The event will take place near the Pump House, Waterfront Drive East, Munhall, PA 15210
Friday June 12, 2009 6:00 - 8:00pm.
RSVP 'yes' by Tuesday June 9 to 412-464-4020 (Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area)
Funding for the Homestead Labyrinth was made possible with the generous support of:
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area
The Heinz Endowments' Small Arts Initiative
The A.W. Mellon Educational & Charitable Trust Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation
Weisshouse
Pixel River Photo + Art
and private donors
Homestead Labyrinth
The Homestead Labyrinth, a new installation by artist Lorraine Vullo, will be dedicated Friday, June 12, from 6 pm to 8 pm. The labyrinth is located on the banks of the Monongahela River at the Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive, in the Waterfront. The site, once part of the former Homestead Works, took its place in history when the Pinkertons and the Amalgamated Iron and Steel Workers clashed on July 6, 1892 in an event that became known as the Battle of Homestead. The Homestead Labyrinth is a peaceful, contemplative space in an area that was the scene of one of the most dramatic moments in American labor history. It also contains a strong personal connection for Ms. Vullo as the entrance of the labyrinth faces 123 degrees ESE, the location of the moon at the time of her son’s birth.
The medieval eleven-ring labyrinth is constructed of cobble stones and concrete triangles in various sizes and colors to represent the Monongahela, the Allegheny and the Ohio Rivers. On each of the hand-made triangles, Ms. Vullo engraved the name of a mill, foundry or furnace that is, or was once, located on that river, honoring the men and women who came from all over the world to live and work here. Walking the path of this labyrinth allows visitors and residents to tread on history in a context that is beautiful and quiet with local iconic images sharing space with ancient symbolism.
A crew of four, Lorriane Vullo, Michael Picarsic III, Ed Lewis, and Preston Allen, constructed the labyrinth in less than a month after months of planning.
The Homestead Labyrinth’s location at the Pump House, a trail head on the Steel Valley Trail, makes the art installation readily accessible to visitors hiking or biking this part of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, the 325-mile, trail that connects Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.
Rivers of Steel
