guido van helten paints larger-than-life 'heroes' on feed mill façades in arkansas

in fort smith, arkansas, artist guido van helten has transformed the O.K. feed mills into three gigantic murals that explore the idea of the ‘hero’ from american wild west mythology. the trio of colossal portraits represent different types of personalities, and are drawn from the site’s history as a border town with a former indian territory — now oklahoma.

al images by raymesh cintron / justkids

presented as part of the second edition of the unexpected art festival — organized by 64.6 downtown and curated by charlotte dutoit of justkids — the huge-scale artwork is both powerful and poignant at the same time. represented is: ed, a native american man from the apache tribe; kristina, a young african american woman who runs her own business; and gene beckham, a former employee who worked at this grain elevator for 70 years, immediately after returning from the second world war, before retiring last year. van helten turns these three people into the heroes and heroines of the site, literally forming larger-than-life personalities that speak to the character of its inhabitants.

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