7:11AM 11.20.1979 79°55'W 40°27'N (sculpture)
7:11AM 11.20.1979 79°55'W 40°27'N is a landmark public sculpture in light by Janet Zweig sited in Mellon Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The artwork was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Pittsburgh Arts Council during a $775,000 renovation of the park's Walled Garden area. The installation measures 108 feet by 66 feet, features light via fiber optic cables and light sticks, and 150 granite markers with text.[1]
This piece depicts stars and planets (150 in all) at the lawn-level of the garden, matching the exact sky over Pittsburgh at the 1979 birth of Ann Katharine Seamans (1979–1999), whom the installation memorializes. The title indicates that specific time, date, longitude, and latitude. Ann Seamans was a Wesleyan University sophomore who died in an auto accident, the site held significance for the Seamans family in remembering that Ann and her friends "would sometimes lie on their backs in the walled garden and look up at the stars." Seamans was the daughter of Elizabeth Nadas Seamans, a filmmaker and script writer best known for her collaboration with Fred Rogers on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on which she appears as Mrs. McFeely.[2]
The sculpture was dedicated on June 12, 2010.[3]
See also
References
- "Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy public art website". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- Lowry, Patricia (2 April 2009). "Artist chosen for Mellon Park memorial". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- Meredith Skrzypczak (June 4, 2010). "Hidden during the day, artwork transforms Mellon Park at night". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.