OUTSIDER ART : SPONTANEOUS ALTERNATIVES
RHODES, COLIN
Outsider Art is the work produced outside the mainstream of modern western art by self-taught, untrained visionaries, spiritualists, eccentric recluses, folk artists, psychiatric patients, criminals and others beyong the imposed margins of society and the art market. Coined by Roger Cardinal in 1972, the term in English derived from the French artist Jean Dubuffet's 'Art Brut' - literally 'raw art', 'uncooked' by culture, unaffected by fashion, unmoved by artistic standards. In this book I survey the history and reception of Outsider Art from its origins at the beginning of the last century to developments at its end, while providing new critical insights into the achievements of both major figures, such as Madge Gill, Wolfli and Aloise, and recently discovered artists, such as Roy Wenzel and malcolm McKesson. Artists from Europe and America form the core of the book, although a chapter on 'World Art' explores issues on the limits of definition.
