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Bowie, Frey, Rickman, Vigoda, and Dial—let's not forget Dial

Thornton Dial
1928 - 2016

David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Alan Rickman, Abe Vigoda. Celebrities are falling left and right—some at a relatively early age—and the media, both traditional and social, are covering their deaths and contributions to the arts extensively.

Chances are, unless you are an avid art lover or live in the Southeast, particularly in Alabama or Georgia, you haven’t heard or read about Thornton Dial, an Alabama artist remembered as “extraordinary,” who died January 25 at the age of 87. And that’s a pity.

Writing about Dial’s death for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bo Emerson described Dial as “a self-taught artist from the ‘black belt’ of Alabama” who “worked continuously on his paintings and sculptures, when he wasn’t working at his job fabricating railroad cars.

“But rather than let others see his creations, he used to hide or destroy them. It wasn’t modesty, but a sense of self-preservation that inspired caution. Dial’s work was often political. His paintings and sculptures had an “edge,” and his symbolic commentary on the issues of the day — including civil rights — could have brought retribution.

“‘That sort of edge will let you see the inside of a noose pretty quickly,’ said (Dial’s) friend Paul Arnett.

A 2012 article, also in the AJC, described Dial’s entry into fabricating and how his career facilitated his art, particularly his sculpture. As a youth, Dial “worked a series of blue-collar jobs that enhanced his natural handiness and propensity to transform scavenged items into new ‘things.’ Then he began a long career as a metalworker at a Pullman boxcar factory.

“When those things overflowed the home of his growing family, his wife threatened to leave him if he didn’t dump the ‘junk.’ Even his kids sometimes scratched their heads over what Dad was creating on any given day.”

A discouraged Dial buried many of his early works.

“When you start doing something and don’t nobody pay attention to it, you’ll throw it away, too,” Dial explained during a visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta for an exhibition of his work in 2012.

“After coming to light in 1987, Dial’s work would eventually be seen by millions, and collected by major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and the High Museum.”

Atlanta also is home to “The Bridge,” a 1997 sculpture by Dial that is located at John Lewis Plaza in the city’s Freedom Park in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.. The work portrays “Congressman John Lewis’ lifelong quest for civil and human rights” and the community’s “valiant efforts to stop the road (an interchange between eight-lane highways: Interstate 485—now Stone Mountain Freeway—east and west, and Georgia 400 and Interstate 675 north and south) and preserve in-town neighborhoods.”

You can see "The Bridge" and more of Dial’s work here.

Musicians and actors aren’t the only artists worth celebrating and remembering. Take a moment and check out the life and work of Thornton Dial. The same creativity and desire to document life, nature, and all things that matter can be found in scores of metal artists, including the talented Josh Welton and Waco (Texas) High School senior Esther Garciapina, who is creating aluminum roses from scrap, thanks to welding classes.