Sylvia Hyman: Eternal Wonder

Sylvia Hyman is one of America's most renowned porcelain artists. At the age of 90, she continues to work in her studio, creating “trompe l'oeil clay” three-dimensional still-life sculptures. In one example, what at first appears to be an arrangement featuring a neatly folded newspaper (open to the crossword), a pencil beside an egg in an egg holder, and a basket holding a puzzle and another newspaper on a wooden tray is really a sculpture made entirely out of porcelain and stoneware, minutely detailed and painted to suggest wood, straw, and paper. In Curt Hahn's biographical portrait of the artist, viewers learn that Hyman did not begin working with clay until she was in her 40s, after which her interest in the medium took off and she has since pursued various interests, such as dinnerware in the 1970s, naturalistic/organic vase forms in the 1980s, and containers of letters or papers in the 1990s. Still moving forward in the new millennium, Hyman has recently learned how to screen letters and images onto her porcelain, enabling her to tell even richer stories through her art. DVD extras include a 10-minute condensed version of the film, as well as a photo portfolio of over 400 examples of Hyman's work. An engaging profile, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)