An oil painting of a dark human figure playing a stringed instrument with a bow, riding a large horse with a red and green tussle hanging from each side of it's mouth. Behind the human figure is a large orange leopard-like cat with large teeth on top of the horse as well., Ile Goree; (54 x 72 inches); oil/canvas; 1997, “Most of my art, in some way or another, tries to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’” says Smith, looking at a particularly aggressive piece that he painted in 2006 called “The Lower 9th.” The large oil-on-canvas features a pastiche of what he calls “derogatory caricatures” (including Aunt Jemima and “black-face” characters) surrounded by images of forgotten souls swept away in Hurricane Katrina. “I’d hate to think that my history began with slavery,” says Smith. “To me, that is a lie. But the remnants still exist today, especially in the way we have been depicted in culture. This is what I try to explore in my work.” (excerpt from online biography at http://www.pnca.edu/exposure/stories/216/arvie-smith), The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Linn-Benton Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.artcentric.org/
An impressionistic rendering of a man driving a team of two horses toward the hitch of a covered wagon., Phil Tyler; bungin' up the team; state capital, (1970) Phil Tyler was born in Alabama. Eventually he moved west and settled on a small ranch at the base of Mt. Hood. A painter of the cowboy life, his subjects come from personal experience with that life. HORSEMAN focuses on a lone horsemen cantering across a pale green, light-washed space. The background is simply a wash of color which modulates from soft green to soft brown. The horse and rider are carefully and lovingly delineated from curb bit, to girth, to chaps. The acquisition of this work was made possible by Oregon's Percent for Art in Public Places program which is administered by the Oregon Arts Commission., The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html