Zoe Whitley on Betye Saar
In\xa0Episode\xa013 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews one of the most important and groundbreaking curators working today, Dr Zoe Whitley on BETYE SAAR!!\n\nAnd WOW was it incredible to record with Zoe at London's Hayward Gallery \u2013 where she is senior curator \u2013 to discuss the life and work of the now 93 year-old Betye, who featured in Zoe's 2017 Tate Modern (and now touring) exhibition, SOUL OF A NATION!\xa0\n\nBetye Saar is one of the most important artists in contemporary art, and currently has solo exhibitions on right now at both MoMA and LACMA! Known for her political collages and assemblages of found objects that\xa0mix surreal symbolic imagery with a folk art aesthetic,\xa0Saar has contributed\xa0enormously\xa0to the history of art from her involvement with the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s, right up to the present day.\n\nGrowing up in the 30s and 40s in Los Angeles, Saar was inspired by Joseph Cornell\u2019s assemblages and Simon Rodia\u2019s \u201cWatts Towers\u201d nearby to where she grew up made from found scrap materials.\n\xa0\nRaised by strong women who always encouraged her creativity, as well as identity as a black woman,\xa0Saar\u2019s work predominately critiques American racism toward blacks. It was in the 1960s that she began collecting images of stereotypes African-American figures from folk culture and advertising of the Jim Crow era, which she transformed into figures of political protest.\n\xa0\nA work we discuss in depth is \u201cThe Liberation of Aunt Jemima\u201d which remains one of her most important works from this era (also exhibited at Zoe's\xa0incredible \u201cSoul of a Nation\u201d), a mixed-media assemblage which uses the stereotypical figure of the \u2018mammy\u2019 to subvert traditions of race and gender.\n\xa0\nSpeaking about the work she said: \u201cI feel that The Liberation of Aunt Jemima is my iconic art piece. I had no idea she would become so important to so many. The reason I created her was to combat bigotry and racism and today she stills serves as my warrior against those ills of our society.\u201d\n\nShe is INCREDIBLE, and a force. And Zoe's enthusiasm, personal approach and expertise in Betye Saar is SO inspiring!!!\n\xa0\nIf you want to see more then DO NOT miss Zoe's co-curated "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963\u20131983" currently on view at San Francisco's de Young Museum (https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/soul-of-a-nation); and for those in LA and NYC don't miss her show at MoMA (https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5060) and LACMA (https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/betye-saar-call-and-response). . GO BETYE!\n\nWorks discussed in this episode/ Further reading\xa0Black Girls Window (1969)\nhttps://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/302The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972)\nhttp://revolution.berkeley.edu/liberation-aunt-jemima/\nSoul of a Nation at Tate Modern\nhttps://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/soul-nation-art-age-black-power\nHere is also an incredible essay recently published in the NY Times\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/arts/design/betye-saar.html\n\nThank you for listening!!\nThis episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair!\n\n@artfund: https://bit.ly/32HJVDk \nTo receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout!\xa0\n\n@affordableartfairuk:\xa0https://affordableartfair.com/\n\nFollow us:\nKaty Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel\nRecorded by Joel Price\nSound editing by @_ellieclifford\nArtwork by @thisisaliceskinner\nMusic by Ben Wetherfield\n\nhttps://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/