Drawing the Future of a Former Industrial Center.
While working on the mural proposal that I blogged about on Monday, I found myself pondering the future of Pittsburgh. Of course there are plenty of speculators with different ideas about the evolution of the city. For at least the last decade and a half, we've been told to expect a technology boom that will revitalize the local economy. This could well happen, especially with the Carnegie Mellon campus being centrally located in the area. There have been a number of start-up tech firms founded and/or staffed by the university's alumni. Others have called for us to prepare to deal with the rapidly aging population of the area. Certainly there will be plenty of opportunities to work in the health care industry. The aging of the citizenry will likely combine with ongoing white flight to continue the mild population decrease the city has experienced since the 1970's. Eventually this process is likely to be reversed as people in over-developed cities across the nation come to realize the bargain that living in Pittsburgh already is.
But when I was trying to conjure a vision to supplement my depiction of the Burgh's industrial past, I kept "drawing a blank". What is the future for such a city with the heart of a town? Part of me feels that the world is on the verge of a major transitional shift likely to change the picture in every city across the nation. I envision an energy crisis, coupled with global warming. We can expect a total shift of demographics at a worldwide level. Pittsburgh is fairly well placed for such changes. It is inland enough, and has sufficient altitude to be unaffected by rising sea levels. It has rivers that can be ably used for transportation. Its northern latitude means that its climate is likely to become more pleasant with rising temperatures. Pennsylvania has a wide range of agricultural possibilities to provide food in times of scarcity. We have a significant Amish population with ample expertise in methods of self-sustainability. Because they have no dependence on modern technology, they will be an excellent source for solutions.
Certainly we could expect that history might come full circle. Humanity will seek older wisdom and turn once again to traditional ways of survival. But what does that actually look like? How do I articulate that possibility? I wanted something simple, yet symbolic. I considered representing the future in a Cubist style, but realized that I'd come up with something kitschy or retro, rather than forward-looking. I did incorporate that flavor in my depiction of downtown. But then I had the idea to go completely retro- with references to the indigenous peoples and architecture of Native Americans. Because if civilization resets itself, and we are lucky enough to have an inhabitable planet left... then the far-flung future is going to look a hell of a lot like the distant past. And this is where it gets weird.
You see, if some modern-day prophets are right, we are in for a massive shake-up ("an epochal shift in human consciousness") on December 21, 2012. According to Mayan legend, any place with a convergence of rivers is sacred. Local psychotherapist Vicki Hanchin says that our three rivers, along with the fourth one that flows underneath, are a mirror for the Mayan 'Universal World Tree'. Therefore Pittsburgh is seen as a key portal. The Mayan calendar indicates that we are about to enter the final stages of creation. As the sun aligns itself with the "heart of the Milky Way" (in 2012), a cosmic channel will open and bring an energy flow that will bring us out of duality. Hanchin believes the focal point will be Pittsburgh.
Regardless of whether or not there is any validity to Hanchin's ideas (which can be read in detail here), there is some historical evidence of a link between Mayans and Southwestern PA, if only very indirect. There is an archaeological site near Greater Pittsburgh called the Meadowcroft Rockshelter that is thought to be the earliest settlement of Americans. People lived there over a period of 16,000 years, and there is little doubt that the Mayan people were descended from them. They brought their sacred mound technology (as evidenced in Moundsville, WV) through the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and into the Yucatan. The step-pyramid temples erected by the Mayans could well have been further evolutions of these mounds.
Though the connection between the Mayans and our contemporary 'Burghers seems tenuous, I am intrigued by its possibilities. In envisioning Pittsburgh's future, I am drawn to dormant symbols that linger on our periphery like specters. But are these visions of what has been, or what might yet be? Time will tell.
But when I was trying to conjure a vision to supplement my depiction of the Burgh's industrial past, I kept "drawing a blank". What is the future for such a city with the heart of a town? Part of me feels that the world is on the verge of a major transitional shift likely to change the picture in every city across the nation. I envision an energy crisis, coupled with global warming. We can expect a total shift of demographics at a worldwide level. Pittsburgh is fairly well placed for such changes. It is inland enough, and has sufficient altitude to be unaffected by rising sea levels. It has rivers that can be ably used for transportation. Its northern latitude means that its climate is likely to become more pleasant with rising temperatures. Pennsylvania has a wide range of agricultural possibilities to provide food in times of scarcity. We have a significant Amish population with ample expertise in methods of self-sustainability. Because they have no dependence on modern technology, they will be an excellent source for solutions.
Certainly we could expect that history might come full circle. Humanity will seek older wisdom and turn once again to traditional ways of survival. But what does that actually look like? How do I articulate that possibility? I wanted something simple, yet symbolic. I considered representing the future in a Cubist style, but realized that I'd come up with something kitschy or retro, rather than forward-looking. I did incorporate that flavor in my depiction of downtown. But then I had the idea to go completely retro- with references to the indigenous peoples and architecture of Native Americans. Because if civilization resets itself, and we are lucky enough to have an inhabitable planet left... then the far-flung future is going to look a hell of a lot like the distant past. And this is where it gets weird.
You see, if some modern-day prophets are right, we are in for a massive shake-up ("an epochal shift in human consciousness") on December 21, 2012. According to Mayan legend, any place with a convergence of rivers is sacred. Local psychotherapist Vicki Hanchin says that our three rivers, along with the fourth one that flows underneath, are a mirror for the Mayan 'Universal World Tree'. Therefore Pittsburgh is seen as a key portal. The Mayan calendar indicates that we are about to enter the final stages of creation. As the sun aligns itself with the "heart of the Milky Way" (in 2012), a cosmic channel will open and bring an energy flow that will bring us out of duality. Hanchin believes the focal point will be Pittsburgh.
Regardless of whether or not there is any validity to Hanchin's ideas (which can be read in detail here), there is some historical evidence of a link between Mayans and Southwestern PA, if only very indirect. There is an archaeological site near Greater Pittsburgh called the Meadowcroft Rockshelter that is thought to be the earliest settlement of Americans. People lived there over a period of 16,000 years, and there is little doubt that the Mayan people were descended from them. They brought their sacred mound technology (as evidenced in Moundsville, WV) through the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and into the Yucatan. The step-pyramid temples erected by the Mayans could well have been further evolutions of these mounds.
Though the connection between the Mayans and our contemporary 'Burghers seems tenuous, I am intrigued by its possibilities. In envisioning Pittsburgh's future, I am drawn to dormant symbols that linger on our periphery like specters. But are these visions of what has been, or what might yet be? Time will tell.
posted by Merge Divide at 8:24 PM
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