Past: Historic Tuesday Talk at Crisp Museum: Lowbrow, Pop-Surrealism Art Movements

The “Lowbrow and Pop-Surrealism Art Movement” will be the topic of the Oct. 9 “Historic Tuesday Talk” at 7 p.m. in the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus.

Justin Miller, associate professor of art at Southeast, will give the presentation, which is free and open to the public.

The Lowbrow art movement originated in Los Angeles, California, in the late 1970s and is known as a populist movement with is cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture and hot-rod culture. In the past three decades, it has become synonymous with Pop-Surrealism and evolved into artwork that blends pop-culture with surrealist aesthetics. It is not uncommon for work of this genre to take on humorous and sarcastic sensibilities. While Lowbrow and Pop-Surrealist artwork was considered “underground” for some time, they have recently risen to prominence.

Miller earned a Bachelor of Arts in art education and a Master of Arts in studio art both from Eastern Illinois University. He also earned a Master of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Notre Dame.

Miller is also a practicing artist who regularly exhibits his artwork nationally.

The “Historic Tuesday Talk” series will take place on select Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the Crisp Museum through Dec. 18. The talks will consist of short, informational presentations and discussion sessions, and topics will highlight movements, the Civil War, World War I, riverboats, railroads, socio-cultural issues, space exploration, regional history, natural resources, fossils, geology and more. For more information, visit semo.edu/museum/education.html.