Join the Department of Performing and Media Arts for LeRoy Neiman: The Life of America’s Most Beloved and Belittled Artist: A Book Talk by Dr. Travis Vogan. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 5, at 5:00 PM in the Film Forum, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The talk will be moderated by PMA Chair Samantha N. Sheppard.
The untold story of an American hustler who upset the art world and became a pop culture icon, cutting a swath across twentieth-century history and culture.
LeRoy Neiman—the cigar-smoking and mustachioed artist famous for his Playboy illustrations, sports paintings, and brash interviews—stood among the twentieth century’s most famous, wealthy, and polarizing artists. His stylish renderings of musicians, athletes, and sporting events captivated fans but baffled critics, who accused Neiman of debasing art with popular culture. Neiman cashed in on the controversy, and his extraordinary popularity challenged the norms of what art should be, where it belongs, and who should have access to it.
Travis Vogan is Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in the Department of American Studies at the University of Iowa. He is the author of numerous books on sports, media, and culture, most recently The Boxing Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History. Read more.
