Faith
and pride
Groups of
people seem to be compelled to describe and record the special events
and traditions in their communities. Some used visual symbols, like
the prehistoric cave drawings of animals. Native Americans honored the
spirits and marked important occasions with ceremonial dances. Songs
sung in the cotton fields in the South resonated with the experiences
of Blacks forced to suffer the cruelties of slavery. With such a diverse
and complex history of immigrants and ethnic communities, it is no surprise
that comparable expressions of folk
art still are evident all over Pittsburgh and its surrounding
region. In short, one may find very formal ethnic dance performances
at the annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival . . . but be just as likely to
witness a spontaneous celebration of the Tarantella on Italian Day at
Kennywood Park!
 Related video stories:
Tom Altany |
The
Nationality Rooms: The Indian Classoom, the Polish Classroom, and
the African Classoom. |
The Nationality
Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh were founded especially to promote
pride in the cultural contribtutions of the many nationalities and ethnic
groups that came to make a home in Pittsburgh.
When the University
of Pittsburgh's Chancellor John G. Bowman had the 42-story Cathedral
of Learning built in the 1920s and 1930s, he invited the ethnic groups
of Pittsburgh to participate by sponsoring and building classrooms representing
their cultures at their highest level of achievement in authentic styles
and materials.
Nineteen rooms
were completed between 1938 and 1957 and seven more rooms were dedicated
between 1987 and 2000. Four more of these unique monuments to the arts
of both everyday folk and recognized masters are in the proposal stage.
Related video stories:
Perhaps churches
stand as the most obvious markers of the city's various ethnic
groups. Many congregations sponsor craft fairs and holiday presentations
that reflect their traditions and celebrate their culture. One very
striking examples happens at St. Peter and Paul Ukranian Orthodox Church
in Carnegie, where an annual Easter celebration includes the creation
and sale of traditional Pysanky eggs. The word Pysanky is derived from
a Ukrainian word meaning "to write," although by traditional
definitions, the eggs actually are being painted. Portions of a design
are "written" in melted wax on a white egg, using a tool called
a kistka. The egg is dipped in a color dye and then the process of "writing"
is repeated. Over and over the eggs are "written" and then
dipped in progressively darker dyes, until ultimately the wax is melted
and removed and a complex and colorful design is revealed on the egg.
Pysanky are
typically made to be given to family members and respected outsiders.
To give a pysanka is to give a symbolic gift of life, which is why the
egg must remain raw and in its shell. Each of the designs and colors
on the pysanka is likely to have a deep, symbolic meaning. Traditionally,
pysanky designs are chosen to match the character of the person to whom
the pysanka is to be given.
Traditionally
made during the last week of Lent, Holy Week in the Catholic and Orthodox
calendars (both faiths are represented in Ukraine), they are then taken
to the church on Easter Sunday to be blessed before being given away
as gifts.
This form
of folk art carries a deep layer of religious meaning for Ukrainians,
many of whom believe that every time a woman makes a pysanka the devil
is pushed farther down into captivity -- but when the last woman to
make pysanky stops, evil will again reign triumphant in the world.
In this century,
pysanky have come to mean something more among Ukrainian immigrants
in North America. Because the former U. S. S. R. was an officially atheistic
state, pysanka writing, with its layers of specifically Christian meaning,
was discouraged. Pysanky, therefore, became for many Ukrainian-Americans
a symbol of their longing for a free, independent Ukraine -- a longing
that has been gratified in recent years since Communism fell.
Each year
at St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, old and young alike
participate in the festival marked by the creation and sale of pysanky.
Parishioners dress in traditional Ukranian outfits, and while adults
sell the eggs, children gather to learn the traditional art of "writing"
the pysanky. It is a way for the parishioners at St. Peter and Paul's
to declare their pride in their heritage, communicate their beliefs
to others, and assure that future generations will preserve the custom
and appreciate the significance of this art form.
Related video stories:
Similar examples
of cultural art exist in other churches and temples in the region. Bethel
A.M.E. Church is recognized as the oldest Black congregation in Pittsburgh,
and they hold an annual fundraiser called Choir Day, where groups perform
many traditional gospel music selections.
Related video stories:
And at St.
Michael the Archangel Church on the South Side, parishioners have,
for the past seventy years, put on the play "Veronica's Veil"
to tell the story of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Members of this church, which was founded by German immigrants in the
mid-19th century, volunteer their time to produce and perform the event,
and each year they use antique costumes and sets to stage this tableau.
Related video stories:
Churches
all over the region serve as excellent "museums" for folk
art and many striking examples of fine art and architecture, too. For
centuries, people have expressed their devotion to God in works of writing,
painting, sculpture, and music. Massive and stunning examples of stained
glass art at Heinz Chapel in Oakland depict over 400 religious
and historical figures, including everyone from saints to Leonardo daVinci
holding a small painting of the Mona Lisa. At Calvary United Methodist
Church on the North Side, three large stained glass windows are
considered among the finest religious stained glass ever produced by
Tiffany's.
Related video stories:
In Millvale,
at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, one very unusual wall
mural blends religious and political themes to express a strong personal
message from its artist, Maxo Vanka, a Croatian artist who fled to the
U.S. in the mid-1930's. On the ceilings and walls of St. Nicholas, Vanka
painted Jesus' mother weeping at the Crucifixion; a Croatian mother
weeping as she raises her sons for war; an immigrant mother weeping
as she raises her sons for hard labor in the manufactories; and the
famous statue of Injustice wearing a gas mask. On the ceilings below
the choir loft he painted images of war, mixing images of Christ with
20th Century soldiers, and at the back, a greedy capitalist sitting at a table ignoring a beggar at his feet.
Clyde Hare for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks |
| Max
Vanka's mural inside St. Nicholas Church in Millvale. |
The controversial
commentary on social classes and injustice sparked debate at the time,
and a prominent Pittsburgh family even offered one million dollars to
the Diocese to whitewash what they felt was a personal attack. The offer
was refused, and today the controversial images still exist along with
Vanka's more pastoral images depicting rural life in a Croatian
village. In those less provocative mural images, people are dressed
in traditional Croatian costumes, and they dance by a sea that "flows"
into the hills of Pittsburgh, surrounded by a painting of the parish
priest and the immigrants who helped to build the church.
Related video stories:
Making
a home
No structure
is as intensely personal as an individual's home. The structure
itself needs only to protect the inhabitant from the elements of nature.
If it has walls and a roof to keep out the rain, and a suitable foundation
to keep it standing through a windstorm, then it's serving its
purpose. But we return again to that human need to mark something as
"special" -- and suddenly the little box takes on new shape,
to reflect the vision of the designer and the tastes of its inhabitant.
One excellent
example of this is a small white house that stands in Washington County.
It is the home of artist Malcolm Parcell, who lived there from 1963
until his death in 1987. While Parcell is most remembered for portraits
(some of which still grace the walls of the home), this odd house became
part of his artistic legacy too. Parcell designed the place by adding
new rooms onto an older structure and fashioning both interior and exterior
into a romantic cottage of mainly colonial design.
Parcell dubbed
the home Moon Lorn, a reference to trees on the estate that obscured
Parcell's view of the moon. Donald Miller, an art critic for the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, wrote a book about Parcell called The Wizard Of Moon Lorn,
and speaks of the eccentricities of Malcolm Parcell. According to Miller,
the house is not extremely well balanced, but it is extremely attractive.
It's a home, says Miller, where all kinds of art can be appreciated,
and the Malcolm Parcell Foundation hopes someday to open Moon Lorn as
a house museum.
Rick Sebak
|
| Moon
Lorn the home of artist Malcolm Purcell. |
Related video stories:
Many other
homes in Western Pennsylvania merit celebration as works of art. Frederick
Schiebler, Jr., was a progressive architect who worked in Pittsburgh
in the early 1900's, and his designs reveal classic features that
immediately identify them as Schiebler creations. Many of his homes
are still featured in community house tours.
And, in Aspinwall,
a series of "castles" is situated behind what used to be the
main home of German immigrant Frederick Sauer. He designed these castles
back in the early 1900's as a tribute to the much larger castles
he recalled from his old life in Heidleberg, Germany. What does that
tell us about Sauer's feelings toward his homeland? His culture?
What if, instead of being charming and lovingly detailed, the castles
were grossly exaggerated and designed to look imposing or frightening?
What would you surmise about Sauer's feelings then?
Related video stories:
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks |
| One
of Frederick Sauer castles. |
|
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