“˜Body Politics’ compares female art in Fowler exhibit
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 13, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Alison Saar’s
"Sapphire" is one of the pieces on display at UCLA’s Fowler Museum
from the exhibit, "Women and Body Imaging."
By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
With blue-skinned divas and coral-haired water goddesses, Alison
Saar’s feminist take on African art goes beyond the usual
stuffy artifacts.
“Body Politics: The Female Image in Luba Art and the
Sculpture of Alison Saar,” an exhibit now on display at the
Fowler Museum, studies the links between the female image in the
Luba art of central Africa and the modern works of Los Angeles
artist Alison Saar.
Besides Saar’s unique tin and copper sculptures, various
Luba figurines are also on display for comparison. A single common
thread that visibly runs through both Saar’s work and the
Luba artifacts is their emphasis on womens’ bodies as
receptacles of mystical strength.
“Body Politics” enforces the idea that, contrary to
stereotypes of African women being subservient, Luba women were
respected and honored as spiritual magnates.
For example, according to the large entryway plaque, instead of
departing immediately for the hereafter, the soul of a deceased
Luba king would often choose to possess some woman in the kingdom.
This woman would then be brought to the former king’s palace
to rule as the “Queen of the Dead,” assuming the
king’s leadership duties.
Saar’s contrasting artwork is notable for its fusion of
industrial materials with traditional folk motifs, a strange
combination that creates a dizzying mix of attraction and revulsion
in the viewer.
“La Pitonisa,” for instance, depicts a yellow snake
coiling around a woman made of harsh, lumpy green tin and copper.
The subject feels familiar, as though Saar has used the
archetypical snake-and-woman combination to tap into some long
dormant compartment of the human psyche. The jarring metal,
however, makes the entire composition feel slightly off-kilter.
Another piece by Saar, titled “Sweet Thang,” tackles
derogatory stereotypes about women as simple sexual objects. A
small wooden statue of a woman dressed up in a sultry yellow dress,
stares defiantly at the viewer, arms akimbo. The artist explains
the sculpture’s meaning in an accompanying plaque: She stands
on shards of glass that cut and mangle her feet, indicating that,
despite her defiant demeanor, she must still struggle against a
sexually oppressive society.
“Afro-Di(e)ty,” also by Saar, is a sculpture which
depicts the Yoruba sea goddess, Yemaya, as an enormous strong woman
with brittle yellow coral in her hair.
She clutches one end of a long blue ribbon in her hand, while
the other end falls to the floor, winding between small piles of
rock, salt and bowls of water. The artist’s information
plaque reveals that, while the ribbon represents the life-giving
rivers that the goddess oversees, the salt symbolizes the salty
seas and the water bowls symbolize fresh water lakes.
Disturbed by the lack of strong female figures in most museum
collections, Saar created “Afro-Di(e)ty” as a
counterpart to the standard crop of male Adonis and Hercules
statues that dominate so many galleries.
Other pieces celebrate different aspects of women. Saar created
“Diva,” a bust of a blue, singing woman, as a response
to a Kathleen Battle song. So impressed by the song, Saar
speculated that the singer’s voice was not her own, but
rather the voice of an angel singing through her mouth. A portal in
the sculpture’s chest reveals a hidden bird whose song
inspires the diva’s talents.
At first, the connections between Saar’s art and that of
the Luba culture seem quite improbable. Although the two would be
quite interesting as separate exhibits, they hardly seem to gel
together as one show.
To say that the two diverse topics are connected because both
celebrate the power of women is a stretch; the elusive, mysterious
inner power of women is a common theme in many cultures around the
world and Luba art hardly merits any special recognition for its
treatment of this idea.
Upon reflection, however, the viewer will come to realize that
the comparison is quite apt. Luba art is unique from the common
“girl power” theme in that it also expresses the
political influence that women held in this society.
Female Luba statues frequently depict important political and
religious governors, while male Luba figurines often gesture
towards their navels, indicating a recognition of the umbilical
cord and a reverence for the role of the mother. Furthermore,
sitting stools, symbolic receptacles of political authority,
include prominent carvings of women, again suggesting the esteemed
position of women.
While the Luba art seems friendly and familiar, Saar’s
contributions are harder to classify. Saar’s unusual choice
of materials and politically charged ideas might not sit well with
every viewer, but the show thrives on challenging complacency.
Boldly criticizing both androcentric and anglocentric cliches of
African women, “Body Politics,” will elicit a response
from even the most apathetic viewer.
MUSEUM: “Body Politics” is on view Wednesday through
Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., Thursday until 8 p.m. starting Nov. 12.
Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for seniors and UCLA faculty/staff;
$1 for UCLA students with ID. Admission is free on Thursday. For
more information, contact the Fowler Museum at (310)825-4361.
