Events tied to personal experience and family histories are often at the center of folk expressions. Here the artist, a Texan of African American, Native American, and Mexican ancestry, incorporates history, humor, and memory into a detailed rural scene in which three men repair a roof while two women eat watermelon beneath an illustration of Lincoln’s inauguration. Little is understood about White’s intentions in using exaggerated stereotypical imagery. Yet aspects like the electrical wiring that once animated the rooftop men and lit the interior, underscore his delight in entertaining viewers.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006