"End of the Line"
Fact Sheet



Project Title: End of the Line: Building Bridges with Pittsburgh's Busways
Produced by:
Artists/Co-Authors

Lisa B. Link and Carolyn P. Speranza
Artist Assistant
Debra Tomson
Administrative Intern
Susan Lee

Contact:
Marge Myers, Assistant Director, STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon, Phone: 268-3454


Project Overview:
Community-based artistic collaboration examining historic and contemporary issues in Pittsburgh's neighborhoods­ resulting in the creation of 5 digital collages displayed on 20 PAT buses for the duration of one month. These collages are designed to cross boundaries between neighborhoods symbolically in their unifying cultural themes and literally in their method of display on PAT buses and placement on the World Wide Web. These themes were developed through workshops that Ms. Link & Ms. Speranza led at six Carnegie Branch libraries in the summer of 1996. Participants contributed their oral histories and photographs to the project and were taught how to make collages by the artists. During the fall of 1996, the artists further refined the project with additional visits to each neighborhood and meetings with workshop participants. The artists then assembled the five digital collages in the computer and created the project's web site from the project's archive during the winter and spring of 1997.

Duration:
April 1996 - August 1997.
Digital collages in transit on 20 PAT buses, May 1 - August 1, 1997.
Interactive Web site on-line beginning May 15, 1997.

Participating Carnegie Libraries: Allegheny Regional, Beechview, Hazelwood, Homewood, Lawrenceville, West End, the Pennsylvania Department in Oakland.

Format:
Four 21" x 72" digital collages electrostatically printed and laminated on vinyl mounted on exterior rear billboard area of 20 PAT buses.

Offset 21" x 22" color posters mounted on interior of 20 PAT Transit buses and in public areas in the city of Pittsburgh.

One web site http://www.pittsburgh.net/End_of_the_Line

Project Contributions and Support:
Funding through the New Forms Regional Grant Program administered by the Painted Bride, funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Interdisciplinary Arts Program, the National Endowment for the Arts/Inter-Arts Program, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc.

Technical and production support, printing consultation contributed by TELab (Technology Enhanced Learning Lab), Carnegie Mellon University.

Supported by the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon University.

Web site housing courtesy of Internet Services, Corp.

Design Themes:
I. Four Exterior Computer Collages

Urban Removal: A strong theme that emerged from our interviews at library workshops is the impact of large road and building projects on Pittsburgh's residential neighborhoods. Even the threat of such construction is enough to deflate housing values and send an area into decline. People spoke of the horrors that noise, debris, dislocation and permanent disruption highway construction can have on their community. These projects clearly serve the interests of suburban and outlying populations at the expense of city residents.

Urban Rebuilding: The flip side to "urban removal" is the pro-active stance that neighborhood groups are taking to improve the physical conditions of buildings in their areas. Through their efforts many dedicated workers counteract the media stereotypes of the inner-city neighborhood as a place of danger, apathy and physical decay. Their projects range in size and scale and many organizations, such as Youthbuild based in Homewood, have social missions such as training and educating young people, that allow them to impact the community beyond just renovating old homes.

Community Gardens: There are numerous community gardens that sustain the aesthetic and culinary needs of Pittsburgh's city residents. They are maintained by hundreds of volunteer gardeners. We found several garden based beautification projects located in small areas adjacent to PAT bus stops. Garden enthusiasts can also meditate on the artwork and architectural remnants in the beds of the Olde Allegheny Garden Society or catch scenic views of the Northside between ears of corn in a community vegetable garden on the slopes of Polish Hill.

Local Heroes: At every workshop we heard stories of the unsung heroes of Pittsburgh, the people whose daily contribution to their fellow Pittsburghers made their neighborhood a positive place to live. Although most of these people will never get a statue in their honor or a bank to bear their name, we feel it is critical to acknowledge their role in building their communities. We feature one such person, Ruth Rosfeld, as a symbol of the numerous individuals whose civic excellence truly illustrates the motto of Pittsburgh as "America's Most Livable city."

II. Interior Computer Collage
Our announcement poster celebrates the six participating libraries as centers of their neighborhoods and doorways to knowledge. Images also honor the community workshop process whereby many individuals contributed stories, images and time to the "End of the Line" art project.


Introduction and Context | Bus Billboard Collages | The Buses | Press Conference | Community Participant Listing | Artists' Biography | Funders and Sponsors
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