The Town
Object Label
Thornton Dial became a sculptor while constructing railway cars for the Pullman-Standard Company in Bessemer, Alabama, where he remained despite the large-scale Great Migration of African Americans to Northern cities in the wake of the enforced segregation and widespread racialized violence of the Jim Crow era. In The Town, we see a parody of white America—colorful houses and clothes contrast with the violence of the figure who has gouged out their eyes, able to see the hidden truths of racism and brutality underpinning white society.
Caption
Thornton Dial American, 1928–2016. The Town, 1987. Welded metal, broken glass, window screen, gravel, wire, concrete, Splash Zone epoxy, enamel, spray-paint, wood, overall: 99 lb. (44.91kg) storage (on pallet): 178 in. (452.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018, 2018.28.2. © artist or artist's estate
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Town
Date
1987
Medium
Welded metal, broken glass, window screen, gravel, wire, concrete, Splash Zone epoxy, enamel, spray-paint, wood
Classification
Dimensions
overall: 99 lb. (44.91kg) storage (on pallet): 178 in. (452.1 cm)
Inscriptions
None seen, but bottom of base was not inspected
Credit Line
Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018
Accession Number
2018.28.2
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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