204+of+Thousands

Date: 2014-2015
 * [[image:http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=http://americanart.si.edu/images/2015/2015.35_1a.jpg&max=460 width="342" height="151" link="@http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=109808"]] || Title: **204 of Thousands**

Artist: **Ehren Tool** Born: Charleston, South Carolina 1970

Medium: stoneware, glazes, and decals Dimensions: each: approx. 5 × 3 1/2 in. (12.7 × 8.9 cm) diam. Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the artist in honor of the people who give the work meaning © 2015, Ehren Tool

Accession: 2015.35 || These cups are a small sampling of the 204 pieces in the SAAM collection. Since 2001 Ehren Tool has made over 16,000 cups.
 * About the Artwork: **

**About the Artist:** "I hope that some of the cups can be starting points for conversations about unspeakable things." –Ehren Tool

"I hope conversations flourish between veterans and the people who are close to them. I also hope that some honest conversation can happen about war and its causes." –Ehren Tool

"Nothing I do will change the world, but that doesn't release me from the obligation to try." –Ehren Tool

Tool, a Marine veteran and artist, makes ceramic cups with imagery that reference the war experiences of himself and others. Tool served in the 1991 Gulf War. The artist intends the cups to spur conversations between veterans and the public. In particular, Tool wants people to consider global principles of peace and justice. Many of his cups are created for veterans and their families. Insignia borrowed from veterans, molds of toy soldiers, and military as well as civilian images appear on the cups. For the artist these themes intersect military and civilian cultural views. Tool gives his cups to people at no cost, hoping that the cups will inspire healing. Tool considers the cups to be useable objects, not isolated works of art. As such, he does not attract the attention of commercial galleries. Instead Tool displays his pieces at museums and not-for-profit spaces.

Tool likes making cups for people he has met. He also enjoys doing collaborative projects with others. Tool has done some work with inner city communities. In an interview the artist stated: “It is ironic to me that we say over and over we are fighting for freedom and democracy when we have so many people in prison and have so many Americans in poverty.”

Ehren Tool on Victor Schreckengost - Connections Video "The Cups of War" Hypoallergic article Artist Statement Ehren Tool website Ehren Tool: 2015 AHN Awardee In the Make: Studio Visits with West Coast Artists - Ehren Tool
 * Resources: **

SAAM Collections Page Artist Biography
 * Links: **