Introduction:

“What is good art?” That simple question has been asked in some form in every single artistic context. What belongs in this exhibit? How hard was that to make? What did you use to create this? Do you like this piece? Lowbrow art is a term given to artistic works/forms that don’t meet the expectations of high art. The Fine Art of Not-So-Fine Art explores a wide range of lowbrow art forms, showcasing their expressiveness, history, methods, and their overall significance in society; tearing down the labels of “low” and “high” art to ensure that all art is just art.

History & Distinction:

Throughout history, art has been a sign of status and wealth. People who owned fine china or a large painting were of higher class, and those who couldn’t afford to own art didn’t get to engage with it (Camplin, 2019). Though art itself has always been created across social classes, the divide between a Mozart symphony and a bucket drummer on the street exists because of this elitist view of art (Cohen, 1999). Highbrow art is art seen to have “elite artistic expressions,” being valued for deep meanings and intense audience interpretations (Fisher 2013). This elitist view of the arts tends to push down art forms in lower socioeconomic statuses; jazz, breakdancing, graffiti, etc. I created this workshop to explore a plethora of lowbrow art forms and dissect them, proving that  these forms of art should have the same value as highbrow pieces. Arts Scholars immediately opened my eyes to a new lens of art, and our very first colloquium had a discussion about “what is art?” From that point forward, I’ve realized that it is vital to the arts for this label to be taken down - the labels of high & low art harm the creative process, artistic expression, and overall beauty of these low forms. 

Methods:

Each week I would explore and research a different form of lowbrow art, creating a presentation on the history of that medium, the methods/contexts of creation, and their translations from their creation to the modern day. After the history, I would explore how these mediums fall under the “lowbrow” label. This would include traits like context of creation, materials used, purpose, lack of “critical analysis,” utility, intended audiences, and more. After the mini-lecture, students each week would then follow a vague prompt and create a piece of art in the medium presented.

Audience & Impact:

My hope in creating this workshop was to emphasize the significance and methodology of lowbrow art forms to my students, so that they could then spread this knowledge to their friends and families. Classism in art is a very prevalent discriminatory aid to a lot of wider social issues across the world. My hope was to share this issue to a small group of individuals who could spread this message outside of class. As all social change goes, it has to start at the individual level; this workshop was my individual starting point. I’ve learned a lot about the arts, social issues, and methods/histories of many art forms I had never been very familiar with myself. I’ve learned to view all art, even notebook sketches or graffiti tags, with a wider perspective than I’ve ever seen before.

References:

Camplin, Troy. “Art and the Elites.” Medium, 12 Apr. 2019, medium.com/conscious-paradoxalism/art-and-the-elites-e783ce12eb8b. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025..

Cohen, Ted. “High and Low Art, and High and Low Audiences.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 57, no. 2, 1999, pp. 137–43, https://doi.org/10.2307/432308..

Fisher, John. HIGH ART versus LOW ART. Routledge, 16 Jan. 2013, pp. 473–84, spot.colorado.edu/~jafisher/OnLine%20papers/High%20Low%20Art%20Ch%2046.pdf. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025..

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank the Arts Scholars faculty in Harold, Heather, and Irene. They were the ones to send me down this Arts Scholars path in the Fall of 2024, and have aided my learning and development of this capstone the entire way through. I would also like to thank my TA Melody, who has been an immense help throughout this entire workshop. I'd like to finally thank my students who chose this workshop: the class is so fun to teach because of the community we’ve built in the classroom. Everyone is always engaged, collaborative, excited to be there, and so kind to everyone. The students make the class as good as it is.