Spring/Summer 2011
In 1987, a remarkably prescient conversation occurred between Alabama artist Thornton Dial and Atlanta art historian/patron Bill Arnett soon after they met. Arnett said, “Mr. Dial, people value cultures according to how well they make art, and nobody believes black Americans are capable of making great art. You can become one of the most important artists in the world and make everybody realize they were wrong. You can open doors to so many people like yourself who’ve been kept out. You can bring civil rights to people in ways that Martin Luther King didn’t live to do.”
Dial responded, “Man, if I’m that good they’ll have to kill me.”