Betye Saar Analysis

Betye Saar was born on July 30, 1926. Her parents were Jefferson Maze Brown and Beatrice Lillian Brown. She lived in Los Angeles, California with her family in the earlier childhood years of her life. Her father died from kidney failure when she was five years old. Her mother and her two siblings all moved to Pasadena, where they lived with Saar's great-aunt, Hattie Keys. Her mother started working as a seamstress to support the family. Her mother often made ends meet by recycling scraps of materials to create things her children needed. Economical use of everyday materials may have served as an inspiration in Saar's later works of art.

Saar grew up during the Great Depression and her family learned the value of things others might have taken

Equality (1999) is a mixed media assemblage. Equality shows Aunt Jemima as the media had portrayed the African American woman with the word equality. Saar is showing that even the so-called Aunt Jemima needs equality. Equality is supposed to be for everyone and this piece illustrates that great truth. Pour Vous Madame (1999) is a mixed media assemblage. The title of this piece is French for “For you ma’am.” This work shows two servants and one is handing grenades to the other. This artwork is a direct satire of the age of slavery in American. The piece is symbolizing empowerment to all African American people. Grandma’s house (1972) pays homage to Saar’s grandmother. Saar spent summers with her grandmother when she was young and it was there that she found a lot inspiration for her art work. Keep for Old Memoirs (1976) is a mixed media assemblage. Saar was famous for making collages from things that she had found. She would collect things that she found at in her grandmother’s yard when she was young and make gifts for her family. The joy that she got from doing this carried over to many of her artistic pieces such as this one. Eye of the Beholder (1994) is a mixed media artwork. This piece is visual form of the old adage “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Historically, African American people were not considered beautiful or handsome and this dates back to early European monarchies. Europeans thought that pale skin and light hair was the only real form of beauty. Saar is challenging this ancient and misguided belief about beauty. Long Memory (1994) is a mixed media work. This piece demonstrates that African Americans have had a very long and rough past that included slavery and prejudice. Unfortunately, a lot of prejudice still exists in today’s society. The hand in this