Fine Arts

It’s an uncharacteristically cool, rainy afternoon when I climb the steps to Judie Bamber’s home and studio in a neighborhood off Sunset. As I enter her studio—a surprisingly spare and self-contained space—a rectangle of golden light seems to float on an easel set up at the rear of the room, seemingly appropriated from some magic hour we’re bound not to see on that particular day. As I move further into the room, I see that it’s a work in progress—with portions of the painting covered around this rectangle, which now discloses an identifiable section of human anatomy.

LOS ANGELES — The artist Alison Saar set a goal for herself long ago: to clearly communicate her ideas and emotions through the power of form. Her sculptures have their own personal vocabulary that speaks in a direct language about history, race, and mythology. If her sculptures are the melodies that capture one’s soul, the narratives behind them are the lyrics.

Does an artist have an obligation to consider the act of “care” when creating? What does care mean, when should it be applied, and to whom should it be applied? Does the process of making art need to be redeemed by art serving a reparative function in society? Those were a sampling of the complex questions posed by award-winning writer Maggie Nelson in her Critic-in-Residence lecture, sponsored by the undergraduate Fine Arts department.

L.A. Louver is hosting Alison Saar’s "Topsy Turvy” at its Los Angeles venue.

An exhibition of new works by the Los Angeles-based artist takes inspiration from the character of Topsy in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic Civil War-era novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Saar re-contextualizes the sprightly uncouth slave girl as a symbol of defiance, through paintings on dyed vintage linens and sculptures carved from wood.

Ruben Ochoa’s (BFA Fine Arts '97)  “SAMPLED y SURVEYED” illustrates the artist’s penchant for transforming basic construction materials into structural installations charged with meaning.