this roadtrip has seven days: day six, part two

Day 6: Pittsburgh, PA (Part 2)

The rain started up again as I left the Strip, scotching plans to wander around the core of the city. I drove around, tangling myself up in a mess of one-way streets, crossing the three rivers a few times. Not many opportunities to shoot pics out of the car, but I managed to capture these shots of Heinz Field (home of the Steelers) and the incline railway.

With no sign of the rain ending, it seemed like the perfect time to head to the Carnegie Museums on Forbes Avenue. The Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural Science share the same complex, with floors of each museum colliding into each other, especially due to renovations and installations. If you tire of the arts, you're only steps away from nature.

A room of chairs.

The Great Love, Robert Indiana, 1966. I associate this with a US postage stamp from my childhood collection.

Bob, The Vigilant Fire Company's Dog, H. Rebele, 1863. From the museum's website:

According to the inscription, this portrait by H. Rebele was donated to the fire company by J.R. S[illegible]th and D. Kloppman three years after Bob's death by poison. Mysteries abound. Was Bob's death deliberate or an accident? How did the artist, a German fresco painter living in Pittsburgh from 1856 to 1868/9, know what Bob looked like? Is this portrait based on a photograph, or a verbal description of the deceased, or perhaps the appearance of one of Bob's relatives?

All of these mysteries may explain why this painting caught my eye, along with the odd look in his eye and "odd-man-out" quality compared to the other works around it (mostly landscapes).

Rites of Springtime, Gianni Toso, 2006. Part of the Viva Vetro! exhibition of contemporary glasswork from Venice and America.

Elevator. Stratavator. See the difference?

Birds of a feather flock together...imagine a conversation between Opus and Foghorn Leghorn.

I wondered if I had been trailed by these battling deer since I first encountered their brethren in Albany.

After the museums, I continued east along Forbes, stopping for a stroll in Squirrel Hill. Left: an intriguing combination of old movie theatre and megabookstore chain (unlike TO, where the former has became the latter, a la the Runnymede). Right: cheap glasses on Forbes. More on the neighbourhood.

After a quick Middle Eastern meal in Oakland, I slowly made my way back to the hotel. I followed the sidestreet I parked on downhill, ending up at a one-lane underpass.

The sign did not lie.

Full photo set on Flickr.

Next: Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we're finally on our own...