
Watermark
Ann Tarantino
Artist: Ann Tarantino
Medium: Acrylic paint, vinyl, lights, projectors, audio.
Size: 1 Mile
Work Performed: Collaborated in design of artwork, presentation drawings and images, and stencil digital fabrication.
Neighborhood Allies & Office of Public Art | Millvale, Pennsylvania | 2017
From the artist: Inspired by the water that runs through Millvale and forms a crucial part of its history and identity, Watermark connects community assets Riverfront Park, Grant Avenue Pocket Park (GAP Park), and the Grant Avenue business district with a single line. Viewers who follow the line in its entirety find views of Millvale at each end: the beauty of the Allegheny River at Riverfront Park, and a light and audio installation at GAP Park, which sits directly over local water body Girty’s Run. Watermark is a wayfinding tool that enhances the gateway to Millvale, increases community enjoyment of GAP Park, and celebrates local waterways.
Commissioned by Neighborhood Allies and the Office of Public Art’s Temporary Public Art and Placemaking Program in collaboration with the Millvale Community Development Corporation, the Millvale Community Library, and the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
Funded by The Heinz Endowments and The Hillman Foundation.
Work Performed:
Proposal presentation drawings and renderings, schematic layout and material selection.
Project Photos
Visitors enjoy the lights and sounds of the public plaza.
millvale, Pennsylvania is just north of downtown Pittsburgh. The city lies in a valley with steep sides and a small creek that empties into the Allegheny River. Highway 28 right along the banks of the Allegheny River and cuts off the city from the river. The only means of waterfront access is a small park/landing accessed via the highway overpass.
The work consists of a mile-long line that connects the river to the Grant Avenue Pocket Park. The line meanders from sidewalks, to walls, fences and storefront windows. At the Grant Avenue Pocket Park, the line culminates in an audio visual installation that brings the sounds and sights of the river to the city’s heart.
Audio-visual installation at the public plaza.
Projections and audio light up the space at night, bringing the sights and sounds of the river to the town center.
The line as it guides visitors and passerby's under the highway overpass to the water.
The line near the riverfront, guiding people to the water's edge.
Installation plaque, interacting with the painted line.
With active participation from the community, the line overtakes local storefronts.