The Glossary Of Outsider Art

[Tom Deflumere]

What is Outsider Art?
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The development of the awareness of forms of creative expression that
exist ouside accepted cultural norms, or the realm of "fine art",
began with the researches of psychiatrists early in the century

The work of Dr Morganthaler documented his patient Adolf Wolfli, a
genius who produced countless thousands of works from a small cell in
his Swiss asylum. Dr Hans Prinzhorn collected thousands of works by
psychiatric patients and his book "Bildernerei der Geisteskranken"
(Artistry of the Mentally Ill), published in 1922 became an
influential work amongst Surrealist and other artists of the time.

One artist who was particularly affected by the works Prinzhorn
presented was Jean Dubuffet. Together with others, including Andre
Breton, he formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut in 1948 and strove to
seek out and collect works of extreme individuality and inventiveness
by creators who were not only untrained artists but often had little
concept of an art gallery or even any other forms of art other than
their own.

Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut, or Raw Art, was of works that were in
their "raw" state, uncooked by cultural and artistic influences. He
built up a vast collection of thousands of works, works which bore no
relation to developments in contemporary art and yet were the
innovative and powerful expressions of a wide range individuals from a
variety of backgrounds.

Dubuffet's great collection was eventually granted a permanent home by
the city of Lausanne and the Collection de l'Art Brut is now one of
the most powerful and overwhelming art museums to be found anywhere in
the world.

A parallel development to the awareness of paintings, drawings and
sculptures which fell into the sphere of Art Brut, was the discovery
of environmental creations by a similar range of people. One of the
most famous of these, the Palais Ideal, built by the postman Cheval,
received much attention from the Surrealists who admired his ability
to realise his dream in this incredible structure, the product of
thirty years of devoted toil.

In Los Angeles, the extraordinary Watts Towers, the product of a
similar commitment by an Italian immigrant worker, Simon Rodia, became
the first step in the realisation of a vast number of environments to
be found right across North America.

Today the increased awareness of all these forms of expression has led
to a network of small organisations in both Europe and the United
States devoted to the preservation of such works and the support of
their creators. Similar collections to the one in Lausanne have been
established in many countries and exhibitions of different aspects of
the phenonema are a regular occurence. The diverse influence of all
these forms is now apparent in the work of an increasing number of
"trained " artists who have turned their back on changing trends and
fashions to try and form a truly singular reality for themselves.

Michel Thevoz, Curator of the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne has
written the following:

"Art Brut", or "outsider art", consists of works produced by people
who for various reasons have not been culturally indocrinated or
socially conditioned. They are all kinds of dwellers on the fringes
ofsociety. Working outside fine art "system" (schools, galleries,
museums and so on), these people have produced, from the depths of
their own personalities and for themselves and no one else, works
of outstanding originality in concept, subject and techniques. They
are works which owe nothing to tradition or fashion.

A firm distinction should be made between "art brut" and what is
known as "naif art". The naif or primitive painters remain within
the mainstream of painting proper, even if they fail ingenuously to
practise its style. However, they accept its subjects, technique
(generally oils) and even its values, because they hope for public,
if not official recognition. "Art brut" artists, on the other hand,
make up their own techniques, often with new means and materials
and they create their works for their own use, as a kind of private
theatre. They choose subjects which are often enigmatic and they do
not care about the good opinion of others, even keeping their work
secret.

RAW VISION's Definitions

The controversy surrounding the exact definition of Outsider Art and
allied fields has been going on ever since awareness of the phenomenon
began. Whatever views we have about the value of controversy itself,
it is important to sustain creative discussion by way of an agreed
vocabulary.

NEUVE INVENTION

Dubuffet realised that there existed many creators whose work was
of comparable power and inventiveness to Art Brut, but their
greater contact with normal society and the awareness they had of
their art works precluded their inclusion within the strict Art
Brut category. These creators were often humble workers who created
in their spare time, or eccentric and untrained artists trying to
make a living from their work - some of whom had dealings with
commercial galleries. As an acknowledgement to them he formed his
"Annex Collection"; in 1982 this became the "Neuve Invention"
section of the Collection de l'Art Brut.

(examples: Gaston Chaissac, Mario Chichorro, Rosemarie Koczy,
Gerard Lattier, Albert Louden, Frederich Schroder-Sonnenstern).

ART BRUT

Jean Dubuffet's original 1945 term for the works that he collected
and revered; later adopted by the Collection de l'Art Brut at
Lausanne. Art Brut means 'Raw Art'. Raw because it is 'uncooked' or
'unadulterated' by culture. Raw because it is creation in its most
direct and uninhibited form. Not only were the works unique and
original but their creators were seen to exist outside established
culture and society. The purest of Art Brut creators would not
consider themselves artists, nor would they even feel that they
were producing art at all.

Art Brut is visual creation at its purest - a spontaneous psychic
flow from brain to paper. No works of Art Brut are allowed to be
exhibited away from the Collection at Lausanne. Equally, the name
'Art Brut' is not permitted to be used except as a description of
the works in the Collection. Similarly, the Collection de l'Art
Brut insists that it alone can officially designate any newly
discovered works as Art Brut.

(examples: Aloise, Carlo, Henry Darger, Madge Gill, Johann Hauser,
Raphael Lonne, Laure Pigeon, Martin Ramirez, Adolf Wolfli).

OUTSIDER ART

The term 'Outsider Art' was originally intended to act as an exact
English equivalent to Dubuffet's term, although Outsider Art has
developed to encompass not only Art Brut but also works that the
Lausanne Collection would not strictly designate as such (eg. some
of the works in the Neuve Invention category). Outsider Art has not
had the benefit of the unique protection surrounding Art Brut and
the definition has undoubtedly become obscured by chronic mis-use
since its introduction in 1972.

Sadly we find today that many use the term in the loosest way, to
refer to almost any untrained artist. It is simply not enough to be
untrained, clumsy or naive. Outsider Art is virtually synonomous
with Art Brut in both spirit and meaning, to that rarity of art
produced by those who do not know its name.

(examples: Wolfli, Hauser, Chomo, Traylor, Schroder-Sonnenstern,
Cheval, Rodia).

FOLK ART/ CONTEMPORARY FOLK ART

A simple and direct term that has become much used - and over-used
- especially in North America. Originally pertaining to the
indigenous crafts and decorative skills of peasant communities in
Europe, the term was later appllied to the simply made practical
objects of colonial days - a combination of charm and practical
craftmanship. In contemporary terms, Folk Art can cover anything
from chain-saw animals to hub-cap buildings. The crossover with
Outsider Art is undeniable, but most Folk Art has its own
traditions and is often very different from the psychic flow of Art
Brut.

(examples: Thornton Dial, Sam Doyle, William Hawkins, Clyde Jones,
Joseph Sleep, Mose Tolliver).

MARGINAL ART, ART SINGULIER

The works of artists, usually, but not exclusively, self-taught,
that are close to Art Brut and Outsider artists, both in appearance
and directness of expression. These are the artists 'on the
margins', that grey area of definition that lies between Outsider
Art and normal mainstream art, very similar to Dubuffet's Neuve
Invention category. Art Singulier encompasses French marginal
artists.

(examples: Chomo, Danielle Jacqui, Marcel Landreau, Gerard Lattier,
Raymond Reynaud).

VISIONARY ART, INTUITIVE ART

Both of these are deliberate umbrella terms, used together they can
include almost everything of value in the field, including much
tribal art and the urban folk art of the third world, as well as
most of the works described above. They are safe and honest general
terms that avoid the specifics of Outsider Art or Folk Art.

NAIVE ART

Often confused with Outsider and Visionary art, this term refers to
untrained artists who depict largely realistic scenes, often in
minute detail, with people, animals, and other aspects of the
observed world, sometimes combined with fantasy images. They often
aspire to normal artistic status and are usually very different
from the visionaries to be found in the pages of Raw Vision, and
may often be seen as quite sophisticated amateurs verging on
professionalism.

(examples: James Crane, Grandma Moses, Ivan Generalic, Joseph
Pickett, Douanier Rousseau, Germain Tessier).

VISIONARY ENVIRONMENTS

The environments, buildings and sculpture parks built by intuitive
artists almost defy definition. They have become known by various
terms, Visionary Environments and Contemporary Folk Art
Environments being perhaps the most appropriate in current use.
Although Outsider Art has been used to describe the environments,
some feel the label to be insulting to these particular creators,
many of whom are integrated members of their local communities.
Another popular term, especially in the US, is Grassroots Art,
which can also cover the more humble expressions and constructions
of ordinary folk in both town and country.

(examples: Simon Rodia's Watts Towers, SP Dinsmoor's Garden of
Eden, Ferdinand Cheval's Palais Ideal, Nek Chand's Rock Garden).
_________________________________________________________________


RAW VISION
http://rawvision.com/

[Raoul B. Xemblinosky III]

Tom Deflumere wrote:

[...]

You need to tell these people about Wesley Willis...

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