Who owns the city? We might think of Walnut Capital or even UPMC, but we insist that the city belongs to its people. The public spaces we enjoy, the views from a public bus, or even just the sidewalk beneath our feet, all of it is ours for the taking. This conception of public space comes through clearly in the work of Kirsten Lowe-Rebel, a Pittsburgh artist reclaiming the city’s architecture by printing it onto pillows, coasters, and more.
Kirsten’s work is an architectural art study of Pittsburgh’s most beloved views. In the way that nearly everyone has a memory of the Smithfield Street Bridge, or the way that you feel obligated to show an out-of-town visitor the Mount Washington incline, Kirsten wants these pieces of the city to be shared experiences. “I think they’re almost investing in a part of what I’m doing because of that story we can tell about everybody’s special memories around the city. In a cheesy way, I feel very much a part of those.”
Kirsten Low-Rebel, drawing. Photo by Brian Volinic.
And she has grown with the city—besides earning an art degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kirsten has spent all of her life within a stone’s throw of the city, and the intimacy and love that she feels for the city is clear in how she talks about both the city itself and her renderings of the city. Raised by her grandparents, her work is a monument to the support of her friends, family, and neighbors. Steeped in a long tradition of crafting by making soap, painting tiles, and more, her grandmother still helps her sew and create ornaments in her studio.
“Other than the drawing, which I picked up on my own, I learned it all from them. My grandfather helped with metal work when I wanted to learn to make jewelry. I’ve been in business for six years now, and everything has kind of been—it sounds crazy, but it’s been an experiment up until this point. It was like this, I had to do this, I had to try this. And I never thought I’d be selling this many types of products, but it’s all based out of curiosity, I guess. Definitely thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, always.”
Beyond the support and guidance she has received from her grandparents, there is a strong emphasis on family within the work she created. She recounted with delight a time when someone shared their intentions of passing on her work as an heirloom, tying her family to the families of those who purchase her work as well as tying generations to generations.
Kirsten’s background in craftsmanship is evident in the functionality of the pieces she creates. They are meant to be cherished, but also used, so that the architecture, the art, and the memories they hold can become a part of daily life or of special family occasions and communal rituals.
When asked what stories she hopes people gather from her work, Kirsten is clear in what she is able to uniquely address and convey:
“the time that I have existed and lived. That’s probably the most important. That’s aside from the products, and I love design, but when I think about what I’m drawing, there’s an old tradition and many wonderful artists who work in linework, line drawings, even in Pittsburgh. I’m not inventing the wheel. I think I have something to offer, and that’s my specific time here—time and place. A lot of churches get torn down, so what’s important in my memories is being able to encapsulate that.”
Puzzles of Pittsburgh! Photo by Brian Volinic.
There is an intimacy to carrying the Carrie Furnace with you on an apron, or putting together a personal puzzle of the Duquesne Incline with your family and friends. You can give the Monogahela overlook or Phipps Conservatory as a gift, via a comfortable pillow so that your loved one can rest their head on a story or a memory. Of late, Kirsten has been studying the history of Lawrenceville’s Doughboy Statue, a war memorial and neighborhood landmark where Butler St meets Penn Ave, two of the city’s most vibrant avenues of art, commerce, and change.
“There’s so much more that I don’t know that I want to—I have to learn. But how much Lawrenceville has changed up all around it? It’s kind of cool that we still have these large structures that remain.”
As the city changes and grows, and we do so along with it, passing our stories on from generation to generation, there is a gift in having something tangible—a monument, a building, a cityscape, a piece of art—to hold onto, allowing us to remember and allowing us to pass our memories on.
Learn more about Kirsten’s work at her website http://www.klorebel.com/, or visit our shop to buy a great gift!
Wine totes depicting the Duquesne Incline and the Cathedral of Learning. Photo by Brian Volinic.