Artist Voices: Lauren Cross on Betye Saar [SVAEBw5TcEr]
Artist Lauren Cross speaks about racial visual literacy and how Betye Saar transforms stereotypical images into emblems of power. One of the most significant assemblage artists working today, Betye Saar (born 1926, Los Angeles) addresses spirituality, gender, and race in her art. Part of the strong Southern California tradition of artists using found objects (including Edward Kienholz, John Outterbridge, and Noah Purifoy), she combines items typically discovered at flea markets and secondhand stores into conceptually and physically elaborate creations. Saar’s creative process, however, does more than reflect on the outside world; she ruminates on and plays with objects and ideas, making sketches inspired by specific items in her possession. These sketches form an essential part of what she considers the mysterious transformation of object into art. SUBSCRIBE: LEARN MORE: