This essay will go over the life, accomplishments, and legacy of renowned assemblage artist Betye Saar.          


                                                                              Betye Saar

              “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Martin Luther King Jr., an acclaimed civil rights activist, always believed we should stand up for equality and never let external factors dismay us in the fight for social justice. Luckily, many others during the time also stood up for equality such as Martin Luther King Jr. did—even though some do not receive as much attention as him. One medium of advocacy that for ages has been used as a connection between awareness and social justice has been: art. One time period which embodied the promotion of black enlightenment was the Black Arts Movement during the 1970’s. This movement was a national movement where black artists used music, drama, and visual arts for equality; they did this in order to promote African American self-determination, femininity, and combat racist stereotypes. One prominent artists who used her art to go against oppressive societal norms was Betye Saar. Ultimately, Betye Saar is one of the most influential artists during the Black Arts Movement because she used her work to express the racism and oppression she personally dealt with and turned it into a weapon to combat inequality.

                To commence, this part will focus on Betye Saar’s background and life story which will show how she became such an acclaimed artist. Saar was born in Los Angeles, California in 1926; during the 1920’s the LA area was deemed the ‘golden era’ for African Americans in the U.S. The stock market had just crashed and many African Americans from across the country were flocking to LA for new opportunities as well as to escape the harsh racism that was heavily embedded in our country during this time—which is the reason Saar’s grandparents relocated to LA. From a young age Saar used to collect old bottle caps, feathers, and other items which she would turn into dolls or puppets. In turn, her attraction for art grew at a young age. Throughout her life she was also exposed to religion and spirituality very often—which still holds an important role in her life. Furthermore, when she was a child she could remember being able to predict events like her father’s illness. Saar was very close with her father and after his passing, when she was 5 years old, it took a heavy toll on her as well as her family. After this event happened, the family moved with Saar’s great aunt in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Saar respected her aunt highly and considered her a highly dignified Black female role model in Saar’s life. After high school, she was able to attend UCLA after she received a tuition award. At UCLA she earned a B.A with a major in Design and minored in Sociology. She chose this because, “being from a minority family, I never thought about being an artist. But I could tell people how to buy curtains”. Originally, Saar’s plan after graduate school was to teach design somewhere; however, while in school she took a printmaking class and changed her focus to becoming an artist. During this time, she also married her husband Richard Saar and had 3 daughters together. One thing that is inspiring about Betye Saar is that she had her daughters while in graduate school and sometimes had to take her daughters to class. Showing how determined of a person she is and her ability to balance responsibilities in order to pursue her passions. Around the 60’s is when Saar started forming her signature artistic style: assemblage. Assemblage is combining natural or manufactured found objects into 3 dimensional sculptures. During this time she also became interested in the Civil Rights Movement, so she used her art to challenge racism specifically in the art world. In addition to challenging racism, she tried to promote feminism as well through various projects. After making a name for herself, various schools gave Saar honorary doctorate degrees for her incredible pieces and her handwork overall. Betye Saar is still alive and well at the age of  95; she currently resides in Laurel Canyon. Ultimately, this is a brief overview of Betye Saar’s  accomplished life so far.

                   Next, Betye Saar has many amazing works of art, but for this section I will discuss only 2 pieces. The first piece I will discuss is Betye Saar’s The Liberation of Aunt Jemima shown in Figure 1. This assemblage was made in 1972 and considered the first of Saar’s pieces to be politically explicit. Years before, Saar would collect derogatory images like postcards and cigar labels that contained caricature of Black slaves. Saar repeatedly found the  image of the character Aunt Jemima on many manufactured and advertisement products. One recent example of this caricature was Aunt Jemima pancake syrup where even recently we still see derogatory racist propaganda on stores shelves. Therefore, Saar set out to reinvent the stereotypical submissive slave image of Aunt Jemima into a more powerful symbol. In turn, she gave the character a rifle and a pistol under her right arm area. The point of this is to empower Black woman by turning Aunt Jemima into a revolutionary who is going against her exploited past. The postcard in the middle with the lady holding the baby shows the past when slaves had to take care of their masters children which was another way Black women were exploited during slavery. Ultimately, this assemblage helped inspire other feminist movements and is accredited to starting the Black women’s movement.

             Furthermore, the second work of art I wanted to showcase was Betye Saar’s Black Girl’s  Window shown in figure 2. Saar used an old window frame that had been thrown away where she used a more mystic approach to the piece—not uncommon in her work. Throughout the piece she uses a combination of painting skill as well as printed images. One piece I found interesting was the frame located in right middle row with the head. Saar used this piece to represent Phrenology, which was a pseudoscience, that white people used to justify their superiority over black people. In the same row going horizontally, the viewers can also see a large white skeleton in contrast with a smaller black  skeleton. Once again showing that racism is always a looming factor. In addition, the girl in the picture is put on the window to make sure the viewer acknowledges her even if she is on the other side of the frame. Saar also incorporated her astrology symbols to add her personal connection and display her future and past. Furthermore, this piece recently won the 2020 Wolfgang Hahn prize because of the influence it has had on the new generation of artists. Overall, Saar found a way to challenge racial stereotypes and oppressive history, such as the pseudoscience, through this work of art which is why she is one of the most important artists to this day.

                Finally, we will examine the legacy that Saar is continuing to leave behind and why she should be a figure worth focusing on. I believe Betye Saar was an artists who was ahead of her time. She came into the world of art specifically when the assemblage movement was starting off in the 60’s—most assemblage artists were men at the time. So as an African American women during the 60’s to have accomplished what she’s accomplished is incredible. Her ability to overcome the obstacles of being a mother while going to school, facing constant racism in society, and being brave enough to speak out against inequality through her work of art. Through her work, she was able to connect her imaginative spiritual side while incorporating symbolical societal concerns. She was accredited to starting the Black Women’s movement through her Aunt Jemima piece; so not only did she fight for her race but also promoted feminism in the art industry. There was even a point in time where Betye Saar did not want to be part of expositions that had “Black women artists” in the title because she believed she was an equal human and should be given the respect as an artist for her skill and not be displayed because of her race or gender. Ultimately, Betye Saar’s courage and talent helped leave behind a legacy that has inspired the younger generations of artists to take action through their work against oppressive societal norms.

                Ultimately, Betye Saar is one of the most influential artists during the Black Arts Movement because she used her work to express the racism and oppression she personally dealt with and turned it into a weapon to combat inequality. It is safe to say that Betye’s legacy will precede her because of her inventive style and ability to inspire the younger generation of artists. I believe it is important that, as a society, we pay more attention to artist such as Betye Saar because of the important messages displayed in their work and not overlook their call to action.





Bibliography:
•National Archives. “Black Arts Movement (1965-1975).” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, 2017, https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/arts
•Saar , Betye, and Jane H Carpenter . “Betye Saar.” Google Books, Google, 2003, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=J7c_FPIPupoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=betye%2Bsaar&ots=oQ_EiJ4S5v&sig=WmUR3X-sCarosT8ihSbqpVBrfrU#v=onepage&q&f=false
•Miranda, Carolina A. “For Betye Saar, There's No Dwelling on the Past; the Almost-90-Year-Old Artist Has Too Much Future to Think About.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2016, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-ca-cam-betye-saar-20160501-story.html
•Brown , Timothy. “Betye Saar Biography, Life & Quotes.” The Art Story, 2016, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/saar-betye/life-and-legacy/
•Saul, Scott. “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima.” The Berkeley Revolution, 10 Jan. 2021, https://revolution.berkeley.edu/liberation-aunt-jemima/
•Collins, Ann C. “Betye Saar: The Legend of Black Girl's Window.” The Brooklyn Rail, 25 Nov. 2019, https://brooklynrail.org/2019/11/artseen/Betye-Saar-The-Legend-of-Black-Girls-Window
•Cavalli , Lauren. “Betye Saar Wins 2020 Wolfgang Hahn Prize.” The Online Edition of Artforum International Magazine, 8 Nov. 2019, https://www.artforum.com/news/betye-saar-wins-2020-wolfgang-hahn-prize-81257