Name/Title
untitledEntry/Object ID
2017.3.2Description
This untitled work by Arthur Dial portrays two cowboys engaged in a standoff, guns aimed and at the ready. Between the two figures is a cactus flanked by two small white windows as a yellow snake slithers up the cactus' trunk. Dial frequently drew as a child and was particularly interested in cowboys and other western topics; Roy Rogers being his favorite. Dial's family frequently attended church and he developed many ideas for his artwork from what he heard and saw there. He started with drawings of Jesus and Adam and Eve, then when he began working at The Pipe Shop, he started making sculpting his religious designs, including animals, people, and crucifixions, out of the scrap pipe and steel that were available to him at work.Artwork Details
Medium
paint, plywood, industrial sealing compoundCollection
Southern Vernacular Art CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2017.3Source or Donor
Hill, Lou and CalynneAcquisition Method
GiftDimensions
Height
40 inWidth
40-1/4 inInterpretative Labels
Label
Arthur Dial (b.1930)
Arthur Dial was born in rural Alabama where he spent the majority of his life. He held a thirty-seven year career at a company called U.S. Pipe, or as the local community called it, "the Pipe Shop," which influenced many of his artistic choices of material and methods of fabrication. He was inspired by the artistry of his older brother, Thornton Dial, Sr., as well as many other members of his community, and began fabricating various figures including biblical characters and animals out of the materials familiar to him from his job. His work, as he stated, is "a record of what went by," in that his concepts are not meant to encompass archetypal ideas or overarching philosophies, but rather his personal identity as an artist, what's important to him, and his societal context. He has been steadily working on his art since his retirement in the mid-1990s.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
January 25, 2017