Revolution of the Eye

Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television, organized jointly by the CADVC and the Jewish Museum, is the first exhibition to explore how avant-garde art influenced and shaped the look and content of network television in its formative years, from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. During this period, the pioneers of American television—many of them young, Jewish, and aesthetically adventurous—had adopted modernism as a source of inspiration. Revolution of the Eye looks at how the dynamic new medium, in its risk-taking and aesthetic experimentation, paralleled and embraced cutting-edge art and design.

Highlighting the visual revolution ushered in by American television and modernist art and design of the 1950s and 1960s, Revolution of the Eye features fine art and graphic design, including works by Saul Bass, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp, Allan Kaprow, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Eero Saarinen, Ben Shahn, and Andy Warhol, as well as ephemera, television memorabilia, and clips from film and television, including Batman, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and The Twilight Zone. Revolution of the Eye examines television’s promotion of avant-garde ideals and aesthetics; its facility as a promotional platform for modern artists, designers, and critics; its role as a committed patron of the work of modern artists and designers; and as a medium whose relevance in contemporary culture was validated by the Museum of Modern Art’s historic Television Project (1952-55).

Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television is organized by the Jewish Museum, New York, and the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The exhibition is curated by Dr. Maurice Berger, Research Professor and Chief Curator, Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, UMBC.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ONLINE EXHIBITION

National Tour (through 2017): The Jewish Museum, New York City; Nova Southeastern University Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL; The Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA; Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television is made possible by the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Skirball Fund for American Jewish Life Exhibitions, the Stern Family Philanthropic Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and other generous donors.

Support for the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture’ presentation of the exhibition comes from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Baltimore Commission on Arts and Sciences.