The first weekend continues

ARISE STORIES
(photo montage by Susan Englert)

Later on Saturday (May 20), Claire ran into the vice president of the Braddock's Field Historical Society, who also happens to be a protein biochemist at the University of Pittsburgh. He visited, and told us something about how the topography around of Braddock and its surrounding areas affects its fate. He explained that, in many ways, the Battle of Braddock, which took place in 1755 during the French and Indian War, where General Edward Braddock and his forces suffered an ignominious defeat, was determined by the shape of the hills. The montage below gives a sense of the configuration of the hills and the river.
This led to a conversation about how, in the past, topography (the lay of the land) really used to be destiny, and how a renewed awareness of the actual shapes and characteristics of a particular landscape are a part of designing a more sustainable day-to-day life. In The Philosophy of Sustainable Design(1), Jason F. McLennan calls this principle of learning from the landscape "Respect For Place."

In the past, people had no choice but to adjust to their surroundings. "Architecture was designed with local materials and harnessed sun, wind, and light for comfort." Design choices changed dramatically between different climate zones. "Structures were built 'of the place,' and would return safely to the land when their useful life was over. The igloos of the north and the wooden longhouses of the Pacific Northwest [are examples on the North American continent]. The philosophy of sustainable design rejects the notion that our buildings should look the same and be built the same way in any region...it demands that our buildings respond to place--from the level of the site to that of climate and bioregion. Sustainable design suggests that technological fixes be applied only after natural ones have been exhausted," for example using breezes for natural cooling instead of relying on air conditioning. We need to pay attention to what is unique about each place, and use the qualities of that place to inform our design for space and place. As McLennan notes, "...there is something sacred and profound in all places."

On Saturday we also got a repeat visit from two little girls, Patience and Chances, who were part of a group of kids who had come in at Dawn's invitation a few weeks before (we were there on a reconnaissance mission). That group, mostly girls, was shy at first, then came in and swept through the church like a whirlwind, exploring and exclaiming, playing the piano and making dances. Two of the older ones told us they used to come to a summer program in the basement about two years ago. This time the two brought their two aunts, Deedee and Patricia, both recently graduated from high school. The two older girls were reluctant at first, but once they came and saw the space, the first comment was, "Wow, this is so NICE!" Patricia said that ever since she was a little kid the church had been basically dormant, and they wondered what would happen with it. I asked her what was so nice about the space, and she said, "It's so BIG, there so much space." She liked the light and feeling--she found something unique and special in this place that had been abandoned off and on for so long, something profound and worth preserving.

(1) McLennan, Jason. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design. Ecotone:Missouri c2004

Next: More weekend stories

The first weekend

ARISE STORIES
(photo by Brenda Battad)

The open process of working, which is the most exciting part of Salvage/Salvation, brings a plethora of unexpected encounters and surprising stories.

On our first Saturday open work day we had two notable encounters. Our first visitor was a man who ran a salvage business. He had purchased and then sold a good portion of the church's contents, including the giant rolling doors between the main sanctuary space and the back section of the church and all the pews (both of which are now at Construction Junction), all the stained glass windows (gradually, over the past 20 years), and even the bell from the belfry. Seeing that the church was occupied, he had come by to claim the remainder of his purchases (the top stained glass widnows) from the owner. The owner! Nobody had heard from the owner for years, but this man had seen him in the last eight months! However, even he had lost track of the owner. This salvage expert then told us amazing stories of his forty years of salvaging in the Pittsburgh area, and a few trade secrets (which I will never divulge).

Some questions from this encounter: What do we think of those who salvage the beautiful bits of old buildings? Are they opportunistic despoilers or intelligent preservationists? Or is it a slippery combination of the two? Our salvage expert told a story of a beautiful scale-model mansion in the yard of an old mansion set to be demolished. it was too big for him to move, and it broke his heart to see it destroyed. What is our attitude towards scavengers in general, animal and human? Do we sometimes view them with distaste, without thinking why? They perform a vital function cleaning up the dead and utilizing every scrap of discard. When does functionality shade into depredation?

ARISE begins

Welcome to the ARISE web log!

On May 16, 2007 we began our six-week process of creating ARISE, an installation and conversation area that continues the ideas behind Salvage/Salvation: new ways to think about our material world, the value of noticing and re-using what already exists, finding treasure in "trash," using what you have to make what you need, and encouraging a society of scavengers and survivors rather than producers and consumers (feel free to circulate any of these ideas and catchy slogans everywhere).

"We" are a group of artists: Susan Englert/RA Friedman, Paul Schifino, David Burns /Jason Morris (SO-AD), Brenda Battad, Claire Hoch, Laura Miller, Dawn Weleski, Nashid Ali /Clarinda Mac Low/Jeremy Cannon. Salvage/Salvation is a project of CULTURE PUSH, and was initiated in 2002 by Clarinda Mac Low. (More information at http://www.culturepush.org)

Salvage/Salvation Part 5: ARISE is taking place at the United Brethren in Christ Church in North Braddock, PA, just outside the central Pittsburgh area. In October, 2006, Clarinda was brought to Pittsburgh by Society for Cultural Exchange, and through the efforts of one of the leaders of the SCE, Elizabeth Monoian, made contact with Susan Englert, who led her to John Fetterman, Mayor of the borough of Braddock, who in turn suggested the church as an ideal setting for a new Salvage/Salvation. Now Society for Cultural Exchange has brought Clarinda back for a 6-week stay, providing the project with a home base for operations outside the church.

The church was built in the 1850s and abandoned in 2004 or 2005. What has been discarded and neglected is being used to craft a new reality. The unique history of North Braddock and the church is integrated into the design of the piece and the working process of ARISE will be open to the public. The "final" outcome will be a multi-part installation that also serves as the setting for panel discussions, film showings, and performance events, but it's the process and the conversation that holds the greatest interest, and the greatest value. The Braddock area is currently a nexus for change, a community on the brink of extinction that could go either up or down. A church is a locus for salvation, both spiritual and, through charitable works, material. Through revivifying an abandoned church, ARISE hopes to offer a secular version of salvation, emphasizing the holiness inherent in individual creative acts, and offering hope

You can see on the top left the church as it was in October, 2006. Through the heroic efforts of John Fetterman, Mayor of Braddock, PA, Jeb Feldman (volunteer deputy mayor), the artists, and volunteers from KEYS Service Corps, in March, 2006 it looked more like the photo to the left. We have now been working on and off at the church, and it looks even more lovely.

Tomorrow: Stories so far...

Clarinda Mac Low is the originator of the Salvage/Salvation concept, and a happy visitor to the Pittsburgh area