Cynthia Ryan Kelly, American
Steven and His Thousand Trucks, 2008
The man featured in this painting is the former governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear. Cynthia Ryan Kelly lives in Kentucky and was disappointed with the support that mountaintop mining companies received from the governor. Governor Beshear established $300,000 of funds to use for coal education and to support the idea of mountaintop removal mining. The numerous trucks depicted in the work are coal trucks that are used to transport coal away from the mines. The money coming from the governor’s hands is the money that was used to promote positive coal education. This ties into one of the aspects of our readings of how the coal industry has such a large influence on politics. Label by Olivia Falb