Steven and His Thousand Trucks

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

Sludge Creek

Cynthia Ryan Kelly, American

Sludge Creek, 2006

Cynthia Ryan Kelly is an artist whose works are narrative, colorful, and spontaneous works that aim to weave social commentary into her compositions. This piece comes from Kelly’s “Stories about Mountain Top Removal” series. Kelly attaches a quick statement to the piece; “Seemingly neutral people shake hands, make deals and destroy creation.” Through the saturated colors and contrasting black coal sludge, a sense of toxicity and almost grotesque mood is given.  Kelly uses this piece to comment on the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on communities surrounding those areas. Human figures are shown drudging through what is coal waste, while a mountain above their homes seems to be blown up, illustrating how the process of extracting coal to fulfill capitalist demands destroys the lives of those who live in the ecosystem with the coal. Label by Isabel Schreur