Subway Preacher
Artist
Alison Saar
(American, born 1956)
Date1984
MediumTin, wood, canvas, and mixed media
DimensionsOverall: 89 × 56 × 31 inches (226.06 × 142.24 × 78.74 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of Michael Weaver, M.D., Paul and Bunni Copaken, Larry and Stephanie Jacobson, and the Nelson Gallery Foundation
Object numberF93-23 A-L
SignedSigned in marker, bottom of each vase: "ALISON SAAR 1984"
On View
On viewGallery Location
- L5
Collections
Gallery LabelAlison Saar’s Subway Preacher was inspired by a homeless man she often encountered on the New York subway. The man carried a Bible and seemed to radiate spiritual energy, although she never heard him speak. The piece also references African sculpture and voodoo shrines. Saar is inspired by African, Haitian, and Creole folk art and spirituality. She believes the salvaged materials she uses to create her work have inherent spiritual energy, which is reinvested and transformed in her sculptures. Their unique histories provide complexity to the meaning of each sculpture.
Copyright© Alison Saar
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