<I>Untitled</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1990-1999
name: label: Created by
content: Thornton Dial Sr., American, 1928 - 2016
notes: label: Caption
content: Thornton Dial Sr. incorporates discarded materials in his work. This assemblage process has a long tradition in the southern United States, including rural Alabama, Dial’s birthplace. He didn’t perceive his early creations as "art," but rather what he referred to as "things." He kept his early work hidden, unsure of public response. Currently, his work is widely celebrated and featured in many exhibitions and museums in the United States and abroad.
label: Caption
content: Animals often figure in his compositions. For Dial, the tiger is a kind of alter ego, a representation of power, agency, and black men in general, much the way the image of the black panther was used in the 1960s by the Lowndes County (Alabama) Freedom Organization and the Black Panther Party.
label: Description
content: This assemblage depicts a striped animal with a long tail. The creature's two front legs are splayed apart, with one stretched out in front and one extended underneath the stomach. The animal's tail is upraised as well as its head, on an elongated neck. Although the animal is viewed from the side, both eyes are on the same visual plane and are visible to the viewer. The animal is barely contained by the square plywood backing; the movement of the limbs is constrained by the borders of the work. The animal is covered in black and white stripes and is outlined in brown. Surrounding the animal is a field of shadowy greens, blacks and browns.
place: label: Place made
content: Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Race relations
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Calynne and Lou Hill
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2010.64.1
objectType: label: Type
content: assemblages (sculpture)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Thornton Dial/Artists Rights Society (ARS)
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cloth, rope, carpeting and paint on plywood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 44 5/16 × 44 5/16 × 1 in. (112.5 × 112.5 × 2.5 cm)