Feeling his Oats
1988
Acrylic on Canvas
90" x 114"
Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery

      Feeling His Oats from 1988 is characteristic of Colescott's work with its loud colors, juicy paint surfaces, and teeming but tight compositional structure. However, it is his abilities as an incisive social commentator taking on taboos in art, sex, politics, race, money, and power for which he is best known. In this work, a well-dressed African-American man seems to be on top of the world enjoying money, power, and the luxuries of life. He is surrounded by his material possessions (car, money, computer, cell phone) and the mass media heroes are black, the Quaker Oats man on the table and Superman in the background. Yet, at the same time, the old stereotypes such as the black athlete and the figure of a black 'Mammy' appear in the lower part of the picture, still haunting him. Both humorous and provocative, this work makes us think about racial stereotypes and tensions in contemporary society.