Keep for Old Memiors is one of a series of assemblages she made with items that belonged to her great-aunt Hattie Parson Keys, who had died the previous year. “The letters, autographs, hankies, scraps of lace, and fabric are fragments from the past,” Saar said, “a sort of sentimental journey back when time moved slower and people collected memories.” Here, these elements are collaged into a picture frame caressed by two gloves.
Gallery label from Betye Saar: The Legends of Black Girl’s Window, October 21, 2019–January 4, 2020