School of Art staff member and adjunct professor Jenna Boyles collaborated with students from two local schools to create a sculptural installation at Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square.
School of Art Digital and Physical Computing Technician and Adjunct Professor Jenna Boyles recently unveiled a new public artwork on the exterior of City Kitchen at Bakery Square, a mixed-use development in Pittsburgh’s East End. The installation is the fifth commission in the Bakery Square Public Art Program, which invites local artists to collaborate with nearby schools as part of a residency.
Bakery Square — also home to Google Pittsburgh, among others — sits on the site of the historic Nabisco Baking Factory. The public art program is rooted in neighborhood involvement and aims to connect local youth with practicing artists. Selected from a pool of 57 applicants, Boyles partnered with students from PPS Lincoln Pre K-5 and the Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh to co-create the piece. Titled Pittsburgh Highlights, the three-dimensional mural uses plywood and acrylic in a way similar to paper collage. Students created textured patterns with paint using stamps made of repurposed materials and then cut shapes from the paper, leaving behind colorful scrap. Each shape highlights the experience of traveling along Pittsburgh’s three rivers, where one might encounter a bridge, birds, plants, and the occasional shiny object.
Boyles often constructs sculptural installations and experimental instruments from discarded electronics and recycled materials, embracing the creative potential of overlooked objects through play, organization, and community engagement. “As an educator, I am interested in how systems of waste in a creative learning environment can be reimagined and redesigned,” she says. “As interfaces between humans and technologies meld together, I believe it is important to create opportunities to slow down, share knowledge and learn from one another.”
Photos by Darius Veltri