State of the Union
In State of the Union artist Jane O'Hara, an advocate for animals, examines the topic of animal rights across the United States. Gathering inspiration from disparate sources, from nostalgic postcard iconography and pop reference, to depicting the animal condition both behind the scenes and in plain sight, O’Hara has us look at our 50 states from both entertaining and serious perspectives.
*Scroll past thumbnails for detailed descriptions of each State.
Exhibition
To schedule State of the Union Exhibtion in your Museum, Gallery or Venue contact Jane O’Hara Projects for more information.
ALABAMA
Alabama does not ban or regulate keeping exotic pets, toothless monkeys chained to dogs are raced in the ‘Banana Derby’, alligators are killed for sport, University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) does cruel tests on baboons, and great hunting opportunities of the dove are offered- our symbol of peace. In the background and in letters spelling Alabama a peaceful existence is depicted, where the bear state animal relaxes, boys in a canoe float in the Sipsey Swamp along with the Northern Flicker and state flag. An alligator lurks nearby, civil rights activist John Lewis and the Edmund Pettus Bridge are represented among other state sites.
Alabama State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 15”
ALASKA
The landscape of Alaska with the Northern Lights includes the starry state flag, the state animal moose and the Willow Ptarmigan state bird. Letters spelling Alaska contain the mosquito ‘state Alaska bird’, Forget Me Not flowers, a polar bear, an Alaskan Native, painter Bob Ross and Klondike Gold Rush prospectors. Not so lucky animals float in bubbles; the trophy hunted Grizzly bear, the Reindeer rounded up for display and harvesting of their antlers, rodeos start early with children, the Iditarod where dogs run 1,100 miles on the frozen land, and the dangers and isolated life of horses in the carriage industry.
Alaska State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
ARIZONA
Within the landscape of Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Lake Mead, the city of Tombstone, sagebrush, sequoias, Native American Sacred lands and artwork, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner and the Ringtail state animal coexist. Bubbles depict animals in differing predicaments; Canned Hunts with their captive bred lions, bullriding at rodeos, Dairy Mega Farms where cows and calves live only to produce, surgeon training on pigs at U of Arizona, and at their medical center testing on monkeys provided by the frequently investigated Monkey Farm in Mesa.
Arizona State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 23”
ARKANSAS
Please join Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou, Johnny Cash, Miss Arkansas Rice Festival Queen and the Boggy Creek Monster in introducing Arkansas, the Spinach Capitol of the World. Maman, Louise Bourgeois’ 30’ tall spider, a sculpture of Popeye and the white tail deer state animal share the landscape with the honey bee and an apple blossom. Oversized young broiler chickens at Tyson are unable to walk, Horses are tethered to carriages, a frequent ‘fish- kill’ , and the Hog- Dog Rodeo are depicted in bubbles that float nearby. A greyhound is free at last as dog racing ends in Arkansas.
Arkansas State of the Union, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 22x28”
CALIFORNIA
Hidden animals are depicted in each bubble. In these bubbles I show animal activists trying to save a downed calf and arrested for Grand Larceny, the captive Orcas of SeaWorld, the transport trucks of pigs to the fancifully painted slaughterhouse, the fires of CA, the infant monkey deaths of monkeys used in animal experimentation at UCDavis, and the multiple deaths of racehorses at Santa Anita Raceway. These worlds float over the stylized images of California. Minnie Mouse holds the state flag with the bear as symbol, flag waving over the bear, the state animal, near the Hollywood sign.
California State of the Union, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 31 x 20”
COLORADO
The images featured in the background are idealistic of Colorado with the mountains, hot air balloon, state flag and the state animal and bird. In the bubbles are things that go on in that state that are cruel to animals. Coyote killing contests, live pig testing, a 'sanctuary' with animal acts, wrangling calves and elephant acts at a local circus make up the bubbles of Colorado. The word Colorado contains more iconic images of Colorado in the kitschy style of postcards helping to lure the viewer in.
Colorado State of the Union, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 19 x 32”
CONNECTICUT
With Connecticut’s Gold Coast, Mystic Seaport, the Merrit Parkway with fall colors and the sperm whale state animal backdrop, animals in bad situations float in bubbles over the landscape. Two Beluga whales were brought from Canada for research on care and behaviors, both died soon after the grueling transport. An elephant at Commerford & Sons petting zoo is deprived of all that is natural, attack dogs trained to be aggressive with prisoners is cruel to both dogs and prisoners, University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) pays fines for its cruel, incompetent—and sometimes fatal—treatment of animals, while Oakridge and other dairy facilities with carousal milking practices the usual taking babies from their mothers.
Connecticut State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x28”
DELAWARE
The fox is the state animal who rests on a rock before the landscape and waterways of Delaware. Letters containing Joe Biden, Bob Marley who called Delaware home for years, the Victrola mascot Knipper, and Miles the Monster hover near floating bubbles with animals in their predicaments; massive commercial fisheries where fish swim in circles in antibiotic waters, camels circle the circus grounds when not in training or cages, mice in swim tests they will not survive, deer in the crosshairs, and broiler chickens crammed in sheds they will never leave alive.
Delaware State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 22”
FLORIDA
In the landscape are some of the images Florida wants you to think of; Micky Mouse holding the state flag, a Florida beach with the iconic alligator, dolphins in the ocean, oranges with blossoms, palm trees, and the state animal- the panther. Bubbles floating nearby contain the exploited captive dolphin, an unnecessary bear hunt orphaning many cubs, the exposed abuse at Larson Dairy, the monkeys raised at Primate Products for experimentation, and manatees and fish as victims of Red Tide.
Florida State of the Union, 2019 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
GEORGIA
In letters spelling Georgia there’s MLK, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jimmy Carter, and Oliver Hardy -some of the many greats born there. Jasper Johns’ painting and the plaque starting the Appalachian Trail support the Georgia ‘born’ Cabbage Patch Dolls. Bubbles float before the Live Oak and white tail deer (state tree and animal), and each contains a dark world. Chickens crammed in cages and male chicks disposed of, primates tested on at Emory’s NPRC (National Primate Research Center), shark fin soup leaves sharks to die without their fins, and though the USDA revoked licenses of ‘bunchers’ who ‘find’ animals to sell to labs, bred beagles are used in testing at Georgia Regents University. The horse and carriage is thought romantic, but the horse’s life is filled with drudgery, or deadly.
Georgia State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
HAWAII
In exotic and tropical Hawaii, surfers surf gigantic waves, Hula dancers dance, the Pearl Harbor Memorial and statue of King DavidKalākaua exist alongside the state animals humpback whale and seal, and Hawaiin Goose with hibiscus state flower with island mountains. In bubbles a darker side exists for animals, fish and fowl, with cock fighters raised and trafficked to Guam, longline fisheries and their ‘bycatch’ of turtles, false killer whales along with targeted swordfish and tuna, aquaculture fish farms with issues such as disease, unintended bycatch, and overfishing, ‘abusement’ parks and hotels where dolphins are exploited and live in confinement. The dairy industry is cruel, but here an environmental problem as well, with waste and using much of the water supply.
Hawaii State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 22”
IDAHO
Idaho’s Appaloosa horse state animal runs in the field near Snake River and the Smokey Mountains. Sun Valley skiers fly thru the sky while nearby bubbles contain evidence of bear breeding at Yellowstone Bear World, mink confined for their furs, a calf in an enormous CAFO, Shrine Circus elephants forced to entertain, and a wolf targeted in one of the last remaining states with no protection. Letters contain Sacagawea whose strength and heroism aided the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Ernest Hemingway who chose Idaho as his home, a Spud Drive-In truck- emblem of Idaho’s #1 crop, and Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Idaho State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 27 x 22”
ILLINOIS
Betty White, Elzie Segar’s Popeye, Michelle Obama, Ronald Reagan and Miles Davis are just a few of those famous from Illinois. The landscape of Illinois with the white tail deer state animal, Chicago’s Skydeck at Willis Tower, and Wrigley Field provide the backdrop for unfortunate animals. A trophy hunted stag, a tiger in an Illinois man’s traveling circus act, a monkey shipped to Chicago before being trucked to a final destination, a beagle used for testing at Illinois U, and sows and piglets in farrowing crates in CAFOs float by in bubbles.
Illinois State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 22”
INDIANA
Indiana State of the Union contains idealistic images in the background. The Indianapolis 500, state flag and Cardinal bird, snowy pines, fields and lake beaches, birthplace to the King of Pop and childhood home of Abe Lincoln, In the bubbles there is a darker reality for the animals. Pointless fatal ‘swim tests’ for mice at Lilly Laboratories, elephants mistreated at Wilstem Wildlife Park, fish circling for their miserable lives in aqua farms, and a sow unable to reach her dying piglet due to a gestation crate the size of her body in a factory farm. 75 cows escape the farm and run for their lives, only to be rounded up and sent back to the farm, their fate as with other cows, calves stolen then tethered on the merry go round milking parlor and sooner or later sent to the slaughterhouse.
Indiana State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 28 x 22”
IOWA
In the Iowa painting, home to the Iowa Caucuses and the Iowa State Fair, the American Goldfinch is the state bird, corn crops and wind farms are abundant, and monarch butterflies rest on their journey north. In bubbles we look behind the scenes where dog racing continues, hunting preserves provide sport of the kill, many puppy mills exist despite violations. As a major pork production state the sad view of a young pig on his way to slaughter serves to encompass the many horrors of factory farming; pollution of waterways, mass extermination of pigs due to pandemic, gestation crates for sows, and pigs crammed into filthy conditions never to see daylight. A man is banned from the Iowa State Fair for life for reporting abuse of a pig by its owner. I am interested in showing the disparate events against the backdrop of an idyllic Iowa
Iowa State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 29”
KANSAS
The letters that spell Kansas contain Amelia Earhart, Dodge City, covered wagons, and Mushroom rocks The wheat fields of Kansas create a perfect place for tornados, as shown in The Wizard of Oz, home of Dorothy. The state buffalo stands firm, but the flag bends to the force, and Elvira Gulch -who becomes the wicked witch- flies into the heart of the storm. Bubbles float above the fray with animals caught in other storms, 3 month old pigs in CAFOs marked for slaughter, the cows bred as meat where their processing plants became covid spreaders, killing contests deemed necessary in saving cows trapped in feedlots, the Carden Circus cited for abuse, with tigers forced into submission and the 4H club where children are taught young that animals are prized- but only as commodity.
Kansas State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 26”
KENTUCKY
EIn the landscape and in the letters spelling Kentucky the state animal- squirrel-climbs a tree by the rolling fields and Appalachian mountains. The state flag flies near Dinosaur World and Kentucky natives Abe Lincoln and Mohammed Ali take their place. In bubbles cocks are raised for fighting and trafficked to Guam, elephants are abused in roadside Carden Circus, as well as Kentucky Zoo making the 10 worst list for elephants, Veterans Affairs labs with kitten and cat experiments severing spines and end in death (just read these are going to stop!), the Kentucky Derby with its history of drugging and early deaths with accidents, and the adjacent bubble showing a young horse after it's first race escaping and running down a Kentucky highway.
Kentucky State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
LOUISIANA
Louisiana’s state bird -pelican- flies freely next to a pelican victim of the BP oil spill, an alligator in the swamp where in the bubble crammed onto farms for their skins and meat or hunted as an exotic creature. Baby primates tested on at Tulane University, police dogs trained to attack- since slavery days these trained dogs harm or kill, the majority of targets are black, at Louisiana State live dogs tested on acquired from local animal shelter while Mike the Tiger lives in beautiful isolation as a living mascot. These are against the backdrop with state bear, flag, and exotic beauty of mardigras, French Quarter, art in the 9th Ward and Louis Armstrong.
Louisiana State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 28 x 20”
MAINE
Against the backdrop of Mane’s landscape with it’s rocky shores, islands, pines, Wyeth’s Christina’s World the state animal moose, Eartha the largest globe and Hussey’s General Store advertising guns, wedding gowns and cold beer floats bubbles with fish trapped in fish farms, bear hunts where trapping, hounding and baiting are still used, the lobster industry threatens the nearly extinct right whale with it’s trap lines, calves are separated from their mothers in the dairy industry and dogs race in the icy winter 250 mile Can Am Crown, ‘bagged’ when injured or not performing well, chained and tethered in extreme temperatures.
Maine State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 22”
MARYLAND
The state dog is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the Baltimore Oriole state bird, and Michael Phelps, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, and Babe Ruth are some of the powerful people born in Maryland. Floating over the rivers and fields of Black Eyed Susans are bubbles holding unfortunate animals of Maryland; kids learn to kill deer for fun, National Institute of Mental Health injects toxins into monkey’s brains using 50ML taxpayer money, experimentation on owls at Johns Hopkins, nutrient pollution causing massive fish die-offs, and multiple time offender of animal cruelty Jerry Holly Exotics’ neglect is responsible for the death of two zebras.
Maryland State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 22”
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts, State of the Union contains idealistic and iconic images in the background. The Boston Terrier leaps over Fenway Park, a New England old windmill, Cape Cod imagery, while in the bubbles darker things occur in Massachusetts. In this painting there are lobsters boiled alive, mice tested on at Elm Hill, deer targeted at Blue Hills Reservation, shark killing tournaments, and beagles experimented on at Charles River Lab.
Massachusetts State of the Union, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
MICHIGAN
The postcard lettering of MI with Diana Ross, Joe Louis, sites and museums, hovers above the lake regions with waterfall background, state animal and bird, deer and robin, Detroit, state flag and Joe Louis’ The Fist sculpture. Perched on the letters, Nellie sits unfazed by the bubbles containing captive baby bears, Ted Nugent’s hunting company of exotic animals, Ford’s use of pigs in crash testing- working around promise to stop use of live pigs by use of recent dead pigs in crash tests, or the mink farms where covid pandemic with mink causes thousands to have their short lives in cages shortened.
Michigan State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 28 x 22”
MINNESOTA
In the Minnesota painting, home to Charles Schultz and Peanuts, a town mayor that is a dog, state animals and flags are the fun backdrop to bubbles with an elephant in the circus, an animal model resource catalog where collars with tags were found hanging in the facility from the cats killed and sold, a buck who stars in a canned hunt, a factory farm of pigs pollutes the waterways, and animal testing violations are found at University of Minnesota Medical School. These unrelated events happen simultaneously, many behind closed doors.
Minnesota State of the Union, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
MISSISSIPPI
Steamboats, gators, white tailed deer and the red fox state animals live in Mississippi, where Oprah, BB King, Elvis and Muppets’ Jim Henson were born- the same state where six year old Ruby Bridges- the first African American child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School- helped pave the way for Civil Rights action in the south. In contrast, non-human animals’ well-being remains uncared for; fish raised in aquaculture, a pelican in BP oil spill, monkeys tied to dogs at the Banana Derby, alligators raised in captivity or hunted, and where a young otter dies as a result of stress from public handling- a recent victim at G&J Petting Zoo.
Mississippi State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 20”
MISSOURI
In Missouri the Ozark, mountains and lakes are home to Dagwood & Blondie Bumstead, Maya Angelou, Chuck Berry and Mark Twain. The Gateway Arch welcomes and the Missouri Mule, flag and Bee symbolize the state. In bubbles of the ‘Show Me State the plentiful puppy mill is depicted, circus animals forced to perform at the cited for cruelty Carden Circus, Rats in cruel tests at Mizzou (Missouri U) and underfed horses found in Central BioMedia funded horse blood farms. Ranking second in the amount of giant factory farms (95,000 in 2020 ) Missouri contaminates its waters and exploits its animals and workers with its CAFOs.
Missouri State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 22”
MONTANA
Montana’s big skies, lakes and mountains form the backdrop to a grizzly bear who is the state animal, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, a tribute sculpture of Shep the famous Sheepdog, Big Sky Montana skiing, roaming horses, bison, and is David Lynch’s birthplace. Bubbles hold the tough world of the rodeo as entertainment, a trapped animal in this remaining state where steel traps are still used, cattle languish in massive feedlots, big game hunts for trophies. and captured wild horses await their fate.
Montana State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 22”
NEBRASKA
Nebraska’s white tailed deer state animal leaps towards a bubble with a young boy and his trophy hunted deer. Other exploited animals include a lamb marked for death trying to escape in this growing meat industry, wild horses living in long term holding facilities, an overstuffed chicken lies in Costco’s largest chicken processing plant, and a calf is restrained in the US Meat Animal Research Center to endure controversial research. While one slogan announces “Nebraska, it’s not for everyone”, the Cornhusker state is home to the iconic Giant Cowboy, Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Lakota Chief Red Cloud, KoolAid and a tornado.
Nebraska State of the Union. 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 26”
NEVADA
The state animal in Nevada is the Bighorn Sheep, as well as home to Las Vegas- gambling capital of the world, Lake Tahoe, Reno, the desert, Burning Man, the Hoover Dam and ballooning. Siegfried & Roy live on as a statue but the risk of exotic animals in entertainment was realized when Roy’s spinal cord was severed during an act. In bubbles I depict animals used in petting zoos - also dangerous- and cruel to cubs taken from their mothers, the elephant is trained and chained as an infant to entertain, the dolphin is exploited to swim with tourists, and mountain lions are killed for sport. Wild horses run free, but seen to take resources needed by cattle ranchers, they are rounded up and transported to holding facilities, held in pens, “processed” for adoption, sold for meat over the border, or long-term storage.
Nevada State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Winter snow, Fall colors with the white tailed deer -state animal- and the letters of New Hampshire containing Christa McAuliffe, Storyland, and the state slogan are the backdrop for bubbles containing the animals whose only use is entertainment and food. Hunting; it’s never too young in NH to teach your children to kill that state animal, grueling dog sled racing, a calf in confinement with no mother, Clark's Trading Post has been exploiting bears for entertainment since 1930, and 300ML male chicks deemed useless are killed each year in the US.
New Hampshire State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 15”
NEW JERSEY
The Queen of Pop, Heeeere’s Johnny, The Boss, Ol’ Blue Eyes, Superman and Tony Soprano are a fraction of iconic characters from New Jersey. Falcons are ‘hired’ to control the seagulls, and nearby Snooki and The Situation pose on the Jersey Shore. Built in 1881, Lucy the Elephant is the Oldest Roadside Attraction in the USA. Activities range from gambling in casinos, Thomas Edison National Park, to hiking the beaches and waterfalls. The state animal the horse does not fare well as the Racing Commission allows Monmouth Park jockeys to use whips. Other bubbles hold the on-again off-again bear hunt of this protected species, pigs suffer in gestation crates, and 25 dolphins and whales have washed ashore in just a few months. In a win for animals, NJ bans the sale of products tested on animals, or any testing on animals for cosmetics.
New Jersey State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 22"
NEW MEXICO
ELetters spelling New Mexico contain White Sands, Meow Wolf, petroglyphs, Native American pottery, adobe houses, a Ricardo Caté cartoon, folk art and Bisti Badlands. There are many flying objects over the Land of Enchantment’s mesas, EarthShips, and state yucca plant flower, bear, and roadrunner. There’s balloons, a spaceship, and bubbles contain animals killed in exotic canned hunts, animals in the rodeo, a roadside zoo where the bear (state animal ) and others exist in cages with no enrichment, A to Z Film Animals who’ve altered health certificates and incurred importing charges, and the US Forest Service gun down feral cattle from helicopters.
New Mexico State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
NEW YORK
In bubbles the animals of New York suffer sometimes in plain sight. The collapsed horse carriage -an accident from being forced to work in heavy traffic, noise, and pollution, the chickens of Kapora, the religious ritual where they are swung until killed, and animals slaughtered in wet markets. Behind the scenes mink captive and killed for fur coats at Saks Fifth Avenue, the force fed ducks of Foie Gras, and the Marshall operation of disease bred dogs and pigs for animal testing. These animals float over New York’s well known landscapes with NYC, Niagara Falls, Thousand Islands, the beaver state animal holding the state flag and images of Jones Beach, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Fort Ticonderoga, a symbol of Rap, and 42nd Street
New York State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 32 x 16”
NORTH CAROLINA
Nina Simone and Andy Griffith- two of the many iconic people born in North Carolina- broadcast the beauty and fun of this state, before the blue ridge mountains, wild horses of outer banks, metalmorphisis sculpture, Highpoint’s giant drawers, Chimney Rock, Black Wall Street, Santaland, and the state squirrel and cardinal. In contrast, bubbles hold babies in primate testing at Wake Forest U, neglect of bears at Tregembo Animal Park, exploited exotic pets, cocks raised for fighting and sent to places like Guam, and the many hog CAFOs spraying their toxic waste over farms, with suffering of crammed pigs and floods adding to the horror.
North Carolina State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 32”
NORTH DAKOTA
The rodeo is a Feel-the-dirt-in-your-teeth way of life in North Dakota and an entertainment fun for all but the animals involved. The elephants in Jordan World Circus and the trophy hunted buffalo are others. A cow trots after her calf - stolen so others can have her baby’s milk, and in another bubble the NIH funded NDSU’s animal testing is shown with attack ads- rated among the worst in treatment to their animals. The Enchanted Highway with its giant metal sculptures, the badlands, and the Nakota Horse state animal fill the landscape. Letters contain Teddy Roosevelt who called this state the “love of his life”, Lawrence Welk and Lakota Nation’s chief Rain-In-The-Face who fought alongside Sitting Bull, a ladybug and a sunflower.
North Dakota State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 22”
OHIO
Here’s Goofy in Spoonerville, Ohio, and in other areas an Amish carriage, a farm, the state animal- white tail deer, a cardinal and a dog - the new state animal the shelter pet. Toni Morrison and Annie Oakley were born in Ohio and fill the letters along with Cornhenge and the red carnation state flower. Floating over the fields; a trophy exotic animal (Ohio is one of 5 top destinations for canned hunts), tilapia aquaculture with fish crammed into tanks and harvested at 6 months- not the 10 year lifespan in the wild, and though a felony crime dogfighting is growing. A dark YinYang, weighing testing on live pigs at U of Cincinnati against pig’s short lives in CAFOS where the slaughterhouse transport is the only outdoors ever sensed. Even the #1 ranking zoo in America has a cheetah attack, the result of the stress for a wild animal in captivity.
Ohio State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24”
OKLAHOMA
The Sooner State has oil rigs and wind farms, cyclones and blue skies. Numerous indigenous tribal nations are in Oklahoma, and Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller is on a coin- along with many other awards. Characters Will Rogers, Don Woods’ Gusty cartoon, and the buffalo, raccoon, and white-tailed deer state animals are near the iconic Route 66. Both the white-tail deer and the dove are peaceful and gentle symbols, but are sought-after targets of hunters. In other bubbles Oklahoma’s cattle live lives on feedlots, roosters are bred for sale to countries where cockfighting is legal, ‘Hog -Dog Rodeo’ where hogs, de-tusked and outnumbered, are attacked for entertainment, and the infamous Tiger King’s zoo of exotic wild cats is now closed, so those fortunate tigers ended up in a CO sanctuary, while animals of the many other roadside zoos languish.
Oklahoma State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 28”
OREGON
The beaver is the state animal in The Beaver State. Those who've lived in Oregon include the first Chinese American pilot Leah Hing, Kiss’ Tommy Thayer, and Matt Groening whose Bart Simpson hangs with some beavers near Wahkina Falls and Haystack Rock. The Meadowlark is perched on the Witches Mouth. Floating over these sites and people are scenes of animals in peril; the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse round up, Young Farmers and Ranchers Program’s coyote killing contest, Oregon National Primate Research Center’s confined macaques, a mink caged on a mink farm, and fish contained in an aquaculture farm.
Oregon State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 20"
PENNSYLVANIA
In bubbles the animals of Pennsylvania exist in their separate miseries. The collapsed horse, one of many who die for our entertainment at ParxRacing, a dairy cow abused beyond usual at Mason Dixon Farms- supplier of Land o Lakes, a bear languishes alone at Pymatuning Deer Park , rabbits tested on, left with broken limbs for weeks, then killed at U of Pittsburg, many fish farms, where multitudes of fish exist their entire lives in tanks. These animals float over rolling hills and rivers, the home of Hershey’s, the Liberty Bell, Keith Haring and Mr. Rogers, the white tailed deer state animal, the ruffed grouse is state bird, hot air ballooning-with state flag, the horse and buggy of the Pennsylvania Dutch, river tubing and farms dot the landscape.
Pennsylvania State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 26”
RHODE ISLAND
Each state includes in the background imagery that state would like us to see. Here in Rhode Island ocean and sailing, kite flying on green hills, the state flag and the state Rhode Island Red. In bubbles are things that go on with animals that are troubling. In this RI painting there are victims of the exotic bird trade, Elephants subjected to cruel bullhook training at the zoo, cows captive in the dairy business, and the truth behind the cheery egg company name, Little Rhody, is factory farmed caged chickens- this bubble floating near the iconic happy state bird, the live animal testing on pigs that goes on at Alpert Medical Center at Brown University.
Rhode Island State of the Union, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 31 x 14”
SOUTH CAROLINA
The state animal of South Carolina is the White Tailed Deer and the bird is the Carolina Wren. Floating above a golf course, river and beach are bubbles where monkeys are chained to dogs for the Banana Derby, petting zoos allow manhandling of alligators, a horse carriage collapses as the horse tries to escape, a pig marked for killing has a miserable short life, and Alpha Genesis peddles macaque monkeys to the National Institute for Health (NIH) for their animal testing. Letters spelling the state name contain notable people from there; Chubby Checkers, Vanna White, Eartha Kitt, artist Shepard Fairey’s artwork, James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie.
South Carolina, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 24"
SOUTH DAKOTA
Calamity Jane lived and Wild Bill Hickok died in Deadwood. Sitting Bull lived in South Dakota, home of Mt Rushmore and the enormous carved rock of Crazy Horse. Other sculptures include iconic mother goose and a large seal. In a land of contrast, the badlands and fields of sunflowers exist together, and Corn Palace is a tribute to the corn industry. The coyote -the state animal- howls near a bubble showing the huge sport of coyote hunting. More bubbles contain experiences for sheep - a bighorn sheep targeted in a canned hunt, sheep exploited for research at Ovis, and mutton busting, where 3-6 yo children wrangle sheep to the ground. The largest Smithfield processing plant in the US where factory farmed pigs lead horrific lives, was shut down during covid with over 300 deaths of workers.
South Dakota State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 30”
TENNESSEE
Tennessee is the home of Dolly Parton’s Dollywood, Elvis’ Graceland, Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph, the Ducks of Memphis, the state animal, bird, reptile and flower are the raccoon, Tennessee Walking horse, mockingbird, salamander and iris, the Grand Ole Opry, and yes, the MoonPie. In bubbles, those torn from nature; horse soring ( the intentional infliction of pain to a horse's legs or hooves, forced to perform an exaggerated gait), metal leg traps still used in hunting, a top beef producing state in US, poultry operations making life...and death for chickens intolerable, and a rabbit’s life of isolation and experimentation in NIH funded (377MM in 2020) at Vanderbilt U.
Tennessee State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 13 x 32”
TEXAS
Against the backdrop of Texas Roadhouse, Cadillac Ranch, Prada Installation, the longhorn state animal and state flag, Yosemite Sam and the long road floats bubbles with targeted animals like dogs in Texas A&M U testing, exposed captive cows in massive feedlots, killing contests and children chasing and bagging- then roasting young pigs, and helicopter shooting families of feral pigs.
Texas State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 28”
UTAH
Land of extremes, Utah is home to Donnie and Marie , Mormonism, and Zion and Bryce National Parks, but is the second largest state with mink farms. Called the Beehive state with the elk as state animal, Utah’s Onaqui wild horses are rounded up. Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty Earthwork is revealed during drought and the U of Utah is cited with gross incompetence testing on marmosets. Pigs suffer at Smithfield massive factory pig farm near The Tree of Utah sculpture by Karl Momen and festival balloons float by. Home to Butch Cassidy, Topaz Internment Camp Museum, Dinosaur trail and Monument Valley, Utah is one of two states to still use the gas chamber to kill dogs.
Utah State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20”
VERMONT
Vermont is the home to Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont Teddy Bear, maple syrup, skiing , skating and fall colors, the Morgan Horse state animal, the Hermit Thrush state bird and the state flag making up the landscape. In this painting are bubbles of those animals behind the scenes or relegated to be forms of entertainment. A turkey farm with turkeys barely able to move, pony pulling contests where a pallet of concrete blocks is dragged by ponies or horses, a hunting culture, a ‘good news’ bubble where the killing contests of wolves, coyotes and more have been recently banned. A bubble showing the story of a dairy factory farm which pollutes the waterways, takes baby calves from mothers after birth to lives in calf huts, while mother cows rare tethered to milking machines in huge buildings with no sun. A pandemic this time the reason milk is then dumped due to surpluses.
Vermont State of the Union, 2021 Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 18”
VIRGINIA
Virginia is for Lovers and Foghorn Leghorn woos Miss Prissy. Nearby the Big Eared Bat and American Foxhound state animals eye beagles who have burst the bubble- part of the 4000 freed Envigo dogs bred for animal testing. Bubbles in tact contain coyotes -victims of ‘family friendly’ killing contests, Natural Bridge Zoo is on the ’10 Worst for elephants’ list, the #1 agricultural product -Broilers - where chickens are genetically bred for rapid growth and live short lives, and otters are either in a cage or manhandled at the State Fair of Virginia. The letters spelling Virginia contain Edgar Allen Poe, Booker T. Washington and Ella Fitzgerald- some of the great people born there.
Virginia State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 26"
WASHINGTON
Letters spell Washington and contain Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, an orca, the Space Needle, and the Freemont Troll. The elk is in the crosshairs in its bubble, while in other bubbles a roped, dragged calf provides entertainment at the rodeo, the dairy industry’s CAFOs with their captive cows pollute the groundwater, monkeys die imprisoned at the Washington National Primate Research Center at UW, and at Debbie Dolittle’s Petting zoo over 70 customers get bites yet 2 girls pose with Capybara.
Washington State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 21 x 24”
WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia was home to abolitionist John Brown, Katherine Johnson- African American NASA mathematician who’s work was critical to the success of the first U.S. crewed spaceflights, and Don Knotts- Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. West Virginia has some of the darkest skies in the eastern United States, and floating over that sky in a bubble the hunted bear hangs from a tree while nearby the black bears still free represent the state animal. Massive CAFOS where chickens languish are high valued livestock commodities and animal testing thrives at WVU. Multiple dog fighting rings have been exposed, and dog racing is a popular gambling activity.
West Virginia State of the Union, 2023 Acrylic on canvas 26 x 20”
WISCONSIN
For the backdrop of Wisconsin are idealistic images; the Green Bay Packer Cheeseheads, The Dells with tour boat, lighthouse, flag, state animal badger and the robin- state bird, and the postcard logo ‘Wisconsin’ contains iconic images of the state, and a dairy farm of days gone by. In the bubbles are things that go on with the hidden animals. Thousands of mink dead from Covid19 in cruel mink farms, abuses beyond the usual of primates at University of Wisconsin’s National Primate Research Center, removed age limitations for hunters allow toddlers to hunt, wolf killing contests and the circus environment of dairy at CAFO’s where cows are cogs in a wheel, and beyond the buildings, toxic waste kills fish and pollutes waterways.
West Virginia State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 20”
WYOMING
Floating in the bubbles of Wyoming horses try to escape their round up, sheep are funneled together in this large sheep raising state, a coyote is victim to coyote whacking, a hunter sits pleased with her canned hunt victim, and a bull is antagonized to buck off its rider in a rodeo. In the scenic background and letters spelling Wyoming there’s Grand Teton, and Old Faithful, Yogi Bear offers words to the wise, and the state animal the buffalo lives in Yellowstone Park. The varied heroes of this state include Jackson Pollack, Lakota Medicine Man Black Elk, and Nellie Taylor Ross in the first state to elect a female governor…and to allow women to vote!
Wyoming State of the Union, 2022 Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 26”