Artist Betye Saar, who used repurposed objects to reclaim identity, has died at 99
Renowned artist Betye Saar has passed away at age 99, just before her 100th birthday. A pioneer of assemblage art, Saar was celebrated for using found objects to critique and dismantle racist stereotypes, most notably in her 1972 work 'The Liberation of Aunt Jemima.'
Why it matters
Saar was a foundational figure in the Black Arts Movement whose work significantly influenced contemporary discussions on race, identity, and empowerment in American art.
The artist Betye Saar has died. Saar made three-dimensional art with found objects, tackling stereotypes about Black identity and women. Her longtime gallery, Roberts Projects in Los Angeles, said she died in her sleep in Los Angeles on Sunday — just days shy of her 100th birthday.
Saar was already in her mid-40s and the mother of three daughters when she created the artwork that put her on the map.
Her 1972 mixed media artwork "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima" forcefully invokes the worn Black "mammy" tropes of movies, TV shows and ad campaigns. It centers on a grinning "mammy" figure wearing a knotted headscarf and a loud floral dress. Posing against a wall of repeating vintage Aunt Jemima pancake mix labels, she holds a broom in one hand and a rifle in the other.
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