Black History Month: Alison Saar
Welcome back! I’m continuing my blog series on visual and literary Black artists who inspire me. Let’s talk about:
Alison Saar is probably best known for her massive found-object sculptures that explore the experience of Black women throughout the African diaspora. She’s also an accomplished printmaker; many of the 2D works influence her larger sculptures. I was fortunate enough to meet her during the opening of her solo exhibition “Mirror Mirror: The Prints of Alison Saar,” which ran concurrently with the group exhibition in which I showed my own work.
Alison Saar and I in front of my work at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at WSU. Photo credit: Ryan Hardesty
I can’t say this too many times: art is best experienced in person, especially sculpture. Some of the reasons Saar inspires me:
She uses a chainsaw to shape some of her largest sculptures
She often prints on surfaces whose history carries almost as much meaning as the images themselves
The empty eyes in her prints are both a little spooky and easier to look at than a traditional painting, but I can’t explain why.
And in case you were wondering, yes, Alison’s mother is assemblage artist Betye Saar, whom I profiled last week.
Tomorrow’s artist makes work that gives the opposite vibe. See you then.
Black Friday: put a little love in an artist's pocket
I used to go full Scrooge on all this holiday cheer… but these days I try to be a little more supportive. Really, I think we could all use some encouragement to keep going.
When you purchase my work, here’s what I hear from you: I’m telling a story in your life that needs to be expressed. I need to know that someone needs my work. And every purchase literally gives me more room to make new art. So I’m offering you a 10% discount on your first order, until December 31st. Use the code FIRSTTIMER at checkout. Oh, and if you subscribe to these posts and my newsletter you always get free shipping too. Like, forever.
Many of my fellow artists depend on the holiday shopping season to make it to the new year. So I’ve put together a short, totally-biased list of creatives you can support. (Nobody’s paying me to mention them — I just love them and their work.)
PAINTINGS, PRINTS & SCULPTURE
Juan Alonso Studio: paintings and sculpture. Check out the brand-new small bronze pieces, based on his most recent desert drawings.
Liz Tran Studios: paintings, and now accessories printed with her work in the Bookstore at Chihuly Garden & Glass.
Troy Gua: fine art prints and photography. Troy is best known for the LPP series honoring the late musician Prince. BTW, his online shop is having a big sale.
JEWELRY & WEARABLE ART
Evolve Revolt Repeat: handmade upcycled denim jewelry by Eve Sanford. To find her work at holiday markets, check this Instagram post.
Magpie Mouse Studios: handmade enameled jewelry by Sarah Meranda. You can also find her work at these gift shops.
Chief Seattle Club: selling indigenous-made jewelry and wearable art online. They’re also vending artwork at the Punk Rock Flea Market on December 7th.
STATIONERY & WORKS ON PAPER
Cat Snapp Studio: letterpress cards and fine art prints. For a limited time, your online purchase will also help support youth and families experiencing homelessness.
Studio Four Corners: stationery, collage and photography by Amy Duncan. She’s already had a studio sale, but you can still catch her work at Holiday on the Bay on December 7th.
Setzer Studio Arts: prints and original paintings on paper via her Patreon account.
Do what’s right for you: I encourage you to support one, a few, or all the artists I’ve mentioned. No one needs to go broke this season. But you know what they say about giving and receiving…
Larry Calkins: a lot of Lincoln, a lot to think about
Abraham Lincoln: you know him, you love him, right? Well, maybe not. You don’t know Lincoln like Larry Calkins knows Lincoln.
The sixteenth American president is all over Gallery IMA; not surprising once you learn Calkins “love[s] Lincoln because he is like a god, something other.” Even some of the non-Lincoln pieces seem to take on his features: the tall, rigid chair of the sculpture “Writing Desk,” the dark patches on “Moon Boat” that look vaguely like a face in a tintype photo.
It seems apropos that the artist centers Lincoln in a way that calls up images, and nightmares, of childhood. Even now, schools present Lincoln to kids as the guy in the stovepipe hat who freed the slaves. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and led the Civil War — but only after enslaved people had led massive rebellions or freed themselves. Later, he successfully pushed Congress to pass the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery nationwide… which is great except for that little loophole prisons often use to exploit inmate labor.
Such a larger-than-life reputation makes me think of Seattle’s own image to people living outside the Northwest. Seattle still gets a lot of mileage out of being A Progressive City in a blue state. The reality is more complicated, especially for brown and black people. Given the chance to end a ban on affirmative action, this blue state decided, “… nah.” Recently, a teen author was even more blunt about being a person of color in Seattle schools: The book is titled “You Failed Us.” Larry Calkins’ work is thought-provoking, but perhaps only to those ready to do some more thinking.