Rockwell Reframed Lecture Series | The Art of Truman Lowe with Rebecca Head Trautmann

Location: The Rockwell Museum

Open to the public | Members: Free, Not-Yet-Members: $15, Students: $5 | Registration encouraged 

Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe is the first major retrospective of the distinguished Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk) artist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Curator, Rebecca Head Trautmann will speak about this exhibition and the legacy of Truman Lowe (1944–2019), an internationally acclaimed artist, museum curator, university educator and mentor. His work and influence have shaped generations of emerging artists and scholars, making a lasting contribution to the field of American and Native North American art. As Trautmann notes, “Truman Lowe’s art reflects on the waters and woodlands of his home, as well as family and cultural traditions, memory and knowledge.” The exhibition features 48 sculptures, drawings, and paintings, and includes four of his “Water Reflections” series drawings from The Rockwell Museum’s collection. In this lecture, Trautmann will examine Lowe’s work through the exhibition’s four intersecting themes: Moving Water, The Land Holds Memory, Woodland Structures, and Memory and Shared Knowledge.

This lecture is part of the Making History, Making Change Lecture Series, a national collaboration between the Smithsonian and 25 Smithsonian Affiliate organizations, featuring expert-led talks that explore the people, moments, and ideals that have shaped—and continue to shape—the American experience.

The Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe exhibition catalogue will be available for purchase in The Rockwell Museum Store. The catalogue is edited by Rebecca Head Trautmann and published in conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibition.

Exclusive opportunity for Silver Dollar Society Members

The Rockwell Museum is pleased to offer a post-lecture Silver Dollar Society dining experience! Meet Rebecca Trautman, mingle with fellow members, and enjoy cocktails and light meal stations on the Museum’s second floor.

Space is limited and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Register by selecting the Lecture + Dinner option in the check-out cart. Registration for this reception is required by 5 p.m. April 14.

About Rebecca Head Trautmann

Rebecca Head Trautmann is an assistant curator of contemporary art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and curator of Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe, a major retrospective of the artist’s work. Her previous curatorial projects include the National Native American Veterans Memorial, Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting (2019-22), Making Marks: Prints from Crow’s Shadow Press (2013-14), and Vantage Point: The Contemporary Native Art Collection (2010-11). In 2012, she organized the first U.S. performance by Canadian artist Kent Monkman. Trautmann previously held positions at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. Her graduate work in art history at the University of New Mexico focused on modern and contemporary Native American art.

The Making History, Making Change Lecture Series is organized by Smithsonian Affiliations as part of the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250. It is supported in part by the Dreier Family, Johanna and Ken Kim Family, Vaishali Shah Chadha and Family, and Michael Vu & Meridel Bulle-Vu.

Generous support given in memory of Nat and Wilhelmina Wollin.