{"id":603436,"date":"2026-02-20T12:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/603436\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T12:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:45:13","slug":"how-to-have-the-best-sunday-in-l-a-according-to-betye-saar-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/603436\/","title":{"rendered":"How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Betye Saar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not only is Betye Saar<\/a> a living legend, but the prolific L.A. artist continues to add to her impressive oeuvre day by day.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been creating powerful, thought-provoking artwork since the \u201960s and her pieces have been shown at the Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art<\/a>, the Art Institute of Chicago and LACMA, as well as museums and galleries around the world.<\/p>\n

As her centennial birthday approaches this July, Saar shows no signs of slowing down. She still routinely creates art and continues to garner headlines and accolades. Last year, she was honored with the distinction of \u201cIcon Artist\u201d at the Art Basel Awards<\/a>. During the upcoming Frieze Los Angeles art festival, which opens Feb. 26, she will be the subject of the photography installation \u201cBetye Saar Altered Polaroids.\u201d And this May, \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar\u201d will debut at Roberts Projects<\/a>, the gallery that represents her. The exhibition will feature pieces from her early career as a costume and jewelry designer.<\/p>\n

Though she\u2019s skilled at painting and photography, she\u2019s most widely known for assemblage, the art of juxtaposing miscellaneous items to form a single cohesive work. Her dioramas, sculptures and large-scale multimedia installations explore the legacy of American slavery, confront racial injustice and celebrate the strength and resiliency of African American women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work with found objects that had another purpose before they came to my hands,\u201d Saar says while seated at a patio table in her succulent-filled tiered garden. \u201cThe hardest part of it is going to a flea market, secondhand stores, an estate sale or even just going behind a store to see what people throw away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/b> There’s nothing like an L.A. estate sale: How to find true treasures at the best price<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the years, she’s traveled by plane, train and automobile in search of usable materials. Meanwhile, admirers, colleagues and gallery workers have sent her curios from New Mexico, Tennessee, New England and beyond. Her daughters \u2014 artists Alison<\/a> and Lezley<\/a>, and writer Tracye, their mother\u2019s studio director \u2014 also stay on the lookout for objects that might catch her eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been doing this for a long time, so I have quite a collection,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Saar\u2019s multi-level home studio in Laurel Canyon is bursting with dozens of old empty picture frames, discarded window panes, wooden chests, antique chairs and vintage clocks. But there\u2019s always room for more.<\/p>\n

Her idea of a perfect Sunday includes foraging for new items (or old ones, as the case may be) to use in her daily art practice. And she\u2019d return to her roots to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPasadena is my hometown and I still have a few relatives that live there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While visiting her old stomping grounds, she\u2019d embark on a multi-stop shopping spree and wander through a longtime favorite San Gabriel Valley attraction (where her work just so happens to be on display<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

10 a.m.: Search for hidden treasures<\/b><\/p>\n

Pasadena Community College Flea Market<\/b><\/a> is something that\u2019s part of \u201cthe hunt.\u201d Alison usually drives, sometimes Tracye. Some people are there early to get the deals; we\u2019re not like that anymore. I like to look around and sometimes I find interesting fabrics, scarves to wear and strange-shaped succulents for my garden. I hardly ever find really good antiquing things there, because those are at antique stores and they\u2019re usually pretty pricey. But I bought an old, rusty metal birdcage the seller said was from France. I like rusty stuff for my art. I also found an indigo blue kimono to wear at an art event later this year.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/b> 12 unique L.A. flea markets to check out during your next treasure hunt<\/a><\/p>\n

1 p.m.: Replenish with Thai food<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019d go down Fair Oaks Avenue \u2014 there\u2019s some secondhand stores. Usually, it\u2019s nothing I can use, but I still can\u2019t say no. I have to go see for myself. Then, lunch at Saladang Garden<\/b><\/a>. I always order chicken sate and the green papaya salad. Last time I went, we tried the Thai corn fritter which was really good and crispy. If food is too spicy, I can\u2019t eat it. But somebody in my party would always have something spicy and I can have a spoonful to add to mine.<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m.: More shopping<\/b><\/p>\n

I am attracted to all the odd things at Gold Bug<\/b><\/a>. Notepads and trinkets, curious vintage-y things with animals or interesting patterns, strange candles. Sometimes I surprise myself by buying something. They have a mixture of things that \u2014 whether it\u2019s for the color, or the texture \u2014 I feel that I can recycle and fit into an art object that I’m making.<\/p>\n

3:30 p.m.: Visit a childhood haunt (with a side of more shopping)<\/b><\/p>\n

I really like the Huntington<\/b><\/a>\u2019s gardens. I remember the first time I went there was with my mother and a friend of hers, and we walked around. All the paths were dirt, you know, they hadn’t even gotten around to paving it yet. But I just fell in love with it. And I really like their gift shop.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/b> 22 essential works of art at the Huntington and the surprising stories behind them<\/a><\/p>\n

6 p.m.: Head west for a culinary classic\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

If I go someplace to eat for lunch, I usually have leftovers to warm up. Nothing wrong with leftovers \u2014 if you liked it the first time, you\u2019ll like it again! But if I had to go out to dinner, the Apple Pan<\/b><\/a>. I would go there in the \u201980s with my daughters. I like their sandwiches, or the hickory burger with cheese, and there\u2019s good French fries.<\/p>\n

8 p.m.: Tuck into some wind-down watching<\/b><\/p>\n

Before bed, I like to watch the news because, otherwise, I don’t know what’s going on. I also like a lot of shows on PBS. \u201cFinding Your Roots,\u201d or dramas like \u201cSister Boniface Mysteries\u201d and “Call the Midwife,\u201d which has been going on forever!<\/p>\n

Sign up for The Wild newsletter to get weekly insider tips on the best of our beaches, trails, parks, deserts, forests and mountains.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not only is Betye Saar a living legend, but the prolific L.A. artist continues to add to her…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":603437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[119154,259644,1582,276,144845,2961,224,2444,5337,74370,259702],"class_list":["post-603436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-art-institute-of-chicago","tag-betye-saar","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-frieze-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-museum-of-modern-art","tag-secondhand-stores"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116103028879691761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}