Blue Plate Special

Alison Saar

born 1956

Blue Plate Special, 1993

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: etching; lithograph; chine collé

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 622 x 622 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 721 x 622 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 24 1/2 x 24 1/2 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 28 3/8 x 24 1/2 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 36 x 30 1/4 x 1 in
Weight (Weight): 11 lbs

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1995.0009

Not on display

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Label texts

Archive Label 2003:
Similar to Adrian Piper, Alison Saar comes from a diverse racial and ethnic background. When looking at Saar’s work, consider the image and what audiences Saar is attempting to reach.

• The severed head of a man is the focus of this work. What is the racial identity of the man?

• Consider the title of the work and the time period that Saar is referencing. What associations do you make with the diner expression of “blue plate special”?

Blue Plate Special is derived from Saar’s 1988 sculpture titled Salome. In a Christian biblical story, Salome was responsible for the death of John the Baptist who was beheaded by her father, King Herod. The story is frequently depicted in art and an example can be found in the Renaissance gallery on the 3rd-floor of the Spencer Museum. Saar combines classical images with contemporary subjects and issues, attempting to reach diverse audiences. She has used a classical art image of a biblical story as a metaphor for the racism and discrimination experienced by African Americans during the pre-civil rights era. Saar often incorporates found objects in her work believing that old, discarded materials have their own wisdom and story to tell. For example, the background for Blue Plate Special is pressed from a ceiling tile.

Saar is best known for her large-scale assemblages, frescoes, large drawings, and sculptures. Due to Saar’s African-American, European, and Native American ancestry, she has always engaged in issues of identity and in finding a common ground among different cultures. Even though Saar identifies herself with her mother’s African-American ancestry, she has found herself marginalized by both blacks and whites due to her light skin tone.

Archive Label:
Saar’s mother Betye is a sculptor, as is Saar, who only recently began making prints. Blue Plate Special derives from a 1988 sculpture titled Salome. The sculpture depicted Herod’s daughter with the head of St. John the Baptist. The print relates more broadly to issues of race and gender. Saar’s sculpture and prints often employ found objects; here the relief background is impressed from ceiling tiles.