orig. Betye Irene Brown
born July 30, 1926, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.
U.S. artist and educator.
She studied design, education, and printmaking. By 1968 she developed an interest in three-dimensional objects and began working in assemblage. Her works incorporate found objects of all sorts
from those suggesting ritual folk art to traditional Christianity. Many also challenge racist myths and stereotypes. Saar's The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972), for example, is a "mammy" doll placed in front of the eponymous pancake syrup labels; the doll carries a broom in one hand and a shotgun in the other. Saar's works expanded in size and scope from the late 1970s. Her room-size installations often featured mystical themes and sometimes included shrines.