Carl Dixon

American Outsider Artist Carl Dixon has a rare gift of depicting spiritual truths in a way that leaves you smiling. The wood carver from Mississippi is one of the best contemporary practitioners of a school of African-American "testimony art" associated with Elijah Pierce (1892-1984), a barber-preacher-turned-woodworker in Columbus, Ohio, who carved a monumental Book of Wood with biblical images in the 1930s to illustrate his sermons. In Spiritual Warfare & the Fruits of the Spirit, Dixon delivers his own witness in wood, taking as his text, Ephesians 6:12, which begins with the famous line: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." In this angel's eye view of a revival meeting, we see an evangelist (with a marked resemblance to Billy Graham!) delivering a salvation message from a pulpit decorated with the biblical text, John 3:16. While the preacher calls his audience to come to the altar and repent, a bright band of angels keeps watch over the earthly congregation with swords drawn, ready to engage advancing demonic forces. The heavenly messengers hold up shields emblazoned with "the fruits of the Spirit," listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (identified, here, as "joy, mercy, peace, love, gentleness, hope, meekness, goodness, faith, and wisdom.)" The opposing forces from hell carry armor, labelled, "strife, envying, witchcraft, hatred, wrath, and revenge."  The theme could not be more serious, but Dixon adds winsome touches of humor. The angel watching over the evangelist perfectly mimics his dramatic hand gestures. Another divine emissary prods a reluctant sinner in the front pew to answer the altar call. A guardian angel in the lower right has his hands full, keeping a young charge from slipping out of church, while two airborne angels to the upper left carry crossbows, looking very much like cupids about to shoot darts of love into the enemy lines. (John Kohan)