Diamond Diamonds

Steel, plexiglass, LEDs, and mixed media, 2011

Each sculpture approx. 54” x 54” x 60”

Installed in Pittsburgh, PA.

Commissioned by Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Pittsburgh's Office for Public Art.

Budget: $19,500

Night photos above taken by Heather Mull.

Diamond Diamonds is a pair of sculptures installed on Market Street in downtown Pittsburgh which reference the history of nearby Market Square. This area, a hub of civic and social activity in Pittsburgh since the city began, was at one time referred to as the Diamond, and for many years was the home of the Diamond Market.  

The sculptures are mounted on a pair of light poles and surround the luminary at the top of the pole.  The blue steel structures reference the molecular form of the diamond crystal. Suspended within this framework, the popular image of the gemstone appears as “brilliant cut” diamond shapes. LED lights within the Plexiglas diamonds glow from dusk until dawn. The combination of the natural and artificial structures of the diamond alludes to the idea of the city as a cultural structure intersecting with the natural landscape.