Auction details |
c. 1962 This is one of Hall's most important and recognizable works. It is illustrated on page 221 in Souls Grown Deep in a 1986 photo taken by Roger Manley in Hall's garden. The significance of the piece is emphasized by the chapter title, "Blue Hands." Cast and painted concrete with some original blue paint. Comes with metal pedestal. Early environmental piece with hands in relief and date cut into cement. 14 x 14 x 14 Est. $3,000 - $5,000 Ship: $300 (includes crate for shipping). A Slotin “mojo” auction favorite! Dilmus Hall (1900-1987)
Dilmus grew up in a large farming family near Athens, GA. Even as a child he liked creating art. Throughout his life he worked picking cotton, in a coal mine, swinging a pick with a road gang, a U.S. Army as a stretcher bearer, and a sorority house busboy at the University of Georgia.
According to Maude Southwell Wahlman in Souls Grown Deep, “African American Yard arts can be proclamations of individual public identity, tools for remembering aspects of African American conjuring culture, storytelling devices, memorials to artists or others, signs to community members and conscious protective systems for controlling or keeping away dangerous forces.”
Blue Hands refers to an African American charm called a “mojo,” or “hand.” This piece is the epitome of African American Mojo. Several concrete works of Halls are on permanent display at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.
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