Although it has not yet reached the highs achieved by auctions of ‘mainstream’ art, the monetary value of ‘outsider art’ is creeping up. This blog is written in light of the recent Christie’s auction of outsider art from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation which took place earlier this month. I have felt compelled to comment on … Continue reading Changing the way we see success: is outsider art becoming the new mainstream?
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
