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?
As my research continues, I have been looking at the notion of the art ‘competition.’ More specifically, I have been looking at the barriers that surround these competitions; focusing on the application and selection processes. In many parts of our lives, we are encouraged to fit into an already existing and established ‘box.’ This box, … Continue reading Art competitions and their barriers
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
... Only outsider artists First of all, I apologise for my absence, and I hope everyone is managing to stay safe and well in the strange times we are all living through. It’s been a tricky couple of months trying to get hold of books etc. for my studies due the closure of libraries during … Continue reading There is no such thing as outsider art…
Recently, whilst undertaking some research around the role of the critic and what makes artists ‘successful’ in the art world, I came across a transcription of a lecture given by Sir Alan Bowness, Art Historian and Director of Tate (1980-1988), at the University of London in 1989. The talk centred on the idea of artistic … Continue reading The Conditions of Success?
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
Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to be invited to join a panel discussion in London organised by Pertti's Choice in my role as Step Up Coordinator at Outside In. The panel focused on the issue of 'sustainable arts careers for people with disabilities.' It chimed nicely with the work I do on Outside In's … Continue reading Sustainable arts careers for people with disabilities
Following on from my recent post summarising Julian Spalding's thoughts on the Eclipse of Art in the twentieth century, I have been reading a number of other texts that focus on the political and societal factors that impacted on the western art world in the twentieth century. This post offers a summary of Claire Bishop's … Continue reading Artificial Hells? A Summary of Claire Bishop
Continuing on the theme of the construction and sociology of the art world, this blog post references Julian Spalding's interesting read 'The Eclipse of Art: Tackling the Crisis in Art Today.' This post is somewhat a summary of Spalding's main thoughts, which cover the descent of art in the modern era. In the book, he … Continue reading The Eclipse of Art?
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