Briana Miller, writer for The Oregonian/OregonLive notes the eerie timeliness of Alison Saar’s new print “Muddy Water,” created for her show at the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Center for Contemporary Art & Culture.
Saar and collaborator, master printer Paul Mullowney, worked for a year creating Saar’s solo show as part of the Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series. Each year, a curator selects an artist from Schnitzer’s extensive print collection and creates a show, accompanied by a lecture, from the artist.
“Crepuscular Blue: Prints and Sculpture by Alison Saar” is a study on historical American floods and how African Americans living in flood plains have survived over time. Miller writes about how “Muddy Water” in particular was supposed to be the end of the series “Breach,” and it is “sharply graphic, visceral and disturbing. Which could be said of most – if not all – of Saar’s work.”