Hobo's Swollen Left Arm

Name/Title

Hobo's Swollen Left Arm

Entry/Object ID

2017.3.9

Description

Joe Louis Light's "Hobo's Swollen Left Arm" depicts a large image of a "hobo," a common and reoccurring image in Light's work. In being asked about the piece, Light said "A lot of my art comes from my imagination. Painted from feeling. But some of it is real special for me. Hobo and Birdman are my reality. It has to do with my own life. I felt at one time that I didn't have no friends, nobody on my side. My mother and father had turned against me. I came up with this hobo, searching for some relationship with people. Lonely person. That's why you see that hobo walking by himself, in isolation."

Artwork Details

Medium

plywood, paint

Collection

Southern Vernacular Art Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2017.3

Source or Donor

Hill, Lou and Calynne

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Light, Joe Louis

Role

Artist

Date made

n.d.

Dimensions

Height

48 in

Width

96 in

Interpretative Labels

Label

Joe Light (b. 1934-2005) Joe Light saw himself as a fighter against the shortcomings of humanity and used his paintings as his weapons. Light's paintings are characterized by bold, black lines outlining brightly colored cartoon-like figures. He worked with house paint on wood and also painted on discarded objects. Sometimes, he placed these discarded items directly on top of his paintings, adding what he called "attachments".

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

January 25, 2017