Bartow is well known for his self portraits and his great attention to tricksters, jesters, rascals. In 2004 when Bartow delivered this to the gallery he mentioned the concept that considers Jesus a "Sacred Clown." The theory sites Jesus' reversal of heirarchies, and his rejection of common societal norms- which made him a "fool" to many. Bartow was an avid reader and keenly knowledgeable student of spiritual traditions. He credited his mother for bringing him to Christian church service on Sunday mornings, then afterward to the Siletz Reservation Pow-Wows in the afternoon. Many American Indian traditions include sacred clowns who appear during ceremonies and rituals such as Hopi tsuku and the Lakota heyoka. They play many roles to break up tension, and mirror the people gathered in the community. Trickster and prankster are among the most common themes in Bartow's work- he was especially focussed on coyotes and ravens, and he often depicted human clowns, maked figures and circus characters. Bartow was often self depricating, humbly commenting on his place in life. Starting in 1979, when Bartow made his first mature works, he depicted himself as a clown or fool; and he returned to the theme many times throughout his life up to some of his last works in 2015.
Bartow titled this self portrait after the famous 1960s Australian actor Hal Turner's character "Bobo The Clown." Bartow depicts himself with mouth wide open- he could be in song, chant or a scream as he did in so many works, but he could also be laughing! He placed a red circle, a clown-nose, on the tip of his nose instead of his usual fully red or pink colored nose to reference his struggles with alcoholism.