EVENT: Benjamin Harjo Jr. Art Exhibit
DATE: Jan. 13-Feb. 5
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Benjamin Harjo Jr. wanted to be a cartoonist, but fate played a joke on him. Next week, the critically acclaimed artist will return to his alma mater to show how he got the last laugh.
His show, “Art and Soul,” will have a public opening reception Jan. 14 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gardiner Art Gallery inside the Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts on the Oklahoma State University campus. It will be followed by a lecture from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition of about 25 pieces will be displayed from Jan. 13 through Feb. 5 with originals and prints for sale. Forty percent of the proceeds will go to the Department of Art.
Harjo said he wanted to help the department because art is often overlooked and doesn’t always receive the support it deserves.
Harjo earned a bachelor of fine arts from OSU in 1974 after transferring from the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe. His one-way bus ticket got him there, where he discovered the cartooning class he was interested in had been canceled.
Harjo may not have become a cartoonist like he originally envisioned, but he took what he learned in Santa Fe and Stillwater, and has found success in three mediums – woodblock print, pen and ink, and acrylic and gouache. He still infuses his works with the same sense of humor he hoped would lead to a successful cartoonist career.
His work is inspired by Native American imagery and legends, incorporating several symbols, patterns and colors of many cultures.