Dial Thor nton Edited by Bernard L. Herman Foreword by Emily Kass Dial Thor nton Thoughts on Paper Published in Association with the Ackland Art Museum by the University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill This publication is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment © 2011 The University of North Carolina Press. All rights reserved. Manufac- tured in Canada. Designed and set by Kimberly Bryant in Caecilia and Aller for the Arts, types. by the David G. Frey The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability Expendable American of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Coun- cil on Library Resources. The University of North Carolina Press has been a Art Fund, and by member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. the William Hayes Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ackland Trust. Dial, Thornton. Thornton Dial: thoughts on paper / edited by Bernard L. Herman; foreword by Emily Kass. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8078-3529-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Dial, Thornton—Themes, motives. I. Herman, Bernard L., 1951– II. Title. III. Title: Thoughts on paper. N6537.d4468a4 2011b 741.973—dc23 2011031533 16 15 14 13 12 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Foreword Emily Kass vii Acknowledgments Bernard L. Herman ix Thornton Dial, Thoughts on Paper  Bernard L. Herman Expressionist Dial  Or, Thinking around Canonicity Colin Rhodes Every Drawing That I Do, I Think about the Lord  Thornton Dial’s Journey of Faith Glenn Hinson We All Grew Up in That Life  Thornton Dial’s Sexual Politics on Paper Juan Logan Thornton Dial’s Continuing Creative Practice  Drawings and Related Works, 1991–2011 Cara Zimmerman Contributors  Index  This page intentionally left blank Foreword In 2008, Bernie Herman, George Tindall Professor of American Stud- ies at UNC–Chapel Hill and a recognized expert in material culture, came to the Ackland with an idea. He proposed an exhibition and publication that would examine the early drawings of Thornton Dial. I was intrigued by the prospect of studying a focused body of work as a means to better understand the creative process of an artist known for his very diverse and unconventional use of materials, frequently on a monumental scale. But I was also impressed by Professor Her- man’s deep commitment to engage scholars with differing perspec- tives in examining the work, while at the same time including his students in the extended process of research and planning. In prep- aration for the exhibition and publication, students attended ses- sions with me and other staff at the Ackland to learn about museum practice and to discuss their ideas. They prepared conceptual out- lines and generated framing questions. Undoubtedly, the highlight for them was the chance to travel to Alabama and meet Dial and to observe his approach to the creative process, including the actual execution of a drawing. The resulting collaboration among Ackland staff, leading scholars in the United States and abroad, students, and the artist Thornton Dial has created and shaped this publication and the exhibition. The Ackland Art Museum is well known for its extensive collection of works on paper, and in particular its fi ne collection of drawings. Thus it is particularly appropriate that the museum would embrace this exploration of drawing as a touchstone of the creative process. While this book focuses on Dial’s early drawings, the ideas presented here have implications for other artists whose work has been char- acterized as “folk” or “outsider” art and thereby set apart and often ignored in serious art historical study. The project suggests a frame- work for reconsidering works of art by other artists who for too long have been defi ned by these same limiting categories. Several individuals and organizations must be singled out for thanks. We wish to express our appreciation to the National Endow- ment for the Arts, which provided support to initiate the exhibition and book at a critical time. We would also like to thank David Frey for creating the David G. Frey Expendable American Art Fund at UNC– Chapel Hill. Without additional support from this fund, the project would not have been possible. We are also grateful to the Arnett family, and in particular Bill Arnett, who has embraced the project, spending many hours with our staff and scholars, making research materials available, and generously donating six of Dial’s drawings to our permanent collection. Four private collectors, Ron and June Shelp, Martha Howard, Tom Larkin, and The Souls Grown Deep Foun- dation, shared drawings from their personal collections in support of this important effort. Finally, I am indebted to Bernie Herman, whose vision and inde- fatigable leadership have made the project a reality. By bringing his considerable expertise to the project, he has not only contributed to the scholarship but shepherded the book through every stage, start- ing with recruiting and encouraging the distinguished authors who join us in this effort: Glenn Hinson, Colin Rhodes, Juan Logan, and Cara Zimmerman. I am confi dent that, thanks to the contributions of all of our col- laborators, this book adds substantially to the growing body of schol- arship on the work of Thornton Dial and enlivens an interdisciplinary approach to the fi eld of American art. Emily Kass, director, Ackland Art Museum viii Acknowledgments Thornton Dial: Thoughts on Paper began as a passing conversation with Bill Arnett about why was it that Thornton Dial’s works on paper ap- peared to have received little focused attention compared to the criti- cal responses to his often monumental mixed-media works. In re- sponse to that fi rst exchange, Bill Arnett compiled a portfolio of Dial’s earliest works on paper made in 1990 and 1991. That portfolio forms the basis for the fi ve essays in this book and for an accompanying exhibition of the drawings at the Ackland Art Museum at the Uni- versity of North Carolina in 2012. Discussions about the shape that this book and the exhibition might take began in the last meeting of a graduate art history seminar at the University of Delaware in 2008. In 2009, the exploration of Dial’s fi rst drawings informed a seminar in American Studies and Folklore at the University of North Caro- lina at Chapel Hill. The students from both universities responded to Dial’s drawings with incredible enthusiasm and insight that re- sulted in this book and the Ackland exhibition. Through the efforts of the Ackland’s director, Emily Kass, and director for external affairs, Amanda Hughes, Thornton Dial: Thoughts on Paper became a reality. Emily Kass passionately supported this project from start to fi nish. From our fi rst conversation to visits to see Dial’s art in other collec- tions to the realization of the exhibition and this book, Emily’s vi- sion has sustained us all. Amanda labored heroically on every aspect of this book and the accompanying exhibition. Her enthusiasm for the art, good humor, and thoughtful interventions truly shaped this collaboration from inception to conclusion. This book would not be what it is without her many contributions. At the Ackland, Carolyn Allmendinger, Peter Nisbet, Emily Bowles, Lyn Koehnline, Scott Han- kins, Anita Heggli-Swenson, and Robert Colby enabled us to work di- rectly with the art and share Dial’s works on paper with our students. A heartfelt round of thanks goes to the students in the two semi- nars that gave this exhibition its initial form. I am particularly in- debted to Laura Bickford, Heather Hall, and Sarah Schultz at the Uni- versity of North Carolina, who continued to contribute to the project by compiling a comprehensive research fi le for the authors. Our weekly conversations gave the project a continuing energy. Emily Hammond