"Artist Tony Tiger creates a dynamic interaction between vintage photographs and vivid, abstract color patterns in a show on view in the state Capitol’s East Gallery. Tiger, art director at Bacone College in Muskogee, emphasizes "self-discovery and cultural awareness” in the acrylic and mixed-media works in his "Full Consciousness” exhibit.

"We humans are more than just reflections in a mirror,” Tiger, a member of the Sac and Fox tribe, said of his works, which combine old family and historical photos with colors such as crimson, ocher and turquoise. Photos of an American Indian athlete interact with deep red and green decorative patterns in "Eunah Tiger (Bacone 1910-1924),” a multilevel collage composition with a cross shape cut out and two crosses attached to its surface.

A touching photo of the formally clad artist as a child with one hand on his grandfather’s shoulder is collaged onto a red, black, blue and green diamond and cross pattern in "Bacone Grandpa and Me.” Next to it is a yellow-tinted group portrait of Indian children, wearing school uniforms during "Agency Days” in Stroud, superimposed over green, red and blue stripes on an abstract, blue and red background.

The same green, red and deep blue vertical lines serve a more abstract purpose, overlaying a dark, intricate surface pattern, symbolizing "Life,” in a larger acrylic painting on canvas. Abstract, too, is "Male and Female,” a diptych made up of two skinny, predominantly green compositions, suggesting either a beautiful forest or an overgrown bramble, with the masculine canvas slightly heavier."

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Art emphasizes cultural focus and self-discovery (The Oklahoman 4/30)