The term "Outsider art" in fine art refers to creations made by artists outside the traditional parameters of official culture or the established art world. The term "Outsider art" was originally used in English in 1972 by art critic Roger Cardinal to refer to the same style of primitive art that the French painter and assemblage artist Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) had initially described in French as "art brut" (raw art). Jean Dubuffet coined the term "Art Brut" to describe the art he admired created by introverted, imaginative, and isolated individuals.
The English concept of Outsider art is broader and includes works by uneducated, self-taught (naive) artists, those with little or no contact with institutional forms of art, as well as painting and sculpture by asylum inmates; while Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut is largely limited to works by marginalized and maladjusted individuals.
When becoming "artists," Outsider Artists frequently have a revelatory moment similar to a religious calling. Their work often displays a sense of enhanced connectedness within the complex system of universal balance despite the fact that they typically lack professional training in an art institution. These artists possess a keen knowledge of both the powers of light and dark without necessarily having personally experienced tragedy.
Outsider artists may or may not employ materials that are considered to be artistic. Typically, "outsiders" utilize anything they can get their hands on, whether it is mud, blood, crayons, or a plain ink pen, demonstrating an uncommon and robust level of creativity. The urgent drive to create is revealed by the material's immediacy, which also shows that the produced works are far more like extensions of a continuing self-reflective selfhood than distinct artistic creations.
Instead of attempting to identify a common style or ethos in their works, Art Brut and Outsider Art remain names given, not by the artists themselves but by others, frequently posthumously, and primarily to group together artists as functioning outside of any form of art historical tradition.
Outsider Sculpture
Art Brut / Outsider sculpture can come in a variety of shapes and styles, just like painting. Art Brut / Outsider sculptures frequently show the artist's resourcefulness as they make do with whatever found things and materials they can find, such as animal teeth, bones, and pelts discovered in asylum farms, as well as various types of trash like twine, cord, and wire. Outsider artists who create sculpture frequently continue the subject of employing discarded and overlooked materials when working without the restrictions of institutions and conventions. David Kemp, a Cornish artist, creates all of his sculptures entirely out of discarded objects, including dangerous rubbish that has washed ashore. As a result, the finished pieces serve as both a rebuke to a culture of uneducated and selfish consumers and a testimony to outsider artists who consistently put purpose above fashion.
Numerous examples of Outsider Art have appeared at auction and in international exhibitions in recent years, increasing its reputation among collectors and curators. Given its unpolished, democratic roots, outsider art enjoys a broad audience. The artwork not only cuts across genres, but it also acts as a potent mirror of the artist's emotional state and the era in which they lived.
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