Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight - by Sóla Saar Agustsson & Yinshi Lerman-Tan (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight is an exhibition catalog accompanying the immersive installation presented at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Betye Saar is a world-renowned icon, a breaker of barriers-and also a mother (of acclaimed artists) and a grandmother (of promising writers and cultural creatives). Her work draws its sources from Africa, Oceania, as well as Afro-American folklore. Drifting Toward Twilight, her installation featured in this catalog, welcomes home a living legend who has deep roots in Pasadena and vivid memories of childhood visits to The Huntington. This catalog features photographs of artwork from the exhibition as well as written contributions by Hilton Als, Tiffany E. Barber, Sâola Saar Agustsson, and Ishmael Reed"--

Book Synopsis

Luminous and tranquil, Saar's newest installation uses natural objects and materials to take the viewer on a spiritual journey

This volume features the Huntington Library and Museum's commissioned site-specific installation Drifting toward Twilight (2023) by Betye Saar (born 1926). A solitary canoe drifts on a bed of brambles, illuminated by a cool neon glow. Inside, three passengers are transported to a mystical destination by two otherworldly beings. Guided by the dawn, the dusk and the phases of the moon, they transition from one cosmic reality to another. Part dreamscape and part altar, Drifting toward Twilight conjures journeys and the constant cycles of the natural world. Like cards pulled from a tarot deck, each object inside takes on a symbolic power: a monumental canoe, birdcages, antlers and plant material harvested from the Huntington's grounds. This richly illustrated companion book includes a preface and a 1973 interview with the artist by author and longtime friend Ishmael Reed. Other contributions include a profile by Hilton Als and a new interview with the artist by Sóla Saar Agustsson, her granddaughter.