贝蒂·萨尔（Betye Saar）是黑人艺术运动的先驱人物，她于周日在洛杉矶家中去世，享年99岁[1]。作为组合艺术的践行者，萨尔通过收集废弃物品和吉姆克劳时代的纪念品进行创作，包括洋娃娃和搓衣板等具有历史记忆的物件[1]。她最著名的作品是1972年完成的《解放Aunt Jemima》，该作品描绘了Aunt Jemima形象左手持步枪、右臂夹着手榴弹的样子[1]。
萨尔将艺术实践与社会政治议题相结合，用一生的创作探索黑人文化和精神性[1]。她曾在1970年代的一部纪录片中表示："我的工作与回收利用有关。我收集的每件物品都从其先前的功能中承载着某种能量，这种能量会延续到它的新用途中"[1]。萨尔的艺术影响深远，培养了包括画家凯里·詹姆斯·马歇尔在内的一代黑人艺术家[1]。2021年，快速燕麦公司撤回了Aunt Jemima品牌形象[1]。2026年春季，萨尔被列入美国艺术与文学学会[1]。
Betye Saar, a groundbreaking artist who shaped the Black arts movement through decades of socially conscious work, died Sunday morning at her home in Los Angeles at age 99.[1] Known for her assemblage art that transformed discarded objects and Jim Crow-era memorabilia into powerful cultural statements, Saar created works exploring Black identity, spirituality, and social and political issues.[1] Her most celebrated piece, "Liberation of Aunt Jemima" (1972), reimagined the Aunt Jemima figure as a revolutionary fighter armed with a rifle and grenade, directly confronting racist imagery that had long pervaded American consumer culture.[1]
Throughout her artistic career, Saar championed a practice of creative recycling, viewing each collected object as carrying "a certain energy from its previous function that carries over into its new use."[1] She mentored a generation of Black artists, including painter Kerry James Marshall, extending her influence far beyond her own prolific body of work.[1] Her legacy was further cemented when she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in spring 2026.[1] The enduring resonance of her work was underscored in 2021 when Quaker Oats discontinued the Aunt Jemima brand image, decades after Saar's iconoclastic reinterpretation had challenged its dehumanizing legacy.[1]