Cross Cultural Pictograms

Currently not on view

Cross Cultural Pictograms

1992

Mei-ling Hom (American, born 1951) Published by Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia

Working primarily as a sculptor, Hom examines the complexities of her life as a woman, an artist, and an American of Chinese descent. This print includes the Chinese character for jung (center row, far left), meaning “center”—used in the word for China (jung guo) meaning “center country.” The other shapes are invented symbols that describe the artist’s frustration with the prevalence of language offerings other than her ancestral tongue in American schools. The bound characteristic of the forms, seemingly wrapped in thread, evokes further cultural references, such as the former practice of binding women’s feet in China.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Cross Cultural Pictograms

Date:

1992

Artists:

Mei-ling Hom (American, born 1951) Published by Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia

Medium:

Color offset lithograph paper construction

Dimensions:

Sheet (overall): 21 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 1 1/8 inches (54.6 x 64.1 x 2.9 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Gift of the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, in memory of Anne d'Harnoncourt, 2009

Accession Number:

2009-61-38

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Currently not on view