From the aching tenderness of “Jolene” to the buoyant working-class spirit of “9 to 5,” Dolly Parton provided a soundtrack for nearly every phase of life. Today, we remember the country singer, camp icon, hair legend, generous philanthropist, and true Patron Saint of the South — especially Appalachia and Tennessee, where she was proudly from and whose culture and people she cherished deeply.
In tribute to our beloved Dolly, who died yesterday at 80, we are sharing an artwork from East Tennessee State University’s 2020 exhibition devoted to the musician. “Dolly was a proverbial ray of sunshine amidst an often dark world,” said artist Kym Day of her warm-toned portrait of the singer.
“I depicted her gazing upward toward a future so bright she has to shade her eyes from its brilliance,” Day continued. “I wanted the painting to reflect the unwavering light that she brought to the world.”
Also featured today are glimpses from this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market, a documentary drawing on the archive of late lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer, and the dystopian tale of a Kehinde Wiley painting removed by the US State Department — in an unoriginal turn, it was labeled too “woke.”
— Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor
