Inventory, 2007
Next Project →Situated on a plateau in Pittsburgh and overlooking a valley carved by Negley Run and Washington Boulevard, difficult terrain surrounds Larimer on three sides. Relying on a series of bridges to provide connection with nearby neighborhoods, Larimer hovers at the periphery of city political, economic and social attention. Years of neglect have eroded the physical and social resources of the neighborhood. Publicworks Office responded by initiating a series of actions and events between 2005 and 2007 under the banner “Friends of Larimer.”
Paul Virilio describes an intellectual tradition of “list portraits of individuals revealed through their belongings” in his introductory text for Contraband by Taryn Simon (Steidel/Gagosian, 2009). For Inventory, Friends of Larimer removed 260 cubic feet of litter from vacant lots and sidewalks and found a flow of objects–plastic bottles, corn chips bags and candy wrappers; rotting phone books, hair extensions, and receipts–along both official and unofficial vectors of movement. Some of those objects are presented here, as an abbreviated “list-portrait” of the neighborhood.