Artwork copyright R.E. Beans. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1985.

Yakima Kid, 1980

R.E. Beans
(American, born 1947)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Yakima Kid is a screen print by artist R. E. Beans (also known as Larry Knodel). The whimsical composition shows a close-up view of a western shirt in a plaid and snakeskin pattern. The shirt’s yoke and sleeve cuff feature sunset, desert landscapes. Saguaro cactus and salmon-riding cowboys also appear in these scenes.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Bethel School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist and teacher Larry Knodel is also known by the name R. E. Beans. He notes, "My work deals with visual puns and enigmatic images that magnify ordinary life events into mildly magic and surreal metaphors. My purpose in doing so is not simply to make visual jokes, but rather to make seriously playful judgments about life and society."
Knodel, aka R. E. Beans, was born in South Dakota. He received an Associate Arts degree from Green River Community College in Auburn, Western Washington. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from Central Washington University in Ellensburg. He has taught at the University of Arizona in Tucson and at Central Washington University.