Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Rust Belt Icons

My recollections of the other night, about my Steampunk childhood, took on yet more life recently with 3Muses "Rust" challenge. Looking at those old photos of the Pittsburgh mills is so awesome--you expect to see the god Vulcan lumbering from behind a Bessemer converter, or Jupiter hurling thunderbolts into a vat of molten steel. I remember stories that when a steelworker fell into a vat of molten metal, the entire thing would be decommissioned, disconnected,  and buried. Because of course, no iota of a body would be left to retrieve. Apocryphal, I have no doubt (how could any local cemetery bury something the size of a tank?)

I offer my own take on the mills as icons of their era, as is the lady in the picture. I scuffed her up a bit in tribute to the hard, relentless, unimaginable lives of thousands of steel workers who created another sort of Renaissance in American industry. We can be thankful that the era of unbridled industrialization, with its accompanying pollution, exploitation, disease and early death, is behind us. Or is it? We still face its modern-day counterparts, with devastating consequences on an even greater scale than anything the steel mills ever produced.  Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose.

For some truly remarkable urban archeology photographs of the defunct mills, please visit Sean Posey's blog, http://seanposey.blogspot.com/

10 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your stories along with your art! This piece is a wonderful addition to our collection of beautiful rusty pieces of art this week. Good work!

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  2. Nice collage work.. and a definite rust tone oozing from it.. well done.

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  3. Wonderful Renaissance rust! A lovely entry for this theme!

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  4. Thank you for the reminisces. beautiful treatment to Mona. Love it.xx

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  5. Fabulous piece and Mona is one of my all time faves!

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  6. I'm sure when Mona escaped from the Louvre for the umpteenth time this year she never expected to be 'scuffed up a bit' by a lady who refuses to grow up! A right shock to her system I bet. :o) Your stories are phenomenal Diane and your rework of the lady herself is inspired. Standing Ovation from my corner.

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  7. Diane, this is fabulous! I love what you did with Mona!

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  8. Whatever artists do with Mona she always comes up 'shining' even full of rust, Diane, exceptional take on the theme!

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  9. What an inspired idea to team the wonderful rusty mill pictures with Mona who pops up everywhere. Perhaps she had a boring life but, by jiminy, she has been on an exciting journey for the past 500 years, especially now in 2010 when the bloggers make sure she is having fun!!
    I love your collage. It is so UNIQUE and interesting.

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