Object Details
- Artist
- Michele Mattei, born 15 Feb 1952
- Sitter
- Betye Saar, born 30 Jul 1926
- Exhibition Label
- Born Los Angeles, California
- Found objects are key components of the evocative assemblages created by artist Betye Saar. Working first as a printmaker, Saar shifted to three-dimensional artmaking in the mid-1960s. At that time, she repurposed old windows to frame images and objects—such as tarot cards—that spoke to her interest in mysticism and spiritual practices. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the growing Black Power and feminist movements, her art became increasingly political by the close of the decade. Turning to boxes as the underlying structure for her assemblages, Saar made one her most compelling and acclaimed works—The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972)—by appropriating a crude, racist “Mammy” figure and transforming her into an armed Black revolutionary.
- Responding to her portrait by Michele Mattei, Saar observed, “It has a pensive quality that I like, and it also reflects my love of nature and of symbols.”
- Nacida en Los Ángeles, California
- Los objetos encontrados son esenciales en los evocadores ensamblajes de Betye Saar, quien se inició en las artes gráficas pero optó por el arte tridimensional en la década de 1960. En esa época empezó a reutilizar ventanas viejas para enmarcar imágenes y objetos (tales como barajas del tarot) que reflejaban su interés en el misticismo y las prácticas espirituales. En reacción al asesinato de Martin Luther King Jr. y los crecientes movimientos de Black Power y el feminismo, su arte se hizo mucho más político para fines de la década. Luego empezó a usar cajas como estructura subyacente de sus ensamblajes, y creó una de sus obras más impactantes y aclamadas, La liberación de Aunt Jemima (1972), apropiándose la imagen cruda y racista de una sirvienta negra para transformarla en una revolucionaria armada.
- De su retrato realizado por Michele Mattei, Saar observó que tiene “un aire pensativo que me gusta, y también refleja mi amor por la naturaleza y los símbolos”.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 2012 (printed 2018)
- Object number
- NPG.2018.37.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © 2003 Michele Mattei
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Inkjet print
- Dimensions
- Image: 76.3 × 48.8 cm (30 1/16 × 19 3/16")
- Sheet: 86.5 × 61 cm (34 1/16 × 24")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- Recent Acquisitions 2023
- On View
- NPG, North Gallery 140
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Jewelry
- Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
- Interior
- Costume\Jewelry\Ring
- Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
- Costume\Jewelry\Bracelet
- Betye Saar: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Artist
- Betye Saar: Female
- Betye Saar: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2018.37.2
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4d49d4952-678b-41f6-961e-c620f400d663
