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The Art of Betye Saar

Betye Saar is a prominent artist associated with the Black Arts Movement. Students will explore her life and art and create a piece of artwork with a personal message.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Materials
  • Heavy Paper
  • Paper Clip(s)
  • Recycled Materials

Steps

  • Step 1

    Betye Saar (b. 1926) is an American artist known for her work in collage (a two-dimensional artform) and assemblage (art that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out from a base). She often uses found objects in her work. She is associated with the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which conveyed messages of Black pride. Have students learn about some of the themes she portrayed and look at images of her work. Suggestions include "Black Girl's Window" (1969), "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima" (1972), and "El Diablito" (1981).

  • Step 2

    Ask students to think about a personal topic or issue that resonates with them. Challenge them to depict a message through a piece of artwork. They can create scratch art (inspired by this lesson's image) by layering a thick coating of crayon on paper and painting over it with black paint. When the paint is dry, they will use an open paper clip to scratch images into the paint which will reveal the colors underneath. They can create 3D art by adding craft items or recycled objects in an assemblage or collage style inspired by Betye Saar.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their work and describe the technique they used and the topic they focused on.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

ARTS: Analyze ways that artistic components and cultural associations influence ideas, emotions, and actions.

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities.

Adaptations

Pablo Picasso played a pivotal role in the development of assemblage art. Have students look at some of his assemblage works, such as "Still Life with Chair Caning" (1912), "Mandolin" (1914), and "Still Life" (1914).

Betye Saar's three daughters are all artists as well: Lexley Saar is a painter and mixed-media artist, Alison Saar is a sculptor and printmaker, and Tracye Saar-Cavanaugh is a writer. Have students look at some of their artwork and see if they can see their mother's influence.