Lezley Saar: Paintings From the Rap Series 

Lehman College Art Gallery presented Lezley Saar: Paintings From the Rap Series. Saar is an artist known for working with unusual materials. She pushes collages to a physical extreme and works with old record albums, traditional African fabrics, gold lamé, and money. She associates rappers with the legacy of Griots, the storytellers of Africa who preserved history through oral tradition. Though gangsta rap is often associated with misogyny and violence, Saar chooses to emphasize their poet language, running commentary on the concerns of daily life, and polyphonic musical structure. She argues they mirror our culture and are perhaps our conscience or perhaps sub-conscious of what we do not want to face.

“By superimposing portraits of African faces over Victorian patterned fabrics in ornate, oval, gilded frames, I’m reflecting on the influence of European values and power over the people of Africa. Juxtaposing the unusual contrast of the two cultural is autobiographical in a literal sense, and with ironic and sad in an emotional sense. I research various tribes, their facial features, and hairstyles. Although the titles refer to their country or tribe, they are intended as portraits of individuals. 

The connection with Rap music is that of the oral history/story telling…and answer traditions of Africa. I see Rap as an extension of this. Also, facing these African portraits amongst the larger than life paintings of the Rappers emphasizes that Rap is an original Afro-American art form.” – Lezley Saar.