Artwork Details
- Title
- Bookmobile
- Artist
- Date
- 2008
- Location
- Dimensions
- 14 x 18 x 14 1⁄2 in. (35.6 x 45.7 x 36.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morgan Keegan and Co., Inc.
- Mediums Description
- porcelain, stoneware, underglazes, silver leaf, adhesive, and paint
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 2009.45
Artwork Description
Sylvia Hyman began creating trompe l'oeil pieces in 1967. Trompe l'oeil, which is French for "fool the eye," refers to a highly realistic illusion that causes the viewer to question the reality of what they are seeing. At first glance, Bookmobile appears to be eleven random books stored haphazardly in a corrugated cardboard box, yet Hyman skillfully sculpted it entirely out of porcelain and stoneware. Each book somehow relates to the artist and her family in a kind of self-portrait. Danger Music is a murder mystery written by Hyman's daughter, whereas The Jews on Tin Pan Alley refers to her Jewish heritage. Even Computers Simplified, which initially seems out of place among three books about clay and an art history textbook, plays an important role in the piece. Together, these books represent the contrast between old (clay) and new (computers) technologies and how Hyman, who uses both, continues to grow as an artist.