Virtual Curator Talk: Betye Saar and Assemblage Art with Lauren Cross

About the Speaker

Lauren Cross is the Gail-Oxford Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts and works from The Huntington’s outstanding collection strengths in American folk art, Arts and Crafts, Greene & Greene, and colonial-era material to grow previously underrepresented areas of the collection. Cross received her Ph.D. in multicultural women’s and gender studies from Texas Woman’s University and her MFA in visual arts from Lesley University, where her research focused on the works of women artists of color, decorative arts and material culture, and African American fiber traditions. She directed and produced the 2010 documentary The Skin Quilt Project, which explored the intersections of skin color politics in African American quilting traditions, and she curated the traveling exhibition “The Skin Quilt Project: Uplifting Our Culture, Celebrating Tradition.” Cross taught for several years at the University of North Texas while also curating and co-curating several culturally significant exhibitions at museums and cultural institutions across the country, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Center for Fine Art Photography, Artpace San Antonio, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

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Aligning California State Standards

California Arts Standards for Visual Arts

VA:Re.7.1.3a: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

VA:Re.7.1.4a: Compare responses to a work of art before and after working in a similar media.

VA:Re.7.2.4a: Analyze components in visual imagery that convey messages.

VA:Re.7.2.5a: Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery.

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.