would agree with all of that. I really wanted to get the artist’s to have a dialogue with this place and to allow them to contribute to how the [Carrie Furnace] is defined, where it's headed, and where it is right now. So it was really important to provide sort of a seed to stimulate their own research and inspiration. Without an awareness of the site, without a really in-depth exploration of the site, the artists would be talking with themselves.
You expressed a desire to connect with the public through the artwork produced at the Carrie Furnace, now that ALLOY Pittsburgh has launched and run for about three years now, how have you seen the public react to the project?
Chris: I think we alway have room to grow there, no matter how great of a reach the program and/or the site has. I think we had some successes with creating reactions from some of our participating artists; one of them specifically became really dedicated to the whole area and the Carrie. [The artist] bought a house in the area and is still involved in a lot of these projects. I think this is an example of how the projects the artists create can really transcend the space and are able to make that connection. It’s a very difficult thing to do, and its difficult to expect that dedication from everyone. I do also think the programs we have lined up this year are going to work on extending that conversation more so than the first year. Some of that is because we are coming off the first run of the project so we have a greater insight into where it might go.
Sean: I think we both really have a desire to have a continuing relationship with the surrounding communities and that is really a complicated and hard task. We have made adjustments this year, definitely, and we kind of realized you have to meet everybody further than halfway to really start engaging people and having them participate. I don’t want to sound like maybe Alloy was responsible for reviving Carrie, but I think the program happened at the moment where we have seen amazing growth at the site. It’s really exciting and rewarding to see this, especially when stakeholders and members of the project jumped in and did what they could to make the programs happen.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of co-founding ALLOY Pittsburgh for the both of you?
Chris: It was really rewarding to be a part of the Alloy Pittsburgh project in the sense of the connection — being able to see some of the artists involved excel in their own careers. It also spoke to a curatorial interest in me that I didn’t know that I really had until I started to get involved in the Kipp Gallery (part of Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and then the creation of Alloy Pittsburgh.
Sean: Seeing something happen that is bigger than yourself, and seeing artists being able to create something that is bigger than what they have ever made before is really rewarding — and humbling as well to see other people pitch in and help out. Ultimately, that is what I take away from it. Additionally, as an artist/curator, I found talking about Alloy Pittsburgh has influenced how I talk about my own work — specifically the interest in stepping outside of the artist’s role and how that informs your creative practice.
To learn more about the ALLOY Pittsburgh, please visit their website.
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| Nicole is a recent graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. You can follow her on Tumblr and her website. |
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