Betye Saar : Black doll blues. Cover Image

Book

Betye Saar : Black doll blues.

Saar, Betye, (artist.). Jentleson, Katherine, (writer of supplementary textual content.). Federman, Rachel, (writer of supplementary textual content.). Leeser, Maddy Inez, (interviewer.). Roberts Projects (Gallery), (host institution.).

Summary:

This volume features new watercolor works on paper and assemblages by Betye Saar (born 1926) that incorporate the artist's personal collection of Black dolls. These watercolors showcase the artist's experimentation with vivid color and layered techniques, and her new interest in flat shapes. While Saar has previously used painting in her mixed-media collages, this is the first publication to focus on her watercolor works on paper. "Watercolor is something that children use, so I decided, maybe I'll paint something about children, maybe I'll paint the dolls," Saar says. Referencing the underrepresented history of Black dolls through Saar's artistic lens, this catalog distills several intersecting themes, imagery and objects in Saar's oeuvre, highlighting her prominent usage and reinvention of Black imagery. It contains 90 color images, including early assemblage works that feature Black dolls, such as Gris-Gris Box (1972) and Mti (1973), plus early sketchbooks and a curated selection of Saar's Black doll collection. It also includes original essays by Rachel Federman, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum, and Katherine Jentleson, Merrie and Dan Boone Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art at the High Museum of Art, and an interview with the artist by her granddaughter, Maddy Inez Leeser.

Record details

ISBN: 1733664769
ISBN: 9781733664769
Physical Description: 221 pages : illustrations ; 31 x 24 cm + 1 paper doll
Publisher: [Los Angeles, California] : Roberts Projects, [2022]
Distributor: New York : Artbook D.A.P.
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

General Note:	Published on the occasion of an exhibition at Roberts Projects, Culver City, California, September 18-November 6, 2022.
Formatted Contents Note:	Foreword / Julie Roberts -- Section I: Sketchbooks -- Black dolls in vibrant color / Katherine Jentleson -- Section II: Assemblage and collage -- Section III: Black doll collection -- Interview with Betye Saar / Maddy Inez Leeser -- Section IV: Watercolors -- Soft power: Betye Saar's watercolor dolls / Rachel Federman -- Section V: Exhibition -- List of Black doll collection.