Context of Practice 2 - Lecture One - Folk and Outsider Art

Outsider Art

-Began in the 1920s - Hanz Prinzhorn - psychiatrist - his book was called 'Artistry of the mentally ill' and contained art from patients in mental hospitals. It was interested to see what the mentally ill people saw and felt, as many found it hard to express themselves with words. Many saw it as a form of escape from their incarceration.
-Van Gogh was an outsider artist as when he was alive he suffered from mental illnesses.
-Outsider art frequently contains a story.
-It can be uncomfortable seeing paintings that were private/personal.
-John Dubeffet went to find work from untrained artists (outsider artists).
-Roger Cardinal - 1970s - coined the word 'outside artist', although he admitted he was not a fan of the word.
-Adolf Wolfi - outsider artist - was held in a Swiss institution - his collection is considered the greatest of outside art. He was put in solitary confinement where he started drawing. He suffered from 'horror vacui', which is a fear of empty space. This can be seen in his artwork, where there are no blank spaces.
-Lee Godie - outsider artist - she was homeless and worked on the streets. She is well known for the photos she took of herself in different costumes. She sold her work for $3-5 each, and it has been said that she only sold work to people she liked. For example, if someone walked past who she didn't like the look of, she would roll up her work and turn around.
-Henry Darger - outside artist - he was abused at an orphanage. He went to Church everyday and worked as a janitor for fifty years. He wrote novels and made complex artwork, even though he was told he was 'simple minded' at a young age. On his deathbed he said 'destroy all my work'.
-Tom Duncan - outside artist - lived in Coney Island, where there was a massive theme park, which was a major influence for him. He was born in WW2, which made him feel like war was part of everyday life, which he reflects in his art. For example, he made a sculpture of a theme park, which on closer look has soldiers inside.
-Rev. Howard Finster - outside artist - build Paradise Gardens - visionary artist - believed his art was an act of God.
-Mark Hogencamp - outside artist - photographer who was in a coma and forgot everything. He felt shunned by the outside world and so made a world of dolls in the garden of his trailer park. He takes photos of his doll world, which looks very realistic.
-Nek Chand - outside artist- secretly produced sculptures, made out of waste, on Indian government owned land - was not found out for 18 years. The art work is still there due to public outcry when the government wanted to destroy it.

Folk Art

-rooted in community
-Mexico - Day of the Dead - celebrating the dead with costumes and other rituals/traditions
-Native Americans - Totem Pole - family lineage - documenting history - families understand it
-Aboriginal Art
-Polish folk art - very colourful, pattern based, traditional clothing
-UK folk art - trade symbols e.g. large shoe to advertise a shoe shop - for people who couldn't read