Untitled (Phone Book)
Datec. 1961-2001
MediumCardboard, magazine and newspaper cutouts, glue, and tape
DimensionsBox: 11 1/2 × 9 × 4 1/8 inches (29.2 × 22.9 × 10.5 cm)
Phone Book: 10 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 3 1/2 inches (26 × 21.6 × 8.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Tom and Betsy Kohler and Family.
Object number2005.7.1
Copyright© Estate of Addie Reeves.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextReeves lovingly assembled this phonebook over a period of at least 30 years. Fashioning the pages out of cardboard, she created the names in her book from individual letters and numbers she cut each day from magazines, church bulletins, and newspapers. Reeves sewed cardboard strips into a shallow box to create compartments for each letter and number, then day after day, glued and taped the names of the people she met as a living reflection of her ever-growing circle of friends and loved ones.
Although Reeves would not have considered herself an artist, her phone book embodies the attentive, compulsive habits of assemblage that often distinguish self-taught art, along with the impulse to embellish an ordinary, functional object in a decorative manner. This book reflects both her personal creativity and her devotion to those whose names were pasted within.
