by Artist (752)
Thornton Dial, Sr.
American, 1928–2016
This mixed-media assemblage is by Emelle, Alabama native Thornton Dial, Sr. (1928–2016). Dial spent most of his life working as a machinist in a railcar factory in Bessemer, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham. After being laid off by the factory in 1977, he began to use his mechanical skills to create sculptural objects with cast-off materials he found around his environment. Eventually, Dial and others who were working in a similar fashion in and around Birmingham came to understand that what they were doing to "stay busy" was art. Eventually Dial made more than 500 pieces of wall-relief sculpture such as Lost Americans, and more than 2000 drawings and watercolor paintings. Two of his constructions were included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial, and appreciation of his work continues to grow as representing an alternative movement within the canon of mid-to-late-20th-century American art.
In this construction from 2008, the artist recognized that American society in the 20th century was characterized by a tendency for violence as a result of deep cultural discord, leaving some of her citizens lost, disconnected, and left behind, failing to achieve the happiness and prosperity others took for granted. This damage to America’s traditional social contract has ramifications into the 21st century and beyond.
American, 1928–2016
Lost Americans
2008
Object Type:
Mixed Media
Dimensions:
72 x 96 x 13 1/2 in. (183 x 244 x 34 cm)
Medium and Support:
Mixed media on wood
Accession Number:
2021.0004.0002
Credit Line:
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection
Currently On View
Copyright:
© Estate of Thornton Dial / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
This mixed-media assemblage is by Emelle, Alabama native Thornton Dial, Sr. (1928–2016). Dial spent most of his life working as a machinist in a railcar factory in Bessemer, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham. After being laid off by the factory in 1977, he began to use his mechanical skills to create sculptural objects with cast-off materials he found around his environment. Eventually, Dial and others who were working in a similar fashion in and around Birmingham came to understand that what they were doing to "stay busy" was art. Eventually Dial made more than 500 pieces of wall-relief sculpture such as Lost Americans, and more than 2000 drawings and watercolor paintings. Two of his constructions were included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial, and appreciation of his work continues to grow as representing an alternative movement within the canon of mid-to-late-20th-century American art.
In this construction from 2008, the artist recognized that American society in the 20th century was characterized by a tendency for violence as a result of deep cultural discord, leaving some of her citizens lost, disconnected, and left behind, failing to achieve the happiness and prosperity others took for granted. This damage to America’s traditional social contract has ramifications into the 21st century and beyond.
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