KDOA

Tag: Halle Saint Pierre

  • Outsider Art Round-Up August 2013

    Outsider Art Round-Up August 2013

    (Image Credit: Claudia Benassai, ‘Peeping Tom’)

    I was recently having a think of ways to revamp the blog, especially after my currently-very-spaced-out posts (due to house move, no internet, etc.). I decided to start a ’round-up’ series that would include a mixture of Outsider Art news, recent articles on the subject (from newspapers, magazines, online, blogs), and relevant current or upcoming exhibitions. As this is the first installment of this new idea, please let me know what you think and what could be improved.

    If you have any news, articles, exhibitions, or opportunities for artists that you would like to be considered for the round-up, please email them to kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com

    News

    Impact Art Fair at Block 336, Brixton

    The Impact Art Fair – the UK’s first to display on works by those experiencing mental ill health, disability, or other socially exclusive circumstances – took place in the spacious (but sweaty) basement of Block 336 last weekend. The Fair itself was a tremendous success, with artists from all over the country represented on various stalls. The artwork was so diverse, ranging from intricate ink drawings, such as those by Colin Hambrook, to wildly bright ‘astral goats’ and ‘witches’ by the very talented Steve Murison.

    Various organisations also held stalls displaying work by multiple artists. These included Bethlem Gallery, Outside In, and Action Space to name a few.

    After assisting with the final stages of setting up on Thursday 25 July (as a member of staff at Creative Future – the organising organisation!), I stuck around for the private view, which was a resounding success. Artists, buyers, journalists, organisation staff, and the general public all came together to celebrate this fantastic display of truly tremendous and inspirational talent.

    Steve Murison, 'Your Witch has Erupted'
    Steve Murison, ‘Your Witch has Erupted’

    Click here to see the Fair in the Brixton Blog

    Raw Vision at the Halle Saint Pierre, Paris

    Between 18 September 2013 and 22 August 2014, the Halle Saint Pierre will be hosting a celebration of 25 years of Raw Vision Magazine. The exhibition will feature classical works of Art Brut, new discoveries, photos of extraordinary visionary environments and will include over 60 artists. Click here for more information on the upcoming anniversary exhibition.

    This exhibition will coincide with the Outsider Art Fair in Paris for one weekend in October. The Outsider Art Fair will be taking place from 24 – 27 October 2013 at Hotel Le A, a 26-room boutique hotel 1 kilometer away from the Grand Palais, which will be concurrently hosting FIAC, France’s premier contemporary art fair.

    Articles

    Jillian Steinhauer – ‘Do We Still Need to Defend Outsider Art?

    This article is Steinhauer’s response to Christian Viveros-Faune’s scathing attack on Outsider Art (read full attack here). In her article for Hyperallergic, Steinhauer picks apart Viveros-Faune’s arguments against the growth in popularity of Outsider Art and therefore it’s value as part of the art market.

    Click here to read Steinhauer’s full article on Hyperalleric

    Ralph Fasanella, 'American Tragedy', Courtesy of hyperallergic.com
    Ralph Fasanella, ‘American Tragedy’, Courtesy of hyperallergic.com
    A Perspective on the Heidelberg Conference on Outsider Art

    In this blog post, a delegate from the Heidelberg Conference talks about their experience of the event, in particular the conversation around ethical issues. The conference took place in May 2013 at the University of Heidelberg, where the Prinzhorn Collection is housed. The article proves very interesting if you were unable to attend the conference. It also raises awareness of the ethical issues that do surround Outsider Art.

    Click here to read the blog post

    Exhibitions

    ‘Art in the Asylum’ at the Djanogly Art Gallery, University Park Nottingham
    7 September – 3 November 2013

    This exhibition will present the first look at the evolution of artistic activity in British asylums from the early 1800s to the 1970s. Over nearly two centuries, the visual arts have played a significant part in the development of Psychiatric treatment methods; a period coinciding with a time of great chance in our understanding and treatment of mental disorder.

    With over 150 selected works from National and International collections, this exhibition will trace the historical shift from invasive treatments which included psychosurgery, insulin coma therapy and restraint to a more humane regime in which creativity played a key part.

    Click here to find out more.

    I usually post regular relevant news, exhibitions, and articles over on Twitter: @kd_outsiderart

  • Design and Display: The Halle Saint Pierre, Paris

    Design and Display: The Halle Saint Pierre, Paris

    Completely conversely to the bright walls of the typical contemporary art gallery exhibition, the temporary exhibition at the Halle Saint Pierre in Paris was shrouded in darkness. This exhibition is called ‘Banditi dell’arte’ (which Google Translate tells me means ‘Bandits of the Art’) and is the first exhibition in France of Italian Outsider Art.

    At the bottom of the hill that leads up to the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre; one of my favourite Parisian places, sits the Halle Saint Pierre, an institution which celebrates the work of Outsider Artists. One of my interests regarding Outsider Art is how, often, the work of marginalised artists is displayed so differently to the work of ‘non-marginalised’ contemporary artists. This is what I was thinking about during my visit to Banditi dell’arte, and therefore, what this blog post will be focusing on.

    On entering, the exhibition space was very, very dark. Black walls. Spot lit works. It was incredibly different to what you might expect when visiting a ‘white cube’ contemporary exhibition. Many of the works, I found, were by ‘anonymous’ artists – and many of the works in fact were also nameless – something, perhaps, one would not come across in the commercial, contemporary art world. The works were grouped by artist, with a brief biography (only in French) and each artist almost had their own ‘mini-exhibition’; four or five works on display and their own corner or section of the room.

    There seemed to me to be no chronological order or narrative to the overall exhibition – perhaps just the fact that they were Italian Outsider Artists. There was also no set format for the display of the works, it was almost as if someone different had curated each artist’s ‘mini-exhibition’. Also, I found there were a considerable amount of photographs representing installations (rather than actually having the installations on display within the exhibition).

    Upstairs, in their more permanent exhibition room, I found the obligatory white walls. Similarly to the temporary exhibition space, this area also designated a space to each artist; they had their own sections again displaying about four or five works each.

    In terms of the technology used within the exhibition, any notebooks or doodle-books that had once belonged to the artists were displayed on screens that provided a slideshow of the pages. I found this quite a nice touch, as the actual book was under a glass case, but you were still able to explore the work inside of it.

    Something I noticed, in both exhibition spaces in fact, was that because of the partitions and dividers that separated each artist’s ‘mini-exhibition’, you were never just looking at one piece in isolation. Whilst looking at one artist’s work, you could be peering through the gaps at another’s at the same time.

    I would like to do some more research into the differences that are perhaps apparent between the exhibiting of marginalised artists work and that of ‘non-marginalised’ contemporary works. For now, I hope you enjoy this post. Sorry it is quite brief, I just wanted to get down everything I had written on a scrap of paper during my visit before I lost it!

    Image

    Banditi dell’arte: 23rd March 2012 – 6th January 2013, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris

    Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter: @kd_outsiderart