The Grapevine

Q&A with Artist Alison Saar about Her Connection to Watts Towers

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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Alison Saar, a sculptor who is a native Angeleno, over tea and coffee at Ray’s on LACMA’s campus. I wanted to ask her about the lifelong relationship she has had with the Watts Towers. She comes from a family immersed in art: Her mother, Betye Saar, is also an artist and her father, Richard Saar, was an art conservator. The family’s connection with the Towers began with her maternal great-grandmother, a resident of Watts, and continued with her mother, who saw Simon Rodia’s work in progress, before being passed along to Alison and even now to Alison’s children.

After discussing LACMA’s Watts Towers conservation efforts, we got around to talking about Alison’s connection to the Towers.

Lucas Casso: Could you tell me a little about your first memories of the Watts Towers?

Alison Saar: Well, actually, one of my first memories of…

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JOB: Director, Driskell Center @ UMD

With Robert Steele’s approaching retirement as Director of The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African American and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, a Search Committee has been formed to select Bob’s successor.

As you likely know, the Driskell Center is an internationally recognized hub for the study of African American visual arts. Founded in 2001, the Center provides an intellectual home for artists, museum professionals, art administrators, and scholars who are interested in broadening the field of African diasporic studies.

The Center has reached a critical moment in its history. While fundraising will remain a central concern, the new director will have primary responsibility for the Center’s artistic direction and in shaping all aspects of its future direction. Go to UMD’s Human Resources website to find a detailed description of the Director’s responsibilities: jobs.umd.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=56398

The Driskell Center is looking for a seasoned professional who is experienced in all aspects of museum interpretive services to lead this effort.  This person must be energetic, committed, articulate, and highly motivated.

–Adrienne L. Childs

SYMP: Faith, Identity, and History: Representations of Christianity in Modern and Contemporary African American Art

Faith, Identity, and History: Representations of Christianity in Modern and Contemporary African American Art

Although sometimes overlooked, Christian symbols, themes, and narratives have been employed in complex and divergent ways in works of art by African Americans. Coinciding with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ exhibition, Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit, this symposium focuses on intersections of faith, identity, and history in a broad range of works created by modern and contemporary African American artists. Scholarly papers explore artists’ uses of Christian symbols, themes, and motifs relating to issues of family and community and to the negotiation of race and class.

Friday March 23, 2012
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Saturday March 24, 2012
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

symposium schedule: http://christianityhistoryart.org/PHL2012.html

Early Registration (received before March 14) $55
Late/Day of Registration $65
Students with valid Institutional ID $45
Registration at http://christianityhistoryart.org

Symposium co-chairs: Nikki A. Greene, Emily Hage, James Romaine