Hammer with Braille
| Artist | Stephen Althouse (American, born 1948) |
|---|---|
| Title | Hammer with Braille |
| Series | Tools and Shrouds |
| Date | 2003 |
| Medium | Inkjet print |
| Dimensions | Image: 42 × 30 7/8 in. (106.7 × 78.4 cm) Sheet: 42 × 30 7/8 in. (106.7 × 78.4 cm) Framed: 43 5/8 × 32 1/2 × 2 1/16 in. (110.8 × 82.6 × 5.2 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift of Lawrence and Lucienne Glaubinger, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2010.59 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
This is an photographic image of a hammer on a black background. The handle is made from cracked and roughly hewn wood. The hammer's head has braille lettering on the surface.
The product of a rural Pennsylvania upbringing and a Quaker education, Stephen Althouse is intrigued by simple everyday objects and what they signify about the interconnectedness of our secular and spiritual lives. This image—from his Tools and Shrouds series—serves as a metaphor for work, struggle, faith, and hope. Presented on a large scale with remarkable detail, the image invites us to imagine the hammer’s history and that of its user through its surface appearance. Added digitally by the artist, the Braille text (Latin “Dona nobis,” meaning “give us”) suggests an enigmatic prayer, what one critic has read as a fragmentary plea made by the creator of the tool for all of humanity. By altering reality and adding language, Althouse presents us with a postmodern take on a traditional trompe l'oeil still-life.
| Series Title | Tools and Shrouds |
|---|
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Hammer with Braille | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2010.59