This statue has so much beautiful movement implied– I love the way the figures are leaning back as if they are holding each other up as they celebrate.
From Discovering Pittsburgh Sculpture:
These men with their arms locked together [represent] the strong and the weak; the affluent and the poor; the educated and the underprivileged; this is one society, one community.
I only wish it was in a more accessible location!
It used to be at the intersection of Penn and Highland, but in 1990 it was moved to its current location behind the East Liberty Presbyterian Church at Baum Blvd and Whitfield Street. It’s right in the middle of the intersection on this little island. It really deserves to be somewhere where people would walk near to it, sit next to it, etc.
It was moved when the East Liberty Mall was opened to traffic. I wish I had been in Pittsburgh when there weren’t cars allowed in that area– one of the things I like most about European cities are the pedestrian zones, and this statue in particular would fit right in.
It’s going to be interesting to watch as the East Liberty neighborhood continues to evolve– the building on one side of the sculpture is under construction, as are many others in the area.
In Discovering Pittsburgh Sculpture, the fountains in the middle of the circle and around the circle look a lot higher than they were when I went to take pictures last month. I don’t know if they just weren’t turned on all the way or if the fountains were modified for the move.
It’s made out of Cor-Ten steel that rusts to form a protective layer– it’s the same material that the USX tower is made of.
Cantini has many of his works around the city, especially at Pitt. While doing research, I found this great story about someone meeting him. From that and the other things I’ve read about him, it seems like he was a really interesting person.
