Arts & Culture

'The Gallery Gap' Ep. 3: Out From The Shadows

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Claire Kovacs,

Published March 22, 2017 at 2:14 PM CDT

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Alison Saar (American), Breach (large figure on raft), 2016, Wood, ceiling tin, found trunks, washtubs and miscellaneous objects. Copyright Alison Saar.

Courtesy of LA Louver Gallery, Venice.

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Alison Saar (American), Breach (large figure on raft), 2016, Wood, ceiling tin, found trunks, washtubs and miscellaneous objects. Copyright Alison Saar.

Courtesy of LA Louver Gallery, Venice.

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Alison Saar (American), Still Run Dry, 2012, Glass, copper, rubber, lead and steel. Copyright Alison Saar.

Courtesy of LA Louver Gallery, Venice.

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Alison Saar (American), Cotton Eater II, 2014, Woodcut. Figge Art Museum, 2015.15. Copyright Alison Saar.

Courtesy of LA Louver Gallery, Venice.

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Harold Fisk's visualization of the living river, and charts some of the paths that the river took as it breached the levees in the floods of 1927.

Harold Fisk, Geological Investigation of the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (Plate 22, Sheet 6: Ancient Courses, MIssissippi River Meander Belt. Cape Girardeau, MO - Donaldsonville, LA), 1944. Source: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

What would you do with pieces of wood and rope, a pair of antlers, and tar? Artist Alison Saar transforms all of these, and much more, to create dynamic sculptures and installations that examine the positioning of women and African-Americans, both throughout history and in contemporary culture.

This week on The Gallery Gap, Melissa and Claire talk about Alison's artistic career, including an exclusive interview with the artist herself.

Alison Saar lives and works in Los Angeles, and is represented by the LA Louver Gallery in Venice, Calif. Her artwork is in the collections of many museums beyond the Figge, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C.

Alison's current exhibition, https://vimeo.com/172254785/009f45ebce">Breach, explores the impact of flooding on African Americans. She shares narratives of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 through sculptures and paintings.

In that same creative vein, another artist responded to the flood through music. Bessie Smith, a Blues musician, reacted to the devastation with the song Black Water Blues.

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