The Story Behind The Unexpected

Three people stand taller than all the rest in the Arkansas border town of Fort Smith.

Last month, AY Magazine showcased the convergence of the Unexpected Festival and the Peacemaker Music Festival; in 2017, for the first time, the two events came together to hold an art and culture extravaganza in Fort Smith during the weekend of July 28-29. Three murals on the OK Foods grain towers at 700 B Street watched over that festival.

On these structures, which are some of the tallest in town, artist Guido van Helten painted two men and a woman over the course of two weeks in September 2016. He named the piece “American Heroes.” One of the men, Gene Beckham, worked at the grain elevator that now portrays his larger-than-life likeness.

“Gene Beckham worked at this grain elevator for 70 years leaving only once to fight in the Second World War,” van Helten wrote about the mural in 2016. “10 years ago, Gene retired, only to return to work the following Monday and [he] continued to work up until last year.” Van Helten said that while he was painting the mural in the middle of the Arkansas summer, he reflected on Beckham and “his dedication and the importance of being passionate regardless of what you do.

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