Supporters Applaud Bowers Museum

In Cathy Curtis’ review of the reopened Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, she remarked on the “kitsch” of Allan Houser’s sculptures, which “no major contemporary museum would want.”

First of all, the Bowers is a museum of cultural art and does not claim to be a museum of contemporary art. Second, what could be more appropriate for a cultural museum than to acquire sculptures from the man who has been the inspiration for today’s generation of Indian sculptors? However, calling Allan Houser an “Indian artist” would overlook his debt to Moore, Arp and Brancusi and his ceaseless experimentation with abstraction.

Allan Houser is not only one of the best Indian sculptors but one of the best sculptors in the world. Thank you, Bowers, for enriching our community with Allan Houser’s work!

HEIDI MUELLER

Santa Ana

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