Message from the Chair
Dear friends and colleagues:
Having survived the G20, I am relaxing a moment to take stock of the changes that have come to our department, the university, and the region.
Although the G20 brought both welcome and unwelcome publicity to the city, one thing is clear: local arts and cultural institutions were at the forefront of the event and were one of the main forces responsible for it coming to Pittsburgh in the first place. Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning, the Phipps Conservatory (across the bridge from our building), and the Warhol Museum all hosted G20 leaders, while the conference itself took place in Rafael Vinoly’s LEED-certified convention center, emblazoned with its electronic Jenny Holzer installation. I encountered many people who had not been to Pittsburgh since the collapse of the steel industry, and for them the experience was eye-opening.
Here in town, though, we now take much of this for granted. The opening of new galleries and arts institutions, the proliferation of grass-roots initiatives in urban agriculture and green infrastructure, the city’s disproportionate achievements in LEED-certified construction, the rapid rise in the university’s research funding and overall reputation – all this is old news.
The research strength of History of Art and Architecture is also old news, but we are marking that record in spectacular fashion with five new book publications this fall, on everything from contemporary art and Pittsburgh architecture to ancient metallurgy in China and Mongolia. These books represent years and sometimes decades of scholarly work now come to fruition.
At the same time we are still moving in new directions. We have launched a new museum-studies course for undergraduates, taught this fall by Warhol Museum curator Eric Shiner, which put together a beautiful exhibition of Japanese prints and contemporary art in our University Art Gallery. The Fine Foundation has given us a pilot grant to continue the program next year and to include within it paid internships for students at local arts institutions. In our Architectural Studies program, we are launching a Historic Preservation track to complement the design track that has been established with the addition of our architecture studio in Thaw Hall.
We are also beginning a new strategic planning process to update our work done five years ago. We hope to build on our longstanding strengths in teaching world cultures, and create new ways of thinking about our discipline in the 21st century. We also have the good fortune of searching this year for a new faculty member in modern and contemporary architecture, with preference for a specialist in East Asia or Latin America.
In short, a very busy year stretches ahead. As always we welcome your comments, suggestions, and participation.
Kirk Savage, Department Chair