Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

This Episode, Emily chats with Los Angeles based sculptor & printmaker, Alison Saar. She was visiting the Bay Area recently working with Arion Press on their recent production of Octavia Butler's Kindred.

They dive Alison's artistic journey, influences, and her recent project illustrating Octavia Butler's 'Kindred' for Arian Press. Alison reflects on her upbringing in a creatively rich environment, heavily influenced by her artist parents, Betty and Richard Saar. She discusses her techniques, particularly her affinity for woodcuts and linoleum blocks, and the importance of texture in her work. The conversation also touches on Saar's interest in African and Indigenous art, her spiritual connections, and significant influences such as Elizabeth Catlett. The episode concludes with insights into Saar's favorite creatively inspiring places in Los Angeles and her experience of continuously making art from a young age.

About Artist Alison Saar:

Alison credits her mother, acclaimed collagist and assemblage artist Betye Saar, with exposing her to metaphysical and spiritual traditions. Assisting her father, Richard Saar, a painter and art conservator, in his restoration shop inspired her learning and curiosity about other cultures.

Saar studied studio art and art history at Scripps College in Claremont, California, receiving a BA in art history in 1978. In 1981 she earned her MFA from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1983, Saar became an artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, incorporating found objects from the city environment. Saar completed another residency in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1985, which augmented her urban style with Southwest Native American and Mexican influences.

Saar’s style encompasses a multitude of personal, artistic, and cultural references that reflect the plurality of her own experiences. Her sculptures, installations, and prints incorporate found objects including rough-hewn wood, old tin ceiling panels, nails, shards of pottery, glass, and urban detritus. The resulting figures and objects become powerful totems exploring issues of gender, race, heritage, and history. Saar’s art is included in museums and private collections across the U.S.

Visit Alison on the web by CLICKING HERE.

Follow Alison on Instagram: @Alison_Saar

Learn more about her Kindred project with Arion Press HERE.

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About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

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CREDITS:

Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com