O. Gail Poole’s Sideshow Exhibition Honors Artist’s Legacy

By Carleigh Foutch

O. Gail Poole (U.S. 1935-2013), Strong Man, ca. 2000, oil on Masonite, 22” x 16 1/2”, courtesy of The O. Gail Poole Collection

When you think of O. Gail Poole (1935-2013), words like eclectic, masterful, and influential come to mind. In fact, they’re hard not to when admiring the caricatures of culture that so often appeared in his work. To honor Poole’s legacy, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma will be showcasing the talented Oklahoma native from January 24 to May 10, 2020, for all to appreciate and enjoy.

review For Mark White, director at the FJJMoA, bringing Poole’s work to the museum was an easy choice. “In 2019, I approached Nicole [Poole’s daughter] with the idea of an exhibition focused on the last two decades of her father’s career,” he said. “He encouraged people to question and think for themselves... He wasn’t interested in forcing viewers to decode his paintings, but to consider carefully and arrive at their own meaning.”

Audiences can expect plenty of absurdism and satire when perusing O. Gail Poole’s Sideshow. The exhibition is the perfect blend of Poole’s plurality and technique, a spectacle of the odd and unusual, which brings nothing but pride and honor to Nicole Poole.

O. Gail Poole (U.S. 1935-2013), The Inner Self, (ca. 1992) oil on canvas, 47 1/4” x 35 1/2”, courtesy of The O. Gail Poole Collection

“Dad’s insistence upon painting for himself, on exploring his authentic voice...that’s what’s special to me about Dad’s art, combined with his dedication,” she said. “He was at it all the time. He practiced, sketched, and painted every day of his life and kept his creative muscle engaged.”

An artist herself, Nicole Poole is thrilled to be able to honor her late father with the opportunity to educate other Oklahoma artists about the mine of talent and expertise the country seems to gloss over. Poole sees herself as a passionate champion of not only her father’s legacy, but of Oklahoma artists in general.

“Our artists are never going to gain recognition until we recognize them,” Poole said. “Dad’s art is just a reflection of his life here. Once you peel back the layers of what Oklahoma wants you to see, we are some deeply complex human beings who have decided to stay under this giant sky, and I want our voices to emerge.”

O. Gail Poole’s art career began in elementary school with a Draw Lucky art contest. He studied art at the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating in 1957, went straight into the army. Upon his return, he spent many years in advertising, honing his craft at Ackerman McQueen before diving in and kick starting his own agency, Poole Hobbs.

After the Western art scene took root in Oklahoma in the 1970s, Poole decided to leave the advertising world for cowboy portraits and broad landscapes. While he went on to represent the state in the Western Artists of Oklahoma invitational exhibit in Germany, Poole still wasn’t satisfied as an artist.

“He realized he was still an illustrator, not a painter,” Nicole Poole said. “When he started meeting people he considered painters, he realized that what he was doing was not that.”

Not only did Poole find teachers, he found some of the best teachers in the state: Dick and Edith Goetz. Their tutelage proved to be just what Poole needed to reach his next milestone as an artist; after seeing great improvement in his work, Poole went on to win Best of Show at the Presbyterian Hospital Evening of Art in Oklahoma City for almost a decade straight.

Poole hit his stride in the late 1980s when he began exploring more humorous, absurd art styles.

“I remember dad just laughing his face off one day. I looked at the easel to see a formal portrait of a watermelon on a stool,” Nicole Poole said. “It was like he suddenly threw down this gauntlet of ‘I’m weird.’ People had no idea what to make of it because back then there were only pockets of weirdness. Luckily those were the people I grew up with!”

Nicole Poole hopes that the Sideshow exhibit helps audiences think more critically about the work Oklahoma artists are producing. Poole touched on this topic, along with many others, at a special lecture at Fred Jones on February 20.

“I wanted to explore artistic integrity and plurality, and why we insist that artists stay in one lane,” she said. “It’s so outdated and hasn’t been addressed yet as part of our creative DNA. Oklahoma artists have a very deep, deep well to mine. We are so much more than how we’ve been represented thus far.”

In addition to Poole’s eccentric paintings, he also sketched a preliminary logo for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC), and was a lifelong advocate

for the organization’s many events. Poole routinely contributed to OVAC’s 12x12 Art Fundraiser. (To continue honoring her father’s legacy, Nicole Poole will be contributing additional 12x12 artwork found in one of her father’s notebooks for years to come.)

Both Poole and White have leaned on one another tremendously in order to educate Oklahomans on the how and why Poole’s well of creativity needs to have its own space to inspire other local artists.

“Nicole has a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm, particularly when it comes to her father’s legacy,” White said. “It has been gratifying in exploring her father’s late career with her. As I began to strengthen the thesis of the exhibit and write the essay for the publication, she was incredibly supportive and always willing to answer a question.”

Poole’s work doesn’t stop there, either. With the help of White and the inspiration of Johanna Van Gogh, Nicole Poole has started the Poole Fund for the Art of Oklahoma, while White plans to head up a state-wide survey of Oklahoma art (pre-state to contemporary) with as many museums as possible.

“Dad’s art has given me access to some really influential people. The fact that I’m an unknown Oklahoma artist who’s working to create his legacy has opened up conversations with people I normally wouldn’t have access to, like directors of institutions,” Poole said. “Because I’m banging on doors and asking hard questions, all of these people want to know how to help.”

Poole hopes that the more people she’s able to talk to about her father’s legacy, the better exposure Oklahoma artists will have in the future.

“It’s time for the artists of Oklahoma to take their place on the national stage and conversation. With the exception of OVAC and similar organizations, we’ve historically overlooked our artists. It’s important that museums bring stuff from out of state, but Oklahoma artists are sort of left in the dirt as a result and ignored in exhibitions and critical writings or studies. It’s time.”

To learn more about the artist’s fund, visit giving.oufoundation.org/OnlineGivingWeb and search for “Poole Fund for the Art of Oklahoma,” or email oufoundation@ou.edu. n O. Gail Poole (U.S. 1935-2013), Mental Dilemma/No Joke, n.d., oil on Masonite, 33 7/8” x 21 5/8”, courtesy of the O. Gail Poole Collection

Carleigh Foutch is a writer and activist living in Oklahoma City. She received her BA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and continues to write stories of all kinds in her spare time (although her favorite things to write are screenplays), and she works as a full-time copywriter in Edmond. To learn more about Carleigh and her work, visit carleighfoutch.weebly.com.