This work was dedicated to Congressman John Lewis in 2005. Using mixed media, the artist arranged objects like tires and barrels to form a bridge-like structure that represents Congressman Lewis’ lifelong quest for the advancement of civil and human rights. It connects these global efforts to the local story of the nearby neighborhoods organizing to stop the demolition of their homes for a planned highway. This effort ended up preserving a number of in-town neighborhoods.
Thornton Dial was born in 1928 and raised in poverty in the rural South. As a young man he worked as a laborer in the region’s heavy industry. Throughout the years, Dial made a variety of objects through which he commented on the human spectacle. His creations began to receive attention from the established art world in the mid-1980s. Dial’s work addresses historical, social and political issues faced in the United States, such as racism, homelessness and war. His large scale sculptures are assembled from cast-away and found objects.