Join Rivers of Steel at the Carrie Blast Furnaces for the opening reception of Mini Greens 2, a new art installation created by Bradford Mumpower and Latika Sewell in the Iron Garden. Drop in for a free public reception from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. and chat with the artists. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided.
Artists Bradford Mumpower and Latika Sewell joined forces to disassemble and upcycle hundreds of yards of fabric into more than 1,500 tiny greens jackets. Strung like flags along more than a mile of cord through the Iron Garden at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, the mini greens feature colorful decals depicting imagery from Rivers of Steel’s historical archives. Adorned with scaled details, including chrome buttons, pockets, and cufflinks, the jackets take the form of pennant flags that playfully traverse the garden grounds, providing an alternative visual path for visitors to follow.
Stringing up flags in open spaces is done across many, if not all, cultures globally. Here in the U.S., pennant flags are strung to celebrate events and team activities. In Mexico, papel picados, or tissue-paper flags, are chiseled with a variety of patterns and used to decorate buildings, streets, and Day of the Dead altars during secular and religious celebrations. In Nepal, Tibetan prayer flags are a ubiquitous part of the landscape and likewise reflect Bradford’s Buddhist beliefs.
Mini Greens 2 uses this global compositional form to create a palpably sacred community space at the furnaces in much the same way the Iron Garden itself celebrates nature’s sacred role in reclaiming formerly industrial locations. As the mini jacket flags honor the many thousands of former workers now missing from the furnaces today, the garden pays homage to the slow and deliberate role nature plays in healing these brutal places over time.
Artist-led tours of the installation will be available throughout the season during scheduled Arts & Grounds Tours, as well as on August 19 for open house at the Carrie Blast Furnaces and October 7 during the Festival of Combustion.
This project was made possible with support from The Heinz Endowments’ Small Arts Initiative.
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Free; registration encouraged.
In the summer of 2021, Bradford Mumpower created Greens Jacket #1 for Rivers of Steel’s Alloy Pittsburgh program, a temporary art installation at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The massive jacket displayed at the furnace represented the fire-retardant uniform worn by steel workers, which are referred to as “Greens.” For Mumpower, the excitement of working on a project of this size and scope was tempered with the concern of using so much fabric for a single temporary installation. While deinstalling the piece, Bradford immediately began to consider an ambitious concept that would repurpose his artwork into a new piece, with a nod to the previous work. In 2023, Mini Greens 2 was born.
The Carrie Blast Furnaces are located in the communities of Swissvale and Rankin in the Monongahela River Valley.
The address is 801 Carrie Furnace Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15218.
As a former industrial site, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure an enjoyable visit.
Thank you for following these guidelines. We wish you to have the best visit possible and appreciate your patience as we continue to improve the visitor experience.
For more information, contact info@riversofsteel.com.
such as tours, workshops, and festivals happening at each unique attraction.
