Migration: Africa to America II
Artist
Betye Saar
(b. 1926)
Date2006
MediumMixed media assemblage
Dimensions11 3/4 × 9 3/4 × 9 1/4 in. (29.8 × 24.8 × 23.5 cm)
ClassificationsMixed Media
Credit LineStephen B. Lawrence Fund
Object number2021.1
DescriptionAcquired as part of the 2020/20+Women@NBMAA initiative.By layering carefully selected clues—an African mask, a slave ship diagram, a weathered photograph—Betye Saar constructs fictional biographies of nameless characters that represent the historical passages and oppression of millions. Haunted by memories of Africa or the trauma of the Middle Passage, Saar's journeys remind us that history is not simply the recording of past events—it is a living, breathing entity, filling the space of our present and shaping contemporary identities. Her assemblage sculptures, which merge African art, mammies, and daguerreotypes of women in Victorian garb, continue Saar’s penchant for combining personal and political narratives in unexpected ways. Her goal is the transformation not only of the objects under scrutiny but also of those who interact with them.
Born in Los Angeles, Saar was profoundly impacted by the Civil Rights movement, which led her to intertwine politics into her biographical works. Many of her most striking works repurpose objects intended to degrade Black women in order to reclaim their image and artistic power.
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