Name/Title
Jungle PictureEntry/Object ID
2017.3.4Description
In Jungle Picture, Dial portrays a yellow tiger and a woman with dark hair peeking out from behind two tall green bushes. Dial often made art that spoke to nuances of the relationships between men and women. To Dial, women were sexual and nurturing; both of these conditions being natural and worth celebrating. He used iconographic imagery, often in the form of animals, to express his concepts. Tigers in Dial's pieces are often representative of Dial himself and aspects of the African American male experience. The tigers are portrayed as the energetic element of the composition’_frolicking around the women in his pieces, curling in the presence of those women, and exposing their underbellies for feminine consumption, as well as masculine satisfaction. This was intended to portray men as being strong, stealthy, and subtly dangerous, much like a wild tiger, while simultaneously succumbing to the seductions of women, serving them, and ultimately being domesticated by them.Artwork Details
Medium
Paper, Gouache, pencil, Watercolor PaintCollection
Southern Vernacular Art CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2017.3Source or Donor
Hill, Lou and CalynneAcquisition Method
GiftMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Dial, Thornton Sr.Role
ArtistDate made
1991Dimensions
Height
30 inWidth
22-1/2 inInterpretative Labels
Label
Thornton Dial, Sr. (1928-2016)
Thornton Dial, Sr. is the most famous vernacular artist from the Southeast, whose work has shattered the art world's notion of "folk" and "outsider" art. Although Dial has never had any education or art training and is from a rural town in Alabama, his work touches on themes of racial inequality, struggles in a modern world, and relationships between men and women, themes that resonate with audiences around the world.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
January 25, 2017