Bobabilicops (after Goya)
1992. Watercolor, ink, color pencil.
Like most Americans, I was shocked and horrified when I saw the infamous Rodney King beating video. As a white suburbanite, I had grown up seeing cops as good guys, and I still believe that most are. But harassment and discrimination against minorities does occur; a former pastor of mine, who is black, told stories of being stopped and hassled by the police for doing nothing more than walk in his own neighborhood.
![Joshua Tree cover](../art/bobabilicon2.jpg)
The inspiration for this piece is a horrific etching by the 18th-19th century Spanish painter Francisco de Goya called Bobabilicon (right).