Betye Saar: Call and Response

Betye Saar: Call and Response by Eliel, Carol S.. paperback edition. ISBN: 9783791358789.

This publication presents Betye Saars sketchbooks--which she has kept during her entire career--for the first time and offers insights into the artists creative process. A child of the Great Depression and one of the only African American students in her UCLA art program, Betye Saar has, over the course of more than six decades, made work that exposes stereotypes and injustices based on race and gender. From early prints and watercolors to Joseph Cornell-inspired assemblages and full-scale sculptural tableaux, her work has inspired generations of artists. This ingeniously designed publication plays off the format of Saars original sketchbooks. Made throughout her extraordinary career, Saars sketches are an integral part of her creative process and offer a greater understanding of the themes woven into her finished works, which are also featured in the book. Saars sources and influences range from Simon Rodias Watts Towers and Haitian Vodou fetishes to Australian Aboriginal paintings, Native American leatherwork, and African American history, literature, and music. An original, intimate, and valuable resource for Saars many fans, this book will also educate future generations about Saars significant contributions to American art. Published with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art