Damballa

Betye Saar is one of America's most influential African-American artists.  Using objects and bits of nostalgic memories, thrown away from original owners, she reconstructs meditative sculptural works that resonate a personal history.  The artist says, These have power, I can't just turn them out quickly.  The subject matter of her collages, assembled boxes and sculpture is taken directly from her life and her family's: days of old, relatives here and gone, the larger family of her race.