Pocket Guide -> Media -> Copper, wood, and neon -> Nocturne Navigator
Nocturne Navigator
by Alison Saar · American, born 1956
| Creation Date: | 1998 |
| Media & Support: | Copper, wood, and neon |
| Dimensions: | 144 inches high |
| Credit: | Museum Purchase with partial funds donated by the Columbus Chapter of Links, Inc. |
Commissioned by the Columbus Museum of Art, Nocturne Navigator commemorates the Underground Railroad, on which Columbus, Ohio, was one of the stops. The sculp- ture portrays the spirit of the journey by the slaves on their way north to freedom. Her skirt represents the constella- tions of stars in the sky—including the Big Dipper, or Drinking Gourd—that guided the slaves. The upheld arms are expressive of the thankful celebrations of both those who reached freedom and those whose open arms welcomed them along the way. The monumental size of the figure is meant to symbolize the vastness of the heavens, the enormity of the oppression of slavery, the courage required of the fugitives, and the generosity of those who aided them.
