Devil’s Drinking Party Yard ShowDilmus Hall (1901-1987)
About the Artist/Site
Dilmus Hall was born in 1901 in Athens, Georgia, where the renowned folk-artist created a slew of Christian-themed sculptures and biblical illustrations. Christianity played an important role in Hall’s artistic practice, his drawings and sculptures playing on African American conjuring culture mixed with stories taken from the bible. Hall’s early life consisted of a multitude of odd jobs, including a stint as a stretcher-bearer in Europe during the first world war. Following his employment as a busboy, a coal miner, and a construction laborer, Hall began focusing more exclusively on creating art. Before transitioning to mostly two-dimensional media using colored pencil and ballpoint pen, Hall used wood and metal to create the bases for concrete sculptures, frequently depicting allegorical scenes that once again reflected his Christian morals and beliefs. In The Devil and the Drunk Man originally placed in Hall’s front yard, the figure of the devil influences the drunk man to partake in the sin of indulgence and vice, leading to his downfall. Hall viewed this kind of sculpture as a protective talisman that would keep himself safe from the hold of everyday evil. The interior and exterior of Hall’s cinder block home were decorated with cross and diamond symbols, leaning into the vernacular religious associations of protective imagery. On the relationship between his craft and religion, Hall states:
“I believe nature is satisfied when you have a talent that He give you—let's go back to Him—and He grants you the opportunity through life. I think you ought to appreciate it. And he will bless you. He was thinking [of] you, on and on, and on and on. He knew me. I trust Him, see. I'm not perfect but I use the talent that He give me.”
Hall’s illustrations can be found in the permanent collections of art museums across the United States including the High Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Saint Petersburg, and the UWM Mathis Art Collection.
~Nikki Ranney, 2023
Sources:
Dilmus Hall | Souls Grown Deep
Abraham & Isaac: Explore a Piece from the UWM Art Collection - Art History
African American Self-Taught Art: High Museum of Art Collection (tfaoi.org)
Contributors
Materials
concrete, paint
SPACES Archives Holdings
1 envelope: images
Map & Site Information
1001 Dearing Street
Athens, Georgia, 30606
us
Latitude/Longitude: 33.952482 / -83.3932071
Nearby Environments
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