Of everyday objects and icons: A closer look at Betye Saar’s I’ll Bend But I Will Not Break

Abstract

This article examines the use of the everyday household object and historical icons used in the assemblage work of artist Betye Saar, and how when juxtaposed alongside one another create a meaningful narrative. The specific work being analysed is Saar’s installation piece I’ll Bend But I Will Not Break from 1998. In deconstructing the visual elements of this artwork their individual meanings can be deciphered and then analysed when looked at holistically. Using a semiotic approach to these visual elements creates individual meanings that collectively transform the artwork into a larger narrative, layered with significance and feminist and activist undertones.