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Betye Saar

Mystic Sky with Self-Portrait

Maker

Betye Saar (American, b. 1926)
Robert Franklin (1930–2012

Title

Mystic Sky with Self-Portrait

Year

1992

Medium

  • Color offset lithograph and collage

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Color offset lithograph and collage

Dimensions

Image/sheet: 54.6 x 64.1 cm (21 1/2 x 25 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in graphite, recto LL: A/P; LC: Mystic Sky w/ Self Portrait; LR: Betye Saar 92

Identification

State

AP

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of the Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Object Number

2014.66.32

Type

  • Prints

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 19: Many Moons

Approximately thirteen moons ago, I asked myself: Is it possible to live under a lunar calendar?

What would such a life reveal? What happens when you measure life in months instead of years? How would you interface with the databases that underlie digitized capitalism? Where to begin?

One begins with one’s own body, of course. Has science fiction taught us nothing?

—Badly Licked Bear, introduction

 

Manual 19 looks up to the skies to consider astronomy and space travel and ponder broader, more ancient associations, including the night in all its inky glory; tides, time, and calendars; the feminine; reflections and mirrors; love and enduring companionship; and lunacy, strangeness, and magic.

Exhibition History

Heads Up! Recent Gifts to the Collection
Jul 31, 2015 – Jan 10, 2016

Label copy

In this self-portrait, symbols from palmistry, alchemy, and tarot take center stage while a representation of the artist peers from the lower right corner. Throughout her long career, Saar has incorporated elements of occult ritual into her collages, box assemblages, and installations.

Here, the shadows surrounding the floating elements make it difficult to discern which items were collaged and which were printed. A similar ambiguity plagues Saar’s appearance; by decentering her face, she de-emphasizes her own importance, leaving room for other more liberating interpretations. Saar writes, “The stars, the cards, the mystic vigil may hold the answers. By shifting the point of view an inner spirit is released. Free to create.”

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Betye Saar (American, b. 1926)
Robert Franklin (1930–2012
b. in Long Island, New York), printer
Mystic Sky with Self-Portrait, 1992
Color offset lithograph and collage
Image/sheet: 54.6 x 64.1 cm (21 1/2 x 25 1/4 inches)
Gift of the Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2014.66.32

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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