Untitled [Portrait of Sheriff Bobby Joe McDermitt]

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McMoore obsessively depicted funerals and funeral processions, peopling them with a repeating cast of characters. His drawings disregard certain gender-specific attributes: all his male deputies, for instance, wear dangle earrings and high heels. Developmentally handicapped and schizophrenic, McMoore was able to live independently and pursue his art under the supervision of Community Support Services, an Akron mental health agency. He usually drew in a scroll format on rolls of paper 5 feet tall and up to 120 feet long. His frequent use of the phrase “black key” in conversation inspired the name of the Akron band The Black Keys. The duo also borrowed a phrase McMoore used to describe himself, “McMoore McLesst,” as the name of their music publishing company.

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