1.)
Lowdown on Lowbrow
There are several important
concepts and ideas that I learned in the video “The Lowdown on Lowbrow.” Lowbrow was originally defined as a person
regarded as cultivated and lacking in taste, however in the art world it has a
different meaning. It can be labeled as
art that nobody else knew how to categorize, a reactionary against highbrow
culture. It originally meant pornography
because it emerged as a term used to define paintings with naked girls and hot
rods, but it eventually progressed into much more then that. Pop culture, car culture and folk art have
all been major influences on this genre.
The time after WWII known as the “Atomic Age” where suburbia society and
car production began to explode also served as a major influence on the Lowbrow
art world.
Robert
Williams is seen as the original Lowbrow artist, he also served as the art
director of popular Lowbrow artist, Big Daddy Roth. These two artists along with other Lowbrow
artists faced enormous struggles with trying to promote their art during their
emergence. Most galleries at the time
refused to put on shows displaying Lowbrow art.
There was an unwillingness of the mainstream art world to accept
lowbrow, so these unaccepted artists created their own art scene after being
shut out. Luckily, the punk rock
generation helped to propel the Lowbrow art culture. These artists were able to get their work to
the masses in the form of album covers and fliers. Today, artists like Robert Williams are in
demand all over the world. Over the last
ten years, Lowbrow has gained more recognition and acceptance.
Displaying Modern
Art: The Tate Approach
There are
many important ideas that were shown in this video. This video shows how Tate curators developed
a new method of displaying art, utilizing them in art museums. After the 1970s, traditional ways of
displaying modern art were in question.
Art starting moving off the walls to become much more busy and
nosy. The Tate Modern displays its
modern in four sections. Each of these
sections has an overarching principle providing for the selection and
exhibition of the selections of modern art.
Tate’s
thematic approach to displaying art can be seemed when three works by Richard
Long are juxtaposed with Monet’s “Water Lilies.” This display prompted major controversy among
critics. Critics argue that Tate
Modern’s thematic presentation of art requires that viewers have no knowledge
of art; they believe art should be more than entertainment. An example of the Tate approach is the Joseph
Beuys room in the Tate Modern. This room
creates a church-like atmosphere, where visitors do not materially understand
what they see. They transition to the
next room where art consists of waste and junk. Even with its critics, the Tate Approach seems
to have a future in the art world.
Bone of Contention:
Native American Archaeology
This video
analyzes the debate over who should have possession over more ten thousand
Native American bones unearthed at archaeological sties across the United States
that are in the possession of museums such as the Smithsonian. Archaeologist, David Van Horn was charged
with criminal possession of native human bone fragments, he avoided jail but
lost his livelihood as a result of his prosecution. Many scientists argue that these bones can
have many positive purposes in the scientific community. Pale pathology is one of these benefits. Pale pathology is when scientists learn about
today’s health problems by studying the remains of human beings from the past,
scientists benefit future knowledge by studying the past. British researchers also claim that research
on these bones benefits understanding how many changes from the ancient to the
modern.
Native
Americans have a different point of view then these scientists; they believe
the bones should be returned to them.
Maria Pearson, a Yankton Sioux and Susan Harjo are two of these Native
Americans. Both women are fighting for
Native people’s objects of worship to be returned, believing that these bones
rightfully belong to their perspective tribes.
More recently, in order to resolve this debate, Native Americans now
design the exhibits in New York’s Native American museum. This gives them more control over the way in
which these bones are displayed.
Great Museums: An
Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and Metropolitan Museum of Art
This video
analyzes Philippe de Montebello and the enormous impact he had on the
Metropolitan Museum of art Born in France, educated at Harvard in 1963, de
Montebello’s brought a background in European painting to his first job as a
curatorial assistant at the metropolitan museum of art. When he took over as a director in 1977, the
met was already well established as a distinct showcase for European art. When the museum first opened in 1870, it had
174 European paintings, mostly Flemish and Dutch masters. However, under de Montebello’s leadership,
the museums Eurocentric collection would grow to represent all continents and
all cultures.
During his
31-year tenure as director of the metropolitan museum of art, De Montebello
guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art. As he stated in the
video, “Any number of acquisitions, fortunately, have come our way, that have
given us pretty much a complete panoramic view of the world over time.” He helped to expand the museums collection to
more then just a European focus. From a
career that was launched in European classicism, Phillip de Montebello traveled
through centuries and civilizations returning with a world of masterpieces to
display within the walls of the metropolitan museum of art.
2.)
These videos relate to the art
exhibition project in several ways. The
video on Low Brow helped me to understand some of the pieces I have come across
throughout my Internet searches that I was confused as to the genre the
belonged too. For example, there were
few pieces in the gallery and online that featured partially nude women with
animate objects, now that I’ve seen this video, I would definitely define those
as Low Brow pieces.
3.)
I really
enjoyed these films! My favorite one was the first video on Low Brow art. I never really heard the term other then
outside of the art world, and it was interesting to find out its meaning in
regards to art. I also enjoyed the video
on the Metropolitan museum of art. I’ve
always wanted to visit this museum and hopefully if I ever make it to New York
City that will be one of my first stops.
Overall, the videos helped to add to my understanding of the art
concepts that I have learned so far throughout the course.
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