From McKees Rocks to Carnegie, talented artists have worked for years perfecting their craft, often unknown to many of their West Hills neighbors.
That is beginning to change, however, thanks to a new initiative launched by the Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.
Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 5, the Library will highlight Carnegie artists in an exhibit at The Studio in the landmark building on Beechwood Avenue funded by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
The exhibit, titled “The Showcase of Carnegie Artists,” features the work of 10 Carnegie artists who work in a variety of mediums.
One of the more unusual is Carnegie resident Dave Columbus, who works in what he calls data visualization. He describes his art as taking large amounts of data then designing it into cohesive forms that are easy to follow using various shapes and color.
As an example, his piece “Star Trek Duty Roster” breaks down every job performed by crew members of the USS Enterprise starship from the original “Star Trek” TV series.
The piece contains 86 rings in a spoke and wheel pattern, each ring representing one of the original episodes in the TV series with every job performed by a crew member in that episode. The rings form the circular part of the Enterprise superimposed over a representation of the entire starship.
Dave Klug, co-owner of Double Dog Studios in Carnegie and a talented painter, illustrator and musician, created two new paintings for the exhibit. The first depicts Andrew Carnegie, resplendent in white beard, flanked by two full-grown Scottish collies. Beyond the bridge a goose waddles by, a nod to Carnegie’s abundant population of Canada geese. In the far background of the painting on a hill looms the Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.
Klug’s other Carnegie-themed painting is an image of the Hall of Fame baseball player and Carnegie native Honus Wagner, coming to bat in his Pirate uniform. Wagner, who played shortstop for the Pirates, was inducted in the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson.
Eva Trout, co-owner of the Fire Box Studios on East Main Street — which highlights the work of women artists — contributed one of her vibrant abstract paintings. Trout is also an arts educator and motivational speaker. Many of her paintings reflect her deep sense of spirituality. She is also an ordained minister who works on clean water projects in Africa and Central America.
Phil Salvato, a long-time Carnegie resident and former owner of the Third Street Gallery, contributed three works to the exhibit: “Soho, Japanese Zen Buddhist Monk” both works in charcoal, and the painting, “Rainy Morning – East Main Street” in oil. Salvato can often be seen in Carnegie working at his easel, painting local scenes in a process called plein air painting that he loves.
Visitors will see two works by renowned icon painter Michael Kapeluck, “Holy Forerunner and Baptist John,” and “Holy Apostle St. James Alphaeus,” both in acrylic. Kapeluck is famous worldwide for his work in religious iconography.
The rest of the artists featured in the exhibit are Anthony Vitale, Ron Mahoney, Bernadette Kazmarski, Kathleen Zimbicki and Marlene Pendleton.
More complete biographies of each artist will be available at the exhibit. Exhibit hours are the same as library hours. Consult the library website for times and dates. The artist showcase will run through Aug. 16.
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