Out & About: Greensburg artist's 'Cloudy Mind' inspires new exhibit

Greensburg artist Brian McCall dubbed his exhibition in the Greensburg Art Center “Shadows of a Cloudy Mind.”

Questioned about the significance of that title during the July 13 opening reception, McCall said it refers to the starting point of all actions: “Why do you do anything? In making art, you start with an idea — it’s a shadow you’re looking at.”

To take it a little deeper, he said, it can refer to questions about the ultimately unknowable meaning of life.

From McCall’s mind to the gallery space are scores of brilliantly colored, in-your-face polystyrene and papier-mache sculptures, paintings and black-and-white and color illustrations, many referencing local musical events.

Look closely and you might find a political comment or two.

McCall’s 3-D work is found at businesses around the area, including Dv8 Espresso Bar and Gallery in downtown Greensburg. His four colorful paint tubes, visible from Route 30, serve as the art center’s logo; and he’ll be installing another piece there during an Aug. 4 event.

“Cloudy Mind,” on display through Aug. 23, is something of a career-so-far retrospective, with pieces spanning the early 1970s to the present.

Seen at the reception: the artist’s wife, Joanna Moyar, Bill and Susan Kiren, Jeff Kiren, Bill and Bonnie Hoffman, Tom Niggel, Anita Manoli, Keith and Shirleah Kelly, Marcia Gilbert, Pat Majcher, Michaelene McWhinney, Stuart and Nora Thompson, Gene and Janet James, Marcia Koynok, Jill Sorrels, Richard and Eileen Stoner, Linda Blum, Jerry Scorpion, Mary Briggs, Fran Lynch and Sherrie Anderson.