Seeing High and Low: Representing Social Conflict in American Visual Culture
"Seeing High and Lowis a much-needed addition to the study of nineteenth and early twentieth-century American art history. Featuring insightful, well-written essays on visual and material culture subjects ranging from history and landscape paintings to Harper's Weekly illustrations, Anheuser-Busch ads, Craftsman chairs, American Indian handicrafts, and more, this helpful volume explores the popular and 'fine' arts in the national narrative."—Erika Doss, author ofTwentieth-Century American Art"This edited volume presents compelling case studies, offering a series of masterly explanations of how visual culture, visual studies, cultural studies, and art history intersect. The chapters examine paintings, sculpture, photographs, museum exhibitions, architecture, and popular prints, looking closely at the representational strategies and capacities of high and low art, two historical discourses that together reinforce social ideas and cultural forms."—Vivien Green Fryd, author ofArt and Empire: The Politics of Ethnicity in the U.S. Capitol, 1815-1860"Seeing High and Lowmay well become the standard text for developing new ways to view and interpret American art. It tactfully removes old boundaries and replaces them with theoretical approaches dedicated to opening the field to a wide range of related visual materials. One comes away convinced that the study of images has begun all over again, and that it has become richer and more rewarding than ever."—William H. Truettner, Senior Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum"At long last, an excellent introduction to the social construction of American visual culture and the hierarchical categories assembled to organize it. Indispensable reading for scholars in and out of the classroom, this illuminating anthology's contributions are many and significant."—Sally M. Promey, author ofPainting Religion in Public"This gem of an anthology brings a refreshing perspective to the high-low debate. Using all types of visual and material objects its authors read these categories against one another, watching their often-conflicted interactions shape ideas about culture and society. A lucid overview of its visual culture framework explicates the volume's methods and animates its rich selection of case studies, making it a 'must read' for Americanists of all disciplines. And a vital accompaniment to their courses."—Ellen Wiley Todd, George Mason University