Alison Saar (b. 1956). Max Schmeling and Joe Louis (pair), 1982. Mixed media with cloth, paper, twigs, assorted small to... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

Alison Saar (b. 1956)
Max Schmeling and Joe Louis (pair), 1982
Mixed media with cloth, paper, twigs, assorted small toys, and other found objects
78 x 36 inches (198.1 x 91.4 cm) (each, overall)
Both signed, dated, and titled to the underside of base: Alison Saar 1982 / Max Schmeling; Joe Louis

PROVENANCE:
Jan Baum Gallery, Los Angeles;
Private collection, Sherman Oaks, California, acquired in 1982.

Alison Saar is a Los Angeles-based sculptor whose work explores themes of race, identity, and cultural memory, particularly within the African diaspora. Drawing on influences from African, Caribbean, and Latin American folk art and spirituality, she works with wood, metal, and found objects to infuse her figures with raw physicality and emotional resonance, transforming the body into a vessel of history and narrative.

In this pair of sculptures, Saar portrays American heavyweight Joe Louis and German boxer Max Schmeling, two icons whose rivalry transcended sport and reflected the political tensions of their time. Schmeling's victory over Louis in their first 1936 fight at Yankee Stadium was seized by Nazi Germany as a symbol of Aryan dominance. Two years later, in their highly anticipated rematch, Louis delivered a devastating first-round knockout, a victory celebrated nationwide as a triumph over fascism.


More information about Saar, Alison Artist.



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