Recently, I have been returning to the classic texts of outsider art in an attempt to uncover where the marginalisation of this type of work really began. My research has uncovered a few key areas that illustrate how ingrained the idea of 'otherness' and 'us' and 'them' is when it comes to outsider art and … Continue reading Discovering Outsider Art: The Narrative of Otherness
Over the past couple of months, I have been trawling through reviews of outsider art exhibitions published in the UK national press. It has been an interesting exercise, returning to some of the exhibitions I have visited over the past 10 years; this time, with my researcher’s head on. After diving into several of these … Continue reading Outsider Art and the Art Critic
In this thought-piece, Jerry Fresia discusses how capitalism has impacted on the art world (inside and outside) over the past century. Power and the Capitalist Class: Capitalists don’t just sit off to the side minding their own business. Their business is the accumulation of capital (money and productive assets). They buy politicians, sit on the … Continue reading Three Ways Capitalism Impacts the Insider Art World
First of all, I would like to start with an apology for the lack of posts of late. I do, however, have good news! I have recently started a PhD at the University of Chichester, in which I will be focusing on the relationship between outsider art and the mainstream art world. Specifically, it will … Continue reading The Cycle of Cultural Consumption
I can only apologise for the lack of posts in recent weeks – I hit the ground running at the start of 2018, and haven’t managed to stop just yet. However, I wanted to write a quick post for you as a couple of days ago, I was doing my usual crawl through the internet … Continue reading The Autodidact: What Does it Take to Make it Big?
In this post, writer Nick Moss considers the benefits of having a 'code of practice' for galleries and museums when working with outsider artists - much like there is a code of practice for those working with Aboriginal artists. "It is perhaps to do a disservice to both art forms to make too much of … Continue reading Aboriginal art, outsider art, and a code of conduct
I have wanted to write about this subject for a while now, ever since I first received a wall calendar of a certain artist’s work as a Christmas present over two years ago. Since then, I have been lucky enough to see this artist's work in person at the Paris Outsider Art Fair in 2015, and … Continue reading The ‘Savant’ Artist
On 31st May, I was very kindly invited to give a talk at the ‘Life is Your Very Own Canvas’ mid-exhibition event in Aberdeen by organiser of the show, Steve Murison. The exhibition showcased work by people who are part of the Penumbra Art Group in Aberdeen. I spoke briefly about outsider art and how … Continue reading A Note on Outsider Art
A new qualitative study, commissioned by Axisweb, focuses on how artists receive validation for their work outside of the ‘traditional’ gallery setting. I think this is particularly poignant for all artists including self-taught artists and those who are not or do not wish to be aligned with the gallery agenda. The researchers working on the study … Continue reading Valid Art: creativity and affirmation
Above image: Transient Graffiti on Bath Abbey (courtesy of http://www.suitedandbooted.org) Brian Gibson: "It’s 2015 now and after recent events the world seems a lot more complex … so I'm heading back to the relative calm of late 2014. Like a lot of people over the festive break I got myself hooked into various forms of social … Continue reading Brian Gibson: Real Art… Really?
