Betye Saar, the celebrated American artist known for transforming discarded everyday objects into powerful statements of Black liberation, died on Sunday at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 99. A leading practitioner of assemblage — a sculptural form built from found objects — she was perhaps best known for her 1972 work "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima," which recast a racist marketing icon as a defiant, armed figure. Saar's death marks the loss of a foundational voice in the Black arts movement, whose influence extended across decades of teaching and mentorship, shaping generations of American artists including painter Kerry James Marshall.