Globe trotter, an encapsulating piece by Betye Saar

As mentioned in the title, Globe Trotter is an art piece from the AWAW’s art exhibit at the Grey Art Museum. It’s a mixed media assemblage that utilizes a variety of objects and materials from used items in homes and allows the items' ownership to “fuel the work's intent,” and it truly created a masterpiece. The piece consists of many parts, but when put together, it becomes one. The base is a table of sorts with a globe on the lower portion and a cage with a figurine inside above. Saar mentions that “Globe Trotter deploys the metaphor of a caged bird to meditate on the transatlantic slave trade and its enduring legacy.” And this truly symbolizes the essence of the piece. The art is evocative in such a way that as soon as I saw the piece without reading the plaque, I could already make the connection between the art and the slave trade. The piece did an amazing job of bringing the message to life. Saar eloquently said, “The materials conjure ideas. The ideas conjure images. The images conjure art. The art conjures feelings. The feelings are the goal.”

-- Adriana D