Construction of the Victory - Thornton Dial at NOMA

Yesterday I visited the New Orleans Museum of Art again to see the Thornton Dial exhibition currently on display for the second time. To say that it is one of THE most riveting exhibitions I have ever seen is an understatement. There is something special about this exhibition, about its timing at NOMA, its place in the world and specifically its place in the "high" art world. Not only does Dial take us on a journey through spiritual revelations concerning the human condition, but he also bares his soul as he visually works out the ills of social injustice. Dial poignantly displays, through his art, the many levels that such pains have had and continue to have on the collective psyche of the underprivileged or the less regarded in any society. I was perplexed, happy, sad and overwhelmingly joyful as I witnessed the work of this man who tells it like it "TIS" not with words but with art. His aesthetic may not be pleasing to the masses, but the messages imbued in his works are pure. People connect with them and I imagine that in one way or the other, many can find themselves somewhere pictured within the entanglements of wires, ropes, carpet, plastic bottles, tin cans, plastic dolls, old rubber, rotted wood and an endless array of other odds and ends. The exhibition fittingly ends with a piece called “Construction of the Victory” where Dial has used an array of iconographic imagery such as the cross and crutches, covered in red paint, to express the continuous struggle to survive life’s obstacles. When I began to “feel” his work ( I didn’t touch it… I promise) I got the sense that The Creator was communing with me and showing me something that could otherwise not be explained with words. I immediately began to recognize the human condition of insanity and delusion in them, of confusion, of reality and make-believe. Yet the artist beautifully rendered understandable, recognizable messages of hope, life, death, triumph and even failure. He made sense of the confusion - on purpose. The first time I saw the exhibit, I mistakenly entered from the end of the exhibit and progressively worked my way through to the beginning. What was supposed to I guess signify growth as an artist and as a human being, became for me his “Now.” The pieces that I saw first were the pieces that were more spiritually inclined, with subjects relating to life and death, greed and power, etc. I did not know if the artist was white or black, orange or purple, all I knew was that these massive pieces of art, made of “trash” were perfectly balanced in color and composition and spoke to me on a deeper spiritual level. What I felt most about his work was his deep sense of eternity. Although I’ve never met Mr. Dial, through viewing his work, I imagine that he has long since “come to terms with” or “worked through” being simply human and being black in America or the “concept” of it thereof. He’s poetically acknowledged (through amazing works of art) the bittersweet deception of the American Dream, the horrors of global greed and the paradox of wealth. As an artist, I can see where a course on creating “in the spirit” of Mr. Dial is a much need prerequisite IF the goal of creating art is truly to be that which transcends words and still speaks to the soul. That his work was grossly misunderstood somewhere along the way, does not surprise, as it is hard for many of us to recognize the chaos that we are in as chaos. Desensitized and oblivious, we struggle, push and pull, instead of recognizing the beautiful harmony that can be beheld if only we stop and observe. Mr. Dial has observed it and he’s chronicled it as a mirror image of what it is. And to that I say … he has indeed “Constructed the Victory.” Read Doug Maccash's review of the Thornton Dial exhibition here You can also see several pics of some of the pieces from this exhibit p.s. - You've got 3 more days to see it in person at the New Orleans Museum of Art

Ricky

I saw a documentary on Ricky Williams the other day... Grant it, I'm no subject matter expert on the topic, but I'm still thinking about it because, it seems (to me) the the biggest issue the media had with him was that he did not want fame and fortune. He was not particularly over fascinated with it all (and that was OH SO OFFENSIVE). In essence, he walked away from $30 mil when it was all said and done. My feeling is that the inner peace he found, the man he became and his continual search for truth was worth far more than $30 million. As I continued to watch it with my husband, it became apparent to me that the commentators, the fans, etc. they were overzealous with rage because really he was walking away from what so many of them only dreamed about, coveted, longed for...and here it was in his lap and he stood up, brushed it off, watched it fall to the ground and stepped on it like it was worthless. For him, it was, the trade off was too high. He was depicted as strange, possibly bipolar, a hot mess...when all he was wanted was Peace. I liked the way the documentary ended though. It showed his wedding to a woman who "surprisingly stood by him through his "craziness" and the house they lived in along with his 3 kids. Unlike the 2004 videos that showed this strange looking man with food in his beard, his eyes seemed to shine and he had an easy way of communicating. He was smiling and appeared happy. I'm still thinking about Ricky, because I realize that although many of us want it, need it, we are completely unwilling to go through the process. Even me...but when does fear, success and money become to high a price to pay?