
Alison Saar (American, born 1956). Bareroot, 2007. Wood, bronze, ceiling tin, and tar, 17 x 81 x 48 inches (43.2 x 205.7 x 121.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Charles Clifton Fund, by exchange, 2008 (2008:21a-b). © Alison Saar.
© Alison Saar
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Alison Saar
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Alison Saar
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Alison Saar
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.




Alison Saar
American, born 1956
Bareroot, 2007
wood, bronze, ceiling tin, and tar
overall: 17 x 81 x 48 inches (43.18 x 205.74 x 121.92 cm)
Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Charles Clifton Fund, by exchange, 2008
2008:21a-b
More Details
Class
Work Type
Information may change due to ongoing research.Glossary of Terms
Growing up, Alison Saar assisted her father with restoration work and came into contact with a variety of cultural artifacts. She links this early exposure to her use of reclaimed items, such as tin ceiling tiles, old linoleum, and used skillets, in her work. Reflecting her multicultural heritage, Saar models many of her subjects after African deities as a means to glorify and celebrate the black female body. In Bareroot a female figure lies on its side, knees pulled tightly to its chest and its feet melded into a series of meandering roots. The figure, who appears to have undergone a process of scarification, is clad with reclaimed ceiling tiles patinated with tar. While the roots imply a connection to the earth, they also suggest the figure has been ripped from the soil and rendered non-ambulatory by her uprootedness.
Label from One Another: Spiderlike, I Spin Mirrors, March 7–June 1, 2014
Related Content
Collection Highlights All Collection Highlights
- The Holstein Manifesto ,
- Le Panthéon et Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (The Pantheon and Saint-Étienne-du-Mont) ,
- Le bassin du Jas de Bouffan (The Pool at Jas de Bouffan) ,
- Étude pour "Le Chahut" (Study for "Le Chahut") ,
- Numbers in Color ,
- Music ,
- 1957-D-No. 1 ,
- Laura ,
- Monochrome I, Built to Live Anywhere, at Home Here ,