Thornton Dial’s (1928-2016) large, assembled sculpture History Refused to Die (2004) is a confrontational piece about Dial’s connection between objects of labor and creative agency. The work was a highlight among the fifty-seven works made by Black self-taught artists whose work was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014, and the accompanying exhibition in 2018 used the exact title. Contrary to its monumental size and prominent exhibition display, existing scholarships have not given History Refused to Die critical attention. This capstone deciphers how the artist embeds his personal journey in this monumental work by navigating through the various objects Dial used, which draw on spheres of labor, including agriculture, heavy industry, and domestic labor. Moreover, History Refused to Die simultaneously draws attention to other communities he was familiar with, such as the Gee’s Bend quilters and Black vernacular yard artists, specifically Mary Lee Bendolph (1935-) and Lonnie Holly (1950-), respectively (Fig 2). This capstone also investigates Dial’s deep engagement with the idea of labor, which is evident through his interview transcripts that pertain to his upbring in Alabama and his close relationship with Black Southern artist communities.

Currently, Thornton Dial’s History Refused to Die is stored in a private facility away from the public view. In the work’s complete form, it stands eight feet tall and seven feet wide, towering over the viewer. As the spectator moves around the work, they are exposed to a clustered nest of materials on two very distinct sides. On one side, the work is comprised of shredded heaps of clothing, quilts, ripped burlap, wire, wood, paint, okra roots and stalks, and various tattered pieces of shop rags: a clustered nest of materials on two sides brought together through welding, bending, twisting, and painting, and tying (Fig. 1: left image). Towards the bottom right, one side shows a seemingly piece-by-piece display of quilts showing their intricate details with either plaid or dotted patterns. Strips of painted, ripped shop rags, abstracted watercolor drawings, and burlap deceptively connect in and around the quilts to mimic a similar square-shaped form and are neatly confined in a metal gate with a sharp, tapered top. Older, stained fabrics work together to form a sense of unity, and they are reinforced by a sharp metal gate and a steel chain. Metal wire pieces and rods press and bend around as a colorful shield of the fabrics. The reverse side of the work presents a layered nest of objects that are difficult to comb through (Fig. 1: right image). Resting on the surface of the lattice-like wall of wire, wood, paint, and tattered pieces of clothing and rags is Dial’s signature tin bird motif: a figure that has represented freedom and flight across his sculptures.