Chakaia Booker (American, born 1953). <em>Sweet Dreams</em>, 2000. Wood, metal (iron alloy, steel), paint, rubber (tires), Overall: 22 × 16 × 11 1/2 in. (55.9 × 40.6 × 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler, 2014.29. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2014.29_overall_PS9.jpg)

Chakaia Booker (American, born 1953). Sweet Dreams, 2000. Wood, metal (iron alloy, steel), paint, rubber (tires), Overall: 22 × 16 × 11 1/2 in. (55.9 × 40.6 × 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler, 2014.29. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2014.29_overall_PS9.jpg)

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This artist, Chakaia Booker, is known for sculptures made from repurposed tires. Her use of tires is a reference to industrialization, consumerism, and environmental impacts. She likens the tires' surface to human skin in the way that they age, wear, and bear scars.

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Chakaia Booker is known for sculptures made from repurposed tires as well as her elaborate wearable art. Her work especially addresses issues of class, race, and labor, which she refers to a "universal problems."

She has said: "As a conceptual analogy, I usually start with the rubber tire itself. It’s about mobility, growth. They’ve used it on the moon. In a large way, it’s our method of communication."

She continues, "For example, a wall or relief using old tires suggests archaeological finds and the deciphering of patterns and textures into new languages or new symbols. The tire-making industry says that the patterns in the tires function to “wick away water” in wet weather. But where did the idea come from? Where does information begin? These same patterns may have been a means of communication some time in the past; they may translate into a way of writing, a language or physical tool that actually performs."

Booker concludes, "Something of an analogy for this can be seen in the translation of pictographs into jewelry. My intention is to translate materials into imagery that will stimulate people to consider themselves as a part of their environment—one piece of it. Whether I use an architectural format or something to look at, I believe art should dialogue with viewers."

Sweet Dreams

Chakaia Booker

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

ARTIST Chakaia Booker, American, born 1953

MEDIUM Wood, metal (iron alloy, steel), paint, rubber (tires)

DATES 2000

DIMENSIONS Overall: 22 × 16 × 11 1/2 in. (55.9 × 40.6 × 29.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2014.29

CREDIT LINE Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler

PROVENANCE 2007, gift of the artist to the Brodsky Center, Philadelphia, PA; 2007, purchased at Brodsky Center Gala by Elizabeth A. Sackler of New York, NY; April 10, 2014, gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler to the Brooklyn Museum.

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Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection

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CAPTION Chakaia Booker (American, born 1953). Sweet Dreams, 2000. Wood, metal (iron alloy, steel), paint, rubber (tires), Overall: 22 × 16 × 11 1/2 in. (55.9 × 40.6 × 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler, 2014.29. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2014.29_overall_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2014.29_overall_PS9.jpg., 2018

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