Art Exhibition Video Reviews

1.) Videos:

      The Lowdown on Lowbrow

       Key Points: Lowbrow is art someone doesn't really know how to categorize. It's reactionary to highbrow. Dark humor, witty.

                         : It relates to the masses because of the wide range of topics and categories covered in this art. Ex. Hot rods, naked women, popular culture.

                         : Influences from Pop art, Rock and psychedelic posters, consumerism, "atomic age" after WII, comic books, B-movies, cartoons

      Displaying Modern Art

       Key Points:  Art at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC (MoMA) used to be displayed in chronological order and on plain white walls with flexible lighting.

                         : Now at MoMA, art comes off the walls, the space is noisy and includes the viewer in the experience.

                         : Tate Modern displays modern art in 4 sections. Each section has an overriding theme/ principle. Landscape/matter/environment, still-life/object/real-life, history/memory/society, and nude/action/body are the themes.

                         : At Tate Modern, art is displayed in juxtaposed ways and each room is an odd and abrupt transition in each room. 

      Bones of Contention

      Key Points: In 1976, Iowa passed the first law in the US that protected Indian burial sites. 

                         : Native American bones have been collected for study and stored in museums for years. There is debate other whether to return the bones to the ancestor's or not. 

                         : In Native American Museum, natives are the ones that design the space and how the artifacts are displayed. 

       An Acquiring Mind

       Key Points:  Philippe de Montebello was the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 31 years.

                          : Before a piece is bought and put on display, it must go through a betting process. The curators must convince the director that a piece is worth acquiring. 

 

2.) The videos were all very different. The last one actually went into the buying process for pieces, while the second one discussed how displays are created and organized in museums. The first video didn't really discuss art curating, but it did talk about the controversy of what is deemed acceptable for display. The third video also discussed controversy but in a different regard and it further shows that running a museum is not as simple as it appears.

3.) I thoroughly enjoyed the Lowdown on Lowbrow video. It was witty, and engaging, and I had never heard about this genre of art before which made it even more interesting. The Displaying Modern Art video was dull comparatively to the first one. The speakers were low and uninterested in what they were saying, but I did think that what was actually discussed about how modern art is and has been displayed to be intriguing. For me, I also like to organize by broad categories and then simplify in each category. So in that regard, I'm more of a Tate Modern display. The Bones of Contention video was sad. I have a tremendous respect for the natives and my heart breaks for what had happened to them. That being said, it was more about the battle between holding the bones in the name of science or to return them to their ancestors than it was about curating. The last video, An Acquiring Mind, wasn't bad. I thought that Philippe was amusing and his accomplishments as director of the Met is extraordinary. It showed the side of museums before the displays can even be created.