1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art
-Artists and gallery curators explain what Lowbrow means to them. Artist Anthony Ausgang says it is essentially reactionary to highbrow culture. The dictionary definition is, “a person regarded as uncultivated and lacking in taste.”
--Its influences include comic books, B-movies, rock ’n’ roll, surfing, hot rods, and Cold War imagery.
-Art historians call it Pop Surrealism; practitioners call it Lowbrow.
-Artists and gallery curators explain how the term Lowbrow originated. Artists Robert Williams says he invented the term but doesn’t care for its meaning. Some believe Lowbrow Surrealism is a more fitting term while others embrace Lowbrow.
-Artists and gallery curators explain why Lowbrow art appeals to the masses. Pop culture, car culture, and folk art have both had major influences in the genre. Lisa Petrucci says the art is more relatable than esoteric art.
-Artists and gallery curators discuss pop culture and consumer references in Lowbrow art. The time after WWII known as the “Atomic Age” is another important part of the genre.
-Art covers so many different things ranging from concept art to paintings. Artists Anthony Ausgang says it is the job of critics to categorize the art. Robert Williams, the original Lowbrow artist, discusses his early career.
-Artists and gallery curators talk about Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and psychedelic rock posters.
-Anthony Ausgang recalls being introduced to Zap Comix. Robert Williams discusses how Robert Crumb inspired rock poster artists to start doing underground comics.
-At a time when galleries were not willing to display Lowbrow, the Laguna Art Museum put on a show featuring Ed Roth, Von Dutch, and Robert Williams. Artists and curators discuss the impact of MAD magazine on art culture.
-Artists and curators discuss the tiki theme that was prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s across the US. Lowbrow artists drew upon this imagery and incorporated it into their art.
-Artists and curators discuss conceptual art. While conceptualism brought thought to art it excluded audience members who were not trained in art history.
-Ausgang says, “Lowbrow blitzkriegs the idea that high culture requires a certain level of intelligence.” Robert Williams thinks the established art world is set up to promote only certain types of art like minimalism and abstract.
-Artist and curators discuss the unwillingness of the mainstream art world to accept Lowbrow. These unaccepted artists created their own art scene after being shut out from museums and galleries.
-Artists and curators discuss the emergence of female artists in Lowbrow.
-Artists and curators discuss the effect of the internet on art in general and Lowbrow specifically.
-Artists and curators discuss the difference between the fine art scenes in NY and the Lowbrow and pop culture going on in California.
-Artists and curators discuss how the punk rock generation propelled Lowbrow art culture. Artists were able to get their work to the masses through album covers and fliers.
-Artist Nicole Steen and other members from Pop Tarts discuss the parallel underground art scenes in Vancouver and California.
-Artist 12Midnite and the ladies from the Pop Tarts talk about bringing their work to the US. There are many talented Lowbrow artists in Vancouver but it does not have the population to support a big art scene.
-Curator Billy Shire is credited with promoting the Lowbrow art movement by opening the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco. Juxtapose magazine has made it possible for people worldwide to stay in tune with the Lowbrow art scene.
-Artists and curators discuss the current and future monetary value of Lowbrow art. The Pizz says he is internationally known but not wealthy while paintings by Mark Ryden sell for $500,000.
-Twenty years ago Robert Williams couldn’t get anyone to show his art work and now he is in demand all over the world. Over the last ten years Lowbrow has gained more recognition and acceptance.
-Ausgang and other artists share what they love about their work.
Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach
-Modern art in the MOMA from 1929 onwards was displayed primarily in chronological order, representing each art movement. Art is displayed on white walls with flexible lighting.
-By the 1970s, traditional ways of displaying modern art are questioned. Art came off the walls to become busy and noisy. Artists explore the political and ideological context of the museum itself.
-The Tate Modern displays its modern art in four sections. In each section an overarching principle provides a theme for the selection and exhibition of the selections of modern art.
-The Tate’s thematic approach to displaying art prompts controversy when three works by Richard Long are juxtaposed with Monet’s “Water Lillies.” Yet, the connections among the pieces are justified.
-Unlike MOMA’s original concept of displaying art in chronological order, visitors to the Tate are provided with striking and often abrupt transitions between the individual display rooms.
-Critics argue that the Tate Modern’s thematic presentation of art requires that viewers have no knowledge of art. They believe art should be more than entertainment.
-Many abstract artists tried to make paintings that were not dependent on figuration. They wanted to convey emotions, aesthetic effects, or social vision.
-The Josef Beuys room in the Tate Modern creates a church-like atmosphere. Visitors do not materially understand what they see. They transition to the next room where art consists of waste and junk.
Bones of Contention: Native American Archaeology
-Native American bones were collected as a scientific curiosity during the US genocide against Indians. Anthropologists differ on whether or not the remains should be returned to their ancestors.
-Maria, a Yankton Sioux fights for the bones of a Native American who is taken for study after a road construction crew discovers the body. Anglo bones are reburied but Native bones are studied.
-David Van Horn, a field archaeologist, is charged with criminal possession of Native human bone fragments. He avoids jail but loses his livelihood as a result of his prosecution.
-Europeans encounter, seemingly strange, Native Americans and remove them from their own land. Burial mounds are thought to be too civilized to have been built by Native Americans.
-In the 19th Century, Samuel Morton MD, studies brain size and conclude that the size of one’s cranium is related to intelligence. Native American skulls are collected and stored in museums.
-Susan Harjo, a Cheyenne and Muscogee, leads the fight for Native people’s objects of worship to be returned. The Smithsonian’s inventory reveals that 18,000 Native’s bones are stored there.
-Dr. Barnes, a physical anthropologist, is prevented from doing her research of Native American migration because of the new law. Bones with similar defects suggests shared genes and origins.
-Bronco Lebeau, a Lakota Sioux, rejects theories of evolution and migration held by the dominate US. The Sioux people emerged from the Black Hills and did not migrate from somewhere.
-Repatriation requires that scientists first determine the bones tribal affiliation. Skull measurement helps to identify where the bones should be returned. Conflict of interest is rampant.
-Native Americans have ceremonies to discover whether the bones are their ancestors or not. Their past is conveyed through an oral tradition. Native Americans do not want the scientists’ history.
-Scientists learn a lot about today’s health problems by studying the remains of human beings from the past. Scientists can benefit future knowledge by studying the past.
-Bruce Rothschild, an arthritis researcher, theorizes that arthritis is a new disease whose trigger may come from the Tennessee River region. Natives as well as scientists are skeptical.
-British researchers DNA test bones infected with TB. They claim research benefits understanding how man has changed from the ancient to the modern. Native Americans are still skeptical.
-Maria Pearson continues to represent the right to an undisturbed Indian burial ground. The holy areas are avoided by construction crews and archaeologists do not excavate graves.
-The Great Plains Omaha ask the University of Nebraska to analyze the bones for their cultural and health significance prior to repatriation. Change in diet and lifestyle is related to high rates of diabetes.
-Omaha women die earlier due to small pox and a change in their daily life. Their bones reveal that hard work by manufacturing furs wore them down and led to a lower birthrate and life expectancy
-Native Americans, in the early 20th century, are stripped of their tribal identity at US boarding schools. Dr. Reinhardt restores pride by sharing his research with today’s Native Americans.
-Dennis Hastings, an Omaha, is satisfied with the reburial of his ancestors’ remains. Moreover, both the tribe and scientists have gained new knowledge by having the bones analyzed prior to burial.
-Now, Native Americans design the exhibits in New York’s Native American Museum. Ancestors’ bones continue to be brought home. Archaeology must share the responsibility for stewarding the past.
An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
-Phillipe de Montebello has served as director at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 31 years.
-de Montebello guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art from around the world, increasing sections of artworks within the museum, as well as staff.
-The museum’s Euro center has grown to represent all countries and continents.
-The Met, under the leadership of de Montebello, has been innovative in many conservation techniques.
-Several pieces are acquired and inducted into the Metropolitan’s collection, conserved and either put on display or added to the archives at the Museum.
-Several pieces contribute to the physically growing world-renowned cultural institution.
2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.
The videos relate to the curation project, because they expand our minds on what it is to select pieces of artworks to include in a collection of pieces. Each piece can influence or impact another piece within the collection. We can see the importance of each piece, especially within the de Montebello video. He labored over the acquisition of many pieces. The Tate video shows us how we can be creative in displaying artworks. There are no rules, although there are traditional ways of displaying.
3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?
I really enjoyed seeing the diversity in these films. The Lowbrow film and Tate Modern film really showed us about how the art world has changed and been affected over the last fifty years. I think they all really lent perspective into how artworks are selected, valued, perceived, and displayed together. They definitely helped me come up with my curation theme and project selections.
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