'It's Not Big Enough' Local Artists Paint Black Lives Matter Along The Allegheny River Walk Downtown
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Local artists have a message.
That message is 300-feet-by-12-feet and can be seen from its concrete canvas along the river walk beneath the Fort Duquesne Bridge and all the way across the river on the North Shore.
"It's not big enough," said Connor Clarke who is one of roughly two dozen artists and passers-by who worked from sunrise to sunset Saturday creating this piece of art.
"People would show up and be like 'yo can I help?' And I'm like absolutely," said Clarke.
The painters went through more than 40 gallons of paint and several spray paint cans to create Pittsburgh's newest piece of artwork everyone's talking about.
Charice Williams told KDKA she saw photos of the painting on Facebook and decided to stop down with her family.
"I wanted to bring my kids down to see it in person. I kinda wanted them to see how everyone is coming together against what happened with George Floyd," Williams said.
As people stopped to snap selfies and stare in appreciation the faces of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbury, and Antwon Rose, all black, unarmed black people whose lives were unjustly taken, are staring back through spray-painted portraits on the pillars of the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
Courtney Zellers, a spectator, said: "Everyone is created in God's image. So the fact that there are people who don't believe that about some people just kills me inside."
Clarke said he and the other painters did not reach out to the city for permission before putting this up.
He hopes city leaders will be understanding of their message.
When asked his response to people who are speaking negatively of this painting on social media, Clarke said: "Keep your mouth shut or try and learn from something."
Clarke said the artists are glad people are enjoying this painting but also said this is more than just a piece of art and that when people see it, he hopes they consider what they can do to make a difference.
