9/11: Interrupting the Morning News

Thornton Dial

2002 · Graphite, charcoal, and watercolor on paper · Modern and Contemporary Art

Dial created a substantial body of work in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Iraq. This example is composed of a pile of tangled lines—some whip about like flames, while others, harder and more angular, suggest a fragmented structure. The semi-abstract drawing reflects the artist’s experience of watching the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy on television (the means by which Dial derived several of his subjects). Featuring faint faces scattered throughout the thicket of lines, it is an imaginative representation of the towers' collapse and an evocation of lives lost.

Artist

Thornton Dial

Date

2002

Medium

Graphite, charcoal, and watercolor on paper

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2014