KDOA

Author: kdoutsiderart

  • A Little History of Outsider Art

    Outsider Art really experienced its ‘Golden Age’ between the years of 1880 and 1930 and traditionally encompasses works created by individuals who are marginalised from society for numerous different reasons. Outsider Art is technically free from the restraints of society with many of those who are considered ‘Outsiders’ having taught themselves how to create art. Susan Hiller, in her book entitled Primitivism: Perspectives on Art, defines three categories of works that can be labelled ‘Outsider’. The first category includes any works which are produced by the clinically insane – generally within an asylum space. Secondly, the term can describe works that are created without any conscious thought, and finally, it describes works which apparently do not take anything from conventional culture, and do not give anything back to conventional culture. Art that can be described as Outsider is generally created with the absence of intention or preparation. 

    Roger Cardinal coined the term ‘Outsider Art’ after Jean Dubuffet’s labelling of it as ‘Art Brut’ or Raw Art. Cardinal himself describes Outsider Art as an umbrella term for works that are alien to established culture, although, he is keen to mention that because a work of art is alien to established culture, it does by no means imply it is inferior to the celebrated art of mainstream society. 

    The ‘Golden Age’ of Outsider Art which occurred between the years of 1880 and 1930 saw works by artists such as the clinically insane being collected and analysed, and, more importantly, recognised for the first time in history. More generally, this period saw a fashion for antiquarian collecting becoming more popular and a raised interest in primitivism. Outsider Art was seen as refreshingly original; something increasingly sought after within the art world, and it is this idea of originality that became a huge factor in Outsider Art’s influential status, with the publication of Hans Prinzhorn’s Artistry of the Mentally Ill (1922) and Walter Morgenthaler’s intricate study of Adolf Wolfli, Ein Geisteskranker also Kunstler (1921), becoming extremely influential for numerous artists and writers at the time.

     

     Follow me on twitter: @kd_outsiderart

  • Art in the Woods

    Art in the Woods

    Today, I took an camera and a walk through some local woods. Here, I stumbled across a community garden project which combines horticulture, creativity and vegetable growing with other community projects, created wholly by volunteers and service users.

    Interspersed amongst the trees I noticed canvases painted with intricate patterns and bold colours. The walk through the pathway of paintings, hand made bird houses and wind chimes was peaceful, if somewhat eerie in the sense that this part of the wood had obviously seen activity, yet there was no one in sight. The area was a warren of pathways, connected gardens and vegetable patches.

    After entering through numerous gates with hand painted signs which asked visitors not to pick the crops, I came across a house made of woven twigs, with a wooden armchair fashioned as the centrepiece within; a young child’s den paradise. At various points throughout the walk, there came resting points which consisted of large wooden seating areas, often surrounding the remains of once-burning camp fires. A barbecue area, labelled ‘Kitchen’, (complete with an old mouldy block of cheese!) sat in the centre of the vegetable garden. Painted panels told me which vegetables and fruits were gowing in each raised bed, fenced in with upturned glass bottles.

    After some research on my return home, the woodland project is called ‘Nourish’, and is run for communities that often face marginalisation or have difficulties living independently. The project provides volunteers with transferable skills and the opportunity to spend time with people who are possibly facing the same problems as they themselves are, whilst building what is potentially a self-sufficient garden – complete with beehives! What I found the area offered, was a place right in the heart of nature which showed a whole host of creative and practical creations that the volunteers had worked towards. For further information, you can check out the Nourish website at: http://www.nourishcic.co.uk :)

    Below you will find some of the photographs of the artworks I found here. The canvases were almost all found unattached, leaning against the bases of trees.

    This piece, with what seems like a large bulbous ‘nose’ seems almost Scottie Wilson-esque?

    The way the trees were almost ‘growing over’ the paintings really made it seem as if the works were meant to be there.

     

    In this photograph you can see the entrance to the woven ‘den’, complete with door! 

     Follow me on twitter: @kd_outsiderart

  • Moving my Blog!

     

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    I am currently in the process of moving my blog over from another blog hosting  site to WordPress. I will begin by adding my previous posts to this site, so eventually they should all be in one, easy to use place! Please bear with me during this process :)