Rare Gold

This exhibit explores shared territory between two of Chapman’s collections: the Escalette Permanent Collection of Art and the Huell Howser Found Art Collection. Works from photographer Joel D. Levinson and TV personality Huell Howser comparably elicit artistic merit from humble, underappreciated subjects.

Joel Levinson travelled across California in the mid-1970s, photographing flea markets over a span of three years. Instead of documenting California’s famous landscapes, the Connecticut native was drawn to these travelling gypsy markets. His untitled snapshots show everyday slices of life found in the markets’ hastily-organized swarms of culture.

Similarly, Huell Howser’s creativity both on- and off-screen was driven by his knack for finding intrigue in unexpected places. His personal art collection of found objects is no exception. Despite having all of California’s gold at his fingertips, his artistic eye was drawn to industrial remnants and scrap parts, which he repurposed to become fine art pieces.

Both artists created new cultural objects from materials or subjects that don’t traditionally garner much public adoration. Levinson’s black and white flea markets are presented in a sensitive, sympathetic light, and Howser’s industrial, dirty objects—removed from their original context—celebrate a complexity of color, chemistry and invention.