Video Reflections

Artists and gallery curators explain how the term Lowbrow originated. Artist 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. Pop culture, car culture, and folk art have both had major influences in the genre. Lisa Petrruci says the art is more relatable than esoteric art. The time after World War II known as the "Atomic Age" is another important part of the genre. Art covers so many different things ranging from concept art to paintings. Artist Anthony Ausgang says it is the job of critics to categorize the art. Robert Williams is  he original Lowbrow artist. A 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. The tiki theme was prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s across the U.S. Lowbrow artists drew upon this imagery and incorporated it into their art. While conceptualism brought thought to art it excluded audience members who were not trained in art history. Artist Anthony 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. There is an unwillingness of the mainstream world to accept Lowbrow. These unaccepted artists created their own art scene after being shut out from museums and galleries.
The punk rock generation propelled Lowbrow art culture and artists were able to get their work to the masses in the form of album covers and fliers. The Pop Tarts opened the well received Tart Gallery in Vancouver . They gained more recognition and acceptance after being featured in a book about female Lowbrow artists. 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. 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. 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. With dozens of artist and gallery curator interviews, along with hundreds of examples, this program chronicles Lowbrow’s evolution, its iconoclasm and often antagonistic relation to abstract expressionism, as well as the rise of female artists to its forefront.


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. And art came off the walls to become busy and noisy. The Tate Modern displays its modern art if 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 Lilies." 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 Tate Modern's thematic presentation of art requires that viewers have no knowledge of art. And 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 Joseph 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.

Native Americans' bones were collected as a scientific curiosity during the U.S. genocide against Indians. Anthropologists differ on whether or not the remains should be returned to their ancestors.
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 American. In the 19th Century Samuel Morton M.D. studies brain size and concludes that the size of one's cranium is related to intelligence.  Sun Harjo, a Cheyenne and Muscogee, leads the fight for Native people's objects of worship to be returned.. Dr. Barnes, a physical anthropologist, is prevented from doing her research of Native American migration because of the new law. Bronco Lebeau, a Lakota Sioux, rejects theories of evolution and migration held by the dominate U.S. Repatriation requires that scientists first determine the bones tribal affiliation. Skull measurement helps to identify where the bones should be returned. Native Americans have ceremonies to discover whether the bones are their ancestors or not and 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 and 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. 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 worn them down and led to a lower birthrate and life expectancy.  British researchers run DNA tests on bones infected with T.B. They claim research benefits understanding how men change from the ancient to the modern but 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 archeologists do not excavate graves. Native Americans, in the early 20th century, are stripped of their tribal identity at U.S. boarding schools. Dr Reinhardt restores pride by sharing his research with today's Native Americans. Native Americans now design the exhibits in New York 's Native American Museum.

By creating the first affordable, user-friendly camera George Eastman became the father of popular photography. The museum established at his home celebrates the contributions he and the company he founded have made to advance the art, science, and phenomenon of photography. The photography collection at George Eastman House is a visual history of photography that represents the work of 14,000 amateur and professional photographers. The collection includes all types of photographs, famous and obscure, from documentary to fine art. The technology collection at George Eastman House contains about 16,000 objects, including about 5,000 cameras. The Eastman House holds the largest Daguerreotype collection outside of France . George Eastman worked to make photography accessible to everyone; he created the first affordable, user-friendly camera and founded the Eastman Kodak Company. Eastman's "Brownie" camera revolutionized photography and the motion picture film stock he invented with Thomas Edison became the industry standard. The 50 room colonial revival estate George Eastman began building in 1902 serves as the centerpiece for the museum that bears his name. In addition to photography-related artifacts the museum houses many of Eastman's personal possessions. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made George Eastman a lifetime member to honor his contributions to the film industry's development. Today the George Eastman House is one of the world's premiere motion pictures archives. In 1996 the George Eastman House established the first school in North America to teach the restoration, preservation, and archiving of motion pictures. George Eastman's world revolved around his work and around philanthropy. The George Eastman House offers a variety of means to access collections, including 140,000 online images that celebrate the art, technology, and impact of photography and motion pictures. Located on the estate of the man who made Kodak a household word, the George Eastman House celebrates the art, technology, and impact of photography and motion pictures. Eastman's colonial revival mansion in Rochester , New York is now the oldest photography museum in the world-to showcase its famous collections. The Eastman House is a vital stop on the journey to understanding visual literacy.