{"product_id":"mystic-sky-with-self-portrait","title":"Mystic Sky with Self-Portrait","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Artist\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere has been an apparent thread in my art that weaves from early prints of the 1960s through later collages and assemblages and ties into the current installations. That thread is a curiosity about the mystical.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI am intrigued with combining the remnant of memories, fragments of relics and ordinary objects, with the components of technology. It's a way of delving into the past and reaching into the future simultaneously. The art itself becomes the bridge.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCuriosity\u003cbr\u003eabout the unknown\u003cbr\u003ehas no boundaries.\u003cbr\u003eSymbols, images, place and cultures merge.\u003cbr\u003etime slips away.\u003cbr\u003eThe stars, the cards, the mystic vigil\u003cbr\u003emay hold the answers.\u003cbr\u003eBy shifting the point of view\u003cbr\u003ean inner spirit is released.\u003cbr\u003eFree to create.\u003cbr\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e—Excerpted from http:\/\/www.betyesaar.net\/gal\/gallery.html#fourth, accessed 7-5-2021\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetye Saar's work is intertwined with explorations of world religions, astrology, and mysticism. Saar used objects and symbols of personal significance in\u003cem\u003e Mystic Sky with Self Portrait\u003c\/em\u003e, 1992, a seven-color offset with collage in an edition of 100, such as celestial planets, a crescent moon, dice, a pyramid, and stars moving toward a flaming heart in the center of the print on a blue backdrop. Her self-portrait shows the artist looking inward, inviting the viewer to enter her spiritual realm. \"I realized that by changing the function of the objects, I could transform information and work magic,\" Saar says. With its collaged shooting stars and a cosmic array of imagery, including a pair of dice (fate\/fortune), a flaming heart (spiritual love), an eye in a pyramid (God's all-seeing eye), and a floating mask, Saar's interest in spirituality and symbolism is evident in this artwork (hidden identity and magic). Saar peers out from the bottom corner, an open hand (is it hers?) reaching for the warmth of a red, blazing sun. Her palm is adorned with a miniature moon and sun, as well as the Greek letter omega (the ultimate culmination of all). Across this orderly, personal universe, dynamic images of power and identity tilt and align.\u003cbr\u003e\u003csub\u003e—Adapted from Brandywine Workshop and Archives records and \"Fresh, Human and Personal: Signature of Brandywine Workshop,\" \u003cem\u003eThree Decades of American Printmaking: The Brandywine Workshop Collection\u003c\/em\u003e (Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills Press, 2004)\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/artura.org\/content\/resources\/mystic-sky-with-self-portrait\/\"\u003eVIEW TEACHING RESOURCE ↗️︎\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e; summary\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Betye Saar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46279824572566,"sku":"ART-000062","price":6500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0482\/6470\/8246\/products\/SaarB_SelfPotrait1.jpg?v=1606779251","url":"https:\/\/brandywine.art\/products\/mystic-sky-with-self-portrait","provider":"Brandywine.Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}