! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! “Strangely!and!Magically�! ! Transformations!in!the!concepts!of!Primitive!and!Outsider!Art!and!their! inclusion!in!Art!history! ! MFA!Thesis! ! Alejandra!Hernandez! ! Theoretical!Mentor:!Helena!De!Preester! Practical!Mentor:!Narcisse!Tordoir! ! ! KASK!School!of!Arts,! Gent,!Belgium! ! ! ! ! ! ! June,!2014!
Contents! Part!I! ! ! !
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Introduction!! ! ! ! ! ON!THE!PRIMITIVE!!
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Notes!on!Primitive!Art!on!the!basis!of!E.H!Gombrich!
Part!II! ! ! !
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Primitive!Art!through!History!based!on!! Shelly!Errington!and!the!role!of!the!Museum! ! The!creative!process!in!the!Primitive!and! its!relation!to!art!! ! ! ! Introducing!Animism! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Examples!of!animism:!totem!and!taboo! ! ! Museum!categories!and!some!examples! of!museum!displays! ! ! ! ! Modernism,!Post!modernism!and!the!! inclusion!of!Marginal!Arts! ! ! ! 1.!OUTSIDER!ART! ! The!moment!of!creation!from!a!psychoanalytical! perspective! ! Role!of!the!artist! ! ! ! The!creative!spell! ! ! ! The!primary!process!in!psychotic!art! ! The!role!of!the!symbol!in!psychotic!art!
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! 2.!THE!GRADUAL!RECOGNITION!OF!OUTSIDER!ART! ! ! Dubuffet!and!Art!Brut! ! ! ! ! ! ! Grasping!the!categories:!Art!Brut,!Art!Na誰ve,!Folk!Art,! ! Neuve!Invention,!Outsider!Art,!Visionary!Environments! ! The!collection!of!Art!Brut!! ! ! ! ! Some!artists!from!the!collection! ! ! ! ! ! What!about!the!rest!of!the!world?! Outsider!Art!outside!of!Europe! ! ! ! ! ! What!about!the!phenomenon!of!the!last!Venice!Biennale?! ! ! Conclusions. . . . . . . . Appendix.1:.Other!collections!around!Europe:!! Gugging!House!of!Artists,!Museum!Dr!Guislain,!Art!&!Marge! ! ! . . . . . . . ! Bibliography! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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1.!Introduction! ! Nowadays! people! have! ample! access! to! books,! museums! and! art! galleries! specialized!in!either!Primitive!Art,!or!other!kinds!of!formerly!marginal!art!like!Art! Brut,!Outsider!Art!or!Folk!Art.!But!where!do!these!concepts!come!from?!They!were! not!always!included!in!art!history!and!they!have!undergone!many!transformations! through! time.! When! one! understands! the! variations! of! the! concepts! and! their! relation!to!a!historical!process,!it!gives!a!wider!view!of!knowledge!to!question!the! actual!awareness!of!the!idea!of!Primitivism!in!art.!! ! The!word!primitive!is!used!both!as!a!noun!and!as!an!adjective,!so!it!is!descriptive!but! also!categorizing.!Its!meaning,!as!a!noun!refers!to!relating,!denoting,!or!preserving! the! character! of! an! early! stage! in! the! evolutionary! or! historical! development! of! something,! it! is! perceived! as! ancient,! primal,! savage,! lower! and! pre! historic.! As! an! adjective,! primitive! refers! to! something! basic! that! lacks! sophistication,! something! crude,!rudimentary!and!simple.!It!is!without!doubt!a!pejorative!term,!a!term!that!has! been!used!for!over!two!centuries!to!categorize!the!objects!of!cult!and!tradition!from! ancient!cultures!from!around!the!globe.!! ! In!almost!every!big!western!city!there!are!museums!dedicated!to!Art,!to!History,!to! Natural! science.! And! very! often! we! can! find! displays! with! objects,! masks! or! costumes!from!an!old!primitive!society.!The!exhibition!of!these!objects!has!its!roots! in!colonialism!and!is!marked!by!the!relations!between!power!and!ownership.!! ! In! this! text! I! will! focus! on! different! authors! who! have! investigated! the! concept! of! Primitivism,! and! have! stood! in! the! posture! stating! that! both! Primitive! Art! and! primitive! people! are! not! by! any! means! inferior! or! less! capable! than! the! so! called! civilized! men! from! the! Western! world.! ! From! the! approach! of! Art! History! I! will! emphasize! on! texts! by! E.H! Gombrich! and! from! an! anthropological! approach! I! will! concentrate! on! a! book! by! Shelly! Errington.! Along! the! text! I! will! refer! to! other! authors,!giving!a!historical!context!that!leads!to!the!inclusion!of!the!Primitive!Arts!in! the!official!museum!institutions.!At!this!point!many!paradoxes!arise!and!there!is!the! question! of! whether! these! objects! should! be! placed! in! a! museum,! about! the! way! they!are!being!shown!and!what!this!means!in!a!more!globalized!context.!! ! I!will!also!discuss!how!imposition!of!the!Western/European!systems!of!thought!and! the! “discovery�! of! the! concept! of! Primitive! in! the! 18th! century,! when! it! was! considered!to!be!a!synonym!to!mental!inferiority!or!savagism!and!the!processes!that! took!place!until!its!final!legitimization!into!fine!art!during!Modernism.!! ! This! will! eventually! lead! to! an! interest! in! other! kinds! of! marginal! arts! such! as! Art! Brut.! At! this! point! I! will! explain! the! concept! from! a! psychoanalytic! 20th! century! point! of! view,! referring! to! Ernst! Kris! and! Sigmund! Freud,! and! from! an! anthropological! and! Art! Historical! one,! to! Jean! Dubuffet! and! others! who! have! defended!the!work!of!the!Outsiders.!! !
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! The! conception! of! Primitivism! in! art! has! transformed! through! time,! but! to! comprehend! these! alterations! I! will! begin! with! the! moment! these! objects! are! created! and! the! meaning! they! had! in! their! original! context.! Afterwards,! it! will! be! possible!to!fathom!the!clash!and!implications!that!take!place!once!these!objects!are! decontextualized! and! introduced! into! the! Western,! progressive! and! linear! History.! Which! implications! are! carried?! How! those! objects! have! been! placed! in! other! contexts?! How! have! they! been! legitimated! by! Art! Institutions?! These! and! more! questions!are!going!to!be!developed!along!the!text!and!frame!the!whole!research.! ! . PART!I:!!On!the!Primitive! Notes!on!Primitive!Art!on!the!Basis!of!E.H!Gombrich! ! ! In! the! book! by! E.H! Gombrich! titled! The. Preference. for. the. Primitive! (2002),! Gombrich!dismisses!this!idea!of!Primitive!art!being!less!valuable!or!developed!than! traditional! western! art.! Introducing! the! text! he! refers! to! Franz! Boas,! a! German! anthropologist!known!as!“the!father!of!American!anthropology”.!Boas!was!one!of!the! first! to! dismiss! the! belief! of! tribal! primitive! cultures! being! less! developed! and! mentally!inferior!than!civilized!men,!having!“relics!of!savage!mentality”.! ! Boas! wrote! a! book! titled! Primitive.Art! in! 1927.! Quoted! by! Gombrich,! it! states! that! “…the! behavior! of! everybody,! no! matter! to! what! culture! he! may! belong…! can! be! understood! only! as! historical! growth…”! With! this! idea! Boas! rejected! the! notion! of! Art! History! viewed! as! an! ascending! ladder! to! progress! and! perfection! through! the! domination!of!naturalistic!representation.!To!him!it!is!a!matter!of!cause!and!effect,! what! it! is! produced! in! a! particular! historical! period! will! have! an! impact! on! what! comes! next,! especially! when! there! is! an! outside! influence! –! as! for! example! in! the! case! of! colonizing! European! countries! imposing! religious! imagery! on! African! or! American!tribes.!! ! Primitive!Art!did!not!have!an!easy!way!into!the!official!written!Art!History,!and!one! of! the! main! reasons! was! that! it! was! not! considered! a! refined! or! a! proper! representation!of!reality.!The!idea!of!imitating!nature!accurately!was!automatically! a! form! of! legitimization! of! what! good! art! meant! ever! since! classical! antiquity.! Therefore!any!other!ways!of!representation!or!formal!approach,!whether!in!shape,! color,! form! or! concept! was! immediately! set! aside! as! a! lower! category! of! craftsmanship.! ! Boas!knew!that!the!lack!of!realism!in!certain!primitive!objects!and!artifacts!was!not! due! to! a! lack! of! talent! or! ability! but! it! was! a! matter! of! the! function! of! the! object.,! Boas!did!an!extensive!research!on!Indian!tribes!on!the!!Canadian!North!West!Pacific,! the! Kwakiutl! Indians! of! The! Vancouver! Island.! They! carved! woodenjheads! which! were! meant! to! deceive! the! eye,! they! meant! to! replace! the! head! of! a! beheaded! dancer,! so! they! resembled! an! actual! person.! When! he! discovered! this! capacity! of! !
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achieving! realism! he! came! up! with! the! conclusion! that! if! this! primitive! tribes! attained! to! create! a! realistic! representation! of! nature! they! where! capable! of! doing! so,! only! if! it! was! necessary! for! their! purposes.! So! it! is! not! a! matter! of! skill,! it! is! a! matter!of!needs!and!the!function!of!the!image.!! ! “Only!when!Illusion!is!demanded!are!artists!likely!to!acquire!the!skill!to!create!it�1.. . .
Kwakiutl.people.wearing.ritualistic.masks. URL:!http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/curtis/! Entry:!March!10,!2014!
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! ! At!this!point!it!is!important!to!mention!that!Gombrich!and!Boas!were!referring!only! to! representation! in! a! three! dimensional! instance,! not! to! painting! and! drawing.! Within!sculpture!there!are!many!examples!of!a!very!accurate!representation,!such! as! the! reserve! heads! from! Ancient! Egypt,! which! meant! to! replace! a! real! head,! not! just! to! represent! a! head.! They! were! sculpted! in! limestone! and! have! been! found! in! numerous! nonjroyal! tombs! of! the! fourth! dynasty! of! Egypt,! (circa! 2551j2496! B.C.).! These! heads! depicted! particular! features! of! the! buried! person,! they! were! not! a! general!model!for!all!heads!and!they!even!had!the!proportioned!size!of!the!human! head.! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Gombrich,!E.H.!The.Preference.for.the.Primitive.!Pg!271.!Phaidon,!London,!2002.! !
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Reserve!Head!of!a!Man.!(Prince?)!Giza;!Fourth!Dynasty,!probably!reign!of!Khufu!(ca.!2551–2528! B.C.E.).! URL:!http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=8;t=008190! Entry:!April!!18,!2014! !
! ! According!to!Gombrich,!it!is!clear!that!these!skills!where!not!developed!overnight,! and! they! required! years! of! training! and! apprenticeship.! It! does! not! mean! by! any! reason,!that!the!people!who!created!them!where!less!capable!or!mentally!inferior!to! the!“civilized”!western!men,!a!notion!which!was!spread!throughout!the!19th!century! and! affected! the! historical! notion! and! appreciation! for! these! cultures! in! terrible! ways.!The!concept!of!primitive!image!does!not!imply!in!any!way!that!the!creators!of! such!images!were!primitive!species!in!the!human!race.! ! ! ! Development! in! tools,! materials! and! devices! have! made! possible! to! get! closer! and! closer!to!a!‘perfect’!representation!that!gives!!the!illusion!of!reality.!It!all!depends!on! the!materials!he/she!handles!in!a!specific!historical!period,!either!if!it!is!a!compass,!a! computer! or! a! carving! tool,! people! will! develop! the! ability! to! work! with! such! materials! and! improve! overtime.! From! the! discovery! of! onejpoint! perspective! and! the! camera! obscura,! which! entirely! changed! the! history! of! painting! in! the! early! renaissance,! there! have! been! hundreds! of! inventions! created! to! defy! and! imitate! nature!up!to!the!point!where!there!is!no!need!to!replicate!its!state!but!it!is!possible!
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to!record!it!using!a!film!camera!to!later!be!reproduced.!All!of!these!new!inventions! will! make! the! older! techniques! seem! outdated! and! therefore! primitive,! like! nowadays! when! we! watch! a! film! in! HD! quality,! it! will! make! all! the! previous! films! look! very! low! quality! even! if! we! thought! they! were! just! fine! before.! Our! whole! spectrum! is! updated! because! we! have! a! new! point! of! reference,! which! had! never! been!seen!before!our!time.! ! However,!there!is!a!huge!difference!when!we!talk!about!creating!an!illusion!in!a!twoj dimensional!and!in!a!threejdimensional!way.!In!the!first!one,!the!painter!!is!looking! for! ways! to! reproduce! the! 3D! quality! through! the! painting,! with! the! use! of! perspective!points,!volume,!color,!light!and!shadow.!On!the!other!hand,!in!sculpture,! all! those! elements! are! already! given! at! first! instance.! In! this! case! the! craftsmen! or! sculptor!will!model!the!figure!until!it!has!recognizable!or!distinctive!features!which! will!automatically!make!the!object!!closer!to!the!real!one!as!desired.!In!the!case!of!a! painting,!there!is!need!of!the!beholders!share,!he/she!needs!to!be!actively!engaged! into!turning!the!twojdimensional!image!into!a!threejdimensional!lecture!by!a!series! of! conventions! developed,! through! history! in! different! cultures.! A! clear! example! could! be! mural! painting! and! reliefs! in! Ancient! Egypt.! There! were! a! set! of! conventions!and!canons,!in!color,!form!and!perspective!that!made!the!images!legible! as!their!threejdimensional!counterparts.!This!shows!that!even!if!these!two!and!three! dimensional! works! are! called! primitive! they! are! not! necessarily! worst! or! below! works!created!in!more!recent!history.! ! The! role! of! the! viewer! is! to! complete! the! image,! either! in! a! conceptual! or! interpretative! way.! According! to! Gombrich! “there! is! no! reality! without! interpretation,! and! there! is! no! innocent! eye,! both! creator! and! spectator! have! to! engage! in! interpretation! process! that! will! always! be! guided! by! their! own! experiences.”!That’s!the!beauty!in!Art,!there!is!never!a!unique!answer.! ! “The!forms!of!art,!ancient!and!modern!are!not!duplications!of!what!the!artist!has!in! mind!anymore!than!they!are!duplications!of!what!he!sees!in!the!outer!world.!In!both! cases!they!are!renderings!within!an!acquired!medium,!a!medium!grown!up!through! tradition!and!skill,!that!of!the!artist!and!that!of!the!beholder”2! ! The!action!of!rendering!what!one!knows,!rather!than!what!one!is!looking!at!applies! not! only! to! so! called! primitive! art! but! also! folklore! art,! art! made! by! children! and! untrained! artists! in! general.! This! forsaken! side! of! art! history! and! art! making! has! been! studied! by! psychiatrists,! psychoanalysts! ! and! art! historians! such! as! Sigmund! Freud,!Ernst!Kris!and!E.H!Gombrich!whom!I!have!already!referred!to.! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2!!Gombrich,!E.H.!Art!&!!Illusion!A.study.in.the.psychology.of.pictorial.representation.!Pg!314.!
Phaidon,!London,!fifth!edition!1977.! !
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Inevitably!there!has!been!a!comeback!of!the!forms!of!the!early!primitivism.!From!a! historical! point! of! view,! primitivism! came! to! an! end! with! the! upswing! of! Romanic! Barbarism,!at!least!from!the!western!perspective!! ! The! decline! of! classical! Greek! antiquity! and! the! rising! of! the! Roman! Barbarism! is! best!exemplified!by!the!reliefs!on!the!Arch!of!Constantine!in!Rome,!in!which!there!is! a! rejappropriation! of! the! primitive! representation,! with! the! use! of! static! and! immobile! figures,! very! different! from! the! classical! naturalistic! figures! from! the! classical! style! of! the! renaissance.! Barbarism! means! cruelty! and! brutality! but! it! describes!something!that!lacks!culture!and!civilization,!and!the!Romanesque!style!in! art!is!characterized!by!its!simplification!of!the!forms!and!hieratic!forms.!It!serves!a! didactical!function!as!a!language!capable!of!spelling!out!the!tenets!of!the!Christian! faith.!!By!no!means!this!could!be!considered!as!the!first!wave!of!modern!primitivism,! but! it! gives! us! a! more! stable! ground! to! understand! the! actual! comeback! of! primitivism!later!on,!in!the!20th!century.!! ! I!will!not!extend!into!these!currents!of!history!which!are!not!my!concern!right!now,! however! it! is! important! to! mention! how! in! the! Romanesque! period! there! was! a! return!to!reduction!and!simplification.!It!could!be!described!as!Folk!Art.! ! The! images! above! depict! details! from! friezes;! image! a! belonging! to! the! Greek! antiquity,! during! the! Hellenistic! period! and! image! b! is! a! detail! from! the! Arch! of! Constantine.!They!exemplify!the!notorious!change!of!style!and!a!different!intention! within!the!sculptural!work!in!architecture.!It!was!a!leap!from!highly!detailed!forms,! a! sense! of! motion! and! characters! that! burst! life! to! a! much! more! concrete! and! simplified!style,!in!which!stories!could!be!easily!told!and!understood.! ! !
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Frieze!from!Great!Altar!of!Zeus!at!Pergamon,!Helenistic!Period!(2nd!century! BF,!!Pergamonmuseum,!Berlin,!Germany! URL:https://bucks.instructure.com/courses/200544/files/2586345?module_item_id=1474 352!Entry:!!March!12,!2014!
b.!Detail!from!the!Frieze!of!Constantine!in!The!Arch!of!Constantine,!West!side,!Rome!315!BC!
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! ! The! change! of! style! during! the! Romanesque! period! could! be! linked! directly! to! the! primitive! style! as! well! as! it! is! possible! to! make! a! connection! in! terms! of! a! similar! search! of! style! in! a! Romanesque! statue! of! The! virgin! Mary! and! in! a! wood! carved! Maori! Head! from! the! 1800’s.! These! are! cultures! that! mastered! techniques! of! accurate!representation,!but!in!these!particular!cases!it!was!not!necessary!to!depict! an! individual,! but! more! a! type! of! person.! Clearly! the! didactic! implications! of! Romanesque! art! have! everything! to! do! with! it.! Art! is! shaped! by! the! time,! function! and! historical! pertinence! and! it! cannot! be! read! in! an! ascending! manner.! It! can! be! traced! looked! back! at! and! reconsidered.! The! influence! of! this! linear! perception! of! time!and!its!correlation!with!progress!is!discussed!in!the!next!section.! ! ! Primitive! Art! through! History! based! on! Shelly! Errington! and! the! role! of! the! Museum! . ! The!modern!notion!of!primitive!art!and!the!way!it!is!dealt!with!has!everything!to!do! with!the!fluctuations!of!world!economy!and!hierarchies!among!countries.!The!idea! of! setting! an! ancient! sacred! object! into! a! museum! in! a! first! world! country! is! a! paradoxical! situation.! All! it! takes! is! looking! at! the! big! picture! and! digging! deeper! into!history.!To!start!with,!the!majority!of!these!objects!have!been!either!stolen!or! are!the!product!of!colonialist!invasions.!In!the!book!The.Death.of.Authentic.Primitive. Art. and. Other. Tales. of. Progress. (1998),! Shelly! Errington,! a! professor! in! Anthropology!at!the!University!of!California!Santa!Cruz,!puts!the!cards!on!the!table!
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and!as!we!can!read!on!the!title,!she!is!announcing!that!a!fatal!moment!has!already! come!for!primitive!art!and!tells!about!the!story!behind!its!decay.! ! Before!starting!out!with!Errington,!I!first!want!to!quote!the!introduction!of!an!essay,! part! of! the! documentary! Les. statues. meurent. aussi! (Statues! also! die)! by! Allan! Resnais!and!Chris!Marker!made!in!1963,!which!makes!Errington’s!point!clear.! ! “When! men! die,! they! enter! into! history,! when! statues! die! they! enter! into! art,! this! botany!of!life!and!death!is!what!we!call!culture.”3. . In!the!preface!of!the!book!Errington!mentions!Michel!Foucault’s,!analysis!on!power! and!its!intrinsic!relation!with!right!and!knowledge.!According!to!Foucault,!power!is! exercised!in!two!main!forms,!the!first!one!has!to!do!with!the!legal!system!and!how! law! formally! delimits! power,! the! second! one! has! to! do! with! truth! and! knowledge,! produced! and! transmitted! by! power! in! order! to! be! reproduced! later.! Taking! into! account! that! this! is! certainly! referring! to! the! western! society,! helps! in! the! understanding! of! that! feeling! of! righteousness! of! ownership! and! power! from! the! world’s! potencies! over! the! forgotten! and! decaying! societies! from! the! past! and! the! way!they!portray!and!exhibit!them.! ! This! notion! of! power! is! also! linked! with! art! and! authenticity! ever! since! the! renaissance! (in! the! western! world),! therefore! linked! with! museums! since! the! 19th! century.! Just! mentioning! the! word! Primitive! is! often! related! to! a! negative! or! condescending!adjective,!but!the!truth!is!that!language!fluctuates!and!the!meaning! of!words!depends!on!the!context!they!are!used!in.!However,!sometimes!it!is!best!to! stick!to!a!concept!to!avoid!confusions,!but!it!is!of!much!importance!that!the!reader!is! aware!of!that!fact.! ! Errington’s!book!is!based!on!Foucault’s!premise:! ! “…Primitive!art!is!not!a!timeless!category!existing!in!the!abstract!world!of!ideas!and! essences!but!a!constructed!category!that!appeared!at!a!certain!moment.!Nor!did!the! category!remain!stable!once!it!was!invented”4. . There! is! a! change! of! meaning! in! both! language! and! in! the! function! of! primitive! objects,! sculptures,! masks,! costumes,! weapons,! jewelry! etc.! Their! meaning! in! the! world!goes!through!a!set!of!transformations!that!could!be!illustrated!as!a!process!of! birth! and! a! very! fulminant! death,! in! fact! according! to! the! author! it! undergoes! two! different!kinds!of!death.! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3!Les!statues!meurent!aussi,!Dir.!Allan!Resnais,!Chris!Marker,!France,!1963.!
4!Errington,!Shelly.!The.Death.of.Authentic.Primitive.Art.and.Other.Tales.of.Progress.!Pg!XXV.!
University!of!California!Press,!Los!Angeles,!!1998.! !
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First! there! stands! the! sacred! object,! lets! say! a! South! African! fertility! doll! which! purpose!was!to!be!a!prayer!for!new!mothers!health!and!protection.!At!this!stage!the! object!is!part!of!its!context!and!it!has!a!specific!spiritual!and!practical!meaning.!But! what!happens!when!some!European!merchant!finds!his!way!to!put!his!hands!on!it?.! Well,!there!is!an!immediate!rupture!and!the!first!death!takes!place.!Then!the!former! sacred!object,!now!exotic/ethnic!art!object!can!be!purchased!by!a!rich!collector!or! put!on!sale!on!a!flea!market!to!later!be!introduced!into!the!institutional!art!circuit!as! a!part!of!a!gallery,!an!antique!shop!or!a!museum.!This!stage!is!part!of!what!we!call! call!culture!and!now!the!object!has!been!officially!!introduced!to!a!new!category!and! given!the!name!of!primitive,!exotic,!foreign,!now!its!become!part!of!History,!or!more! accurately!Western!History,!written!by!the!colonizers.!The!art!world!has!embraced! it! between! its! limits! and! categorizations.! It! may! not! be! seen! as! high! art,! but! the! important!thing!to!remember!is!that!it!was!never!meant!to!be!art!in!the!first!place.! !
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MusĂŠe!du!Quai!Branly,!Paris!!Fertility.dolls,.Africa.(Ghana,.Nigeria,.Kenya,.South.Africa). Photo!by!me!
! ! So,! first! we! are! talking! about! a! death! of! meaning.! Then! there! is! a! second! death,! produced!by!a!phenomenon!which!took!place!in!the!late!19th!and!early!20th!century! when!there!was!an!awe!of!primitivism,!in!Europe!and!North!America.!! ! It! is! not! a! secret! that! some! of! the! greatest! artists! of! the! 20th! century! were! deeply! influenced! by! primitive! art,! artists! such! as! Pablo! Picasso,! Paul! Klee,! Constantin! Brancusi,! Paul! Gauguin,! Henri! Matisse! or! Amedeo! Modigliani! among! many! others.!
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They!where!all!part!of!this!boom!of!the!“discovery”!of!primitive!art,!a!better!suited! word!would!be!the!“transgression”!or!“rejcontextualization”.!! ! When! this! type! of! art! was! finally! recognized! and! became! also! a! symbol! of! power,! there! was! great! demand! for! these! exotic! souvenirs! and! they! were! even! sold! as! decorative!items!to!match!with!your!sofa.!! ! !
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Article!from!the!Columbia!Daily!Spectator!announcing!the!Primitive!Art!exhibition!at!the! Met,!Columbia!Spectator!Archive! URL:!http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgij bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19820216j01.2.16&srpos=1&st=0&e=jjjjjjjenj20jj1jjtxtjtxINj kyrajjjjj! Entry:!April!2,!2014!
! Major!exhibitions!where!organized,!such!as!the!opening!of!the!Rockefeller!Wing!in! The!Metropolitan!Museum!in!New!York!in!1982!with!a!vast!collection!of!primitive! art.!Then!in!1984!there!was!an!exhibition!titled!“Primitivism!in!the!20th!Century!in! the! MoMa,! which! according! to! Errington! was! the! critical! downfall! and! when! the! second! death! occurred.! In! her! words! it! had! “reached! the! status! of! a! dead! modern! master”!(Pg.!2!from!Introduction).! ! So!the!high!demand!and!the!lack!of!authentic!supplies!(because!these!objects!were! not!being!made!anymore)!led!to!a!huge!increase!in!prices,!which!meant!less!people! could!acquire!it,!such!as!private!collectors!and!museums.!This!in!turn!later!on!led!to! a!new!rise!of!primitive!art,!and!this!time!the!ancient!traditions,!which!passed!from! generation! to! generation,! got! contaminated! by! mercantilism! and! also! became! a! means!to!survive.!Many!of!these!objects!began!to!be!made!just!as!a!tourist!souvenir,! for! commercial! purposes,! and! it! becomes! harder! to! spot! which! is! the! phony! and! which!is!the!authentic!piece!of!work.!In!the!end!they!are!all!equally!dead.! !
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At!the!same!time!that!this!concept!had!its!rise!and!downfall,!the!concept!of!progress! was!heavily!implanted!as!a!linear!idea,!in!the!19th!and!20th!century.!This!conception! of!linear!time,!leading!to!progress!intrinsically!says!that!all!previous!developments! are!less!valid!than!the!new!ones,!and!even!people!from!the!past!may!be!seen!as!less! developed! or! civilized,! which! clearly! made! an! impact! on! how! we! perceive! and! appreciate!the!ancient!ideas!which!had!a!strong!connection!with!the!environment,!a! strong! spiritual! connection,! a! very! complex! relation! with! death,! various! gods! and! sets! of! rules.! Our! so! called! progress! is! the! complete! opposite,! leading! to! economic! collapse,! environmental! crisis,! individualism! and! inequity.! There! is! a! total! clash! between! both! mindsets! and! it! is! very! hard! to! judge! them! under! our! modern! standards,!but!at!least!we!can!try!to!understand.! ! This!process!of!decay!and!reconfiguration!of!the!object!has!it’s!roots!in!the!idea!of! progress!developed!since!the!nineteenth!century,!that!drew!the!line!between!better! and!worse,!developed!and!primitive!parallel!to!the!timeline!of!mankind’s!history.!It! is! a! concept! of! evolution! invented! by! the! Europeans.! In! these! terms,! the! new! is! always!better!than!the!old,!the!white!is!pure!and!clear,!the!black!is!the!unholy.!This! is! just! one! of! the! examples! in! a! symbolic! level! of! how! this! metanarrative! is! built.! Errington!explains!this!process!in!one!of!her!metanarrative!graphics,!as!seen!below! (Pg!17)! !
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! ! ! In!the!book’s!introduction,!Errington!refers!to!social.Darwinism,!as!one!of!the!basis! of! support! to! maintain! this! position.! The! series! of! theories! that! Darwin! developed! through!the!late!1800’s!and!which!applied!solely!to!biological!processes!of!natural! selection!and!survival!of!the!fittest,!were!reinterpreted!and!adapted!to!the!political! and!the!social!systems,!in!the!construction!of!the!nation!states!in!Euro!America.! ! ! ! The!creative!process!in!the!Primitive!and!its!relation!to!Art! ! ! The! process! of! creation! in! the! context! of! Primitive! societies,! meaning! societies! in! Africa,! Oceania! and! America! in! the! PrejColumbian! period! is! ritualistic,! it! has! a! spiritual!and!a!practical!function.!For!example,!when!an!object!is!sculpted!it!is!not! meant! to! represent! reality,! it! is! in! fact! an! object! charged! with! power! through!
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spiritual! connection! with! the! gods,! it! can! be! either! a! prayer,! an! offer! or! in! some! cases!a!replacement!for!a!living!being,!instead!of!just!a!representation.! ! ! It! is! remarkably! interesting! how! humans! have! always! been! able! to! charge! objects! and! living! creatures! with! power! coming! from! the! spiritual! dimension.! This! belief! was!always!present!in!the!ancient!world,!respected!and!feared!through!the!ages.!Its! been! decaying! greatly! since! modern! times,! when! humans! chose! the! path! of! technology!and!science!and!left!behind!many!very!valuable!concepts.!Our!ancestors! had!a!very!different!way!of!living,!they!where!very!much!in!touch!with!the!good!and! bad!forces!surrounding!them.! ! A! common! ground! among! different! primitive! philosophies! of! life! is! the! belief! of! entities! or! spirits! inhabiting! the! world,! among! with! people! and! objects.! ! The! alive! and!the!inert!are!animated!in!the!basis!of!a!belief!system,!it!is!usually!a!polytheist! system,!bound!together!with!a!set!of!rules,!of!thought,!and!a!form!of!communication,! were!myth!and!daily!life!are!deeply!connected.!This!belief!system!can!be!founded!on! an! animistic! or! a! mythological! approach.! The! term! animism! according! to! Freud! in! his!publication!Totem.and.taboo.and.other.works.(1913)!is!“The.doctrine.of.souls.and. in. the. wider. sense. the. doctrine. of. spiritual. beings. in. general”. (Pg.! 75),! it! is! also! intended! to! rule! the! mental! life! and! its! relation! to! the! physical! world.! The! mythological!approach!is!understood!as!the!belief!in!different!supernatural!powers! and!gods!which!have!helped!shape!the!universe!as!it!is!at!a!certain!point!in!history.!! ! .“There! is! a! universal! tendency! among! mankind! to! conceive! all! beings! like! themselves,! and! to! transfer! to! every! object! those! qualities! with! which! they! are! familiarly!acquainted,!and!of!which!they!are!intimately!conscious”5! ! ! ! ! Introducing!Animism! ! This! belief! in! superior! forces! governing! our! human! and! earthly! experience! was! widely! studied! by! Freud! in! the! 20th! century.! In! his! book! “Totem. and. Taboo:. Some. Points. of. Agreement. between. the. mental. Lives. of. Savages. and. Neurotics”! there! is! a! chapter! called:! ! Animism,. Magic. and. Omnipotence. of. thoughts,! in! which. Freud! explains!how!animism!is!the!doctrine!of!the!souls!and!spiritual!beings!in!general!as! well!as!the!theory!of!the!living!character!of!what!seem!to!be!inanimate!objects.!Most! importantly! it! is! a! natural! condition! where! there! are! no! divisions! between! the! internal!and!the!external.! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5!Freud,!Sigmund.!“Totem.and.Taboo:.Some.Points.of.Agreement.between.the.mental.Lives.of. Savages.and.Neurotics”.!Pg.!77.!Routledge!&!Kegan!Paul,!London,!1913.!
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The! concept! of! animism! (from! the! Latin! anima! which! means! soul),! describes! the! intention,! desire! and! belief! in! the! possibility! of! animating! the! inanimate,! it! is! the! projection!of!the!self!into!the!environment!one!is!part!of.! ! It!was!coined!by!the!anthropologist!Edward!B.!Tylor!in!his!text!`Primitive!Culture’!in! 1871.! Tylor! was! trying! to! explain! the! origins! of! religion.! His! studies! were! of! great! use! to! Freud! while! writing! Totem. and. Taboo.! Tylor! thought! primitive! men! where! incapable! of! understanding! the! value! of! properties,! the! difference! between! reality! and! fiction! and! object! and! subject,! and! that! it! was! completely! senseless! to! endow! objects!with!human!qualities.! ! After! 42! years,! psychology! joined! in! in! the! effort! to! try! to! understand! this! phenomenon! in! its! own! terms.! Starting! with! the! notion! that! we! all! go! through! an! animistic! stage! in! childhood! where! we! are! capable! of! projecting! our! inner! world! outside,!that!is!why!it!is!easier!for!children!to!express!themselves!in!creative!ways.! In! Totem. and. Taboo! Freud! stays! that! this! stage! is! merely! a! form! of! narcissism! in! which!consciousness!is!projected!outside.!Both!Tylor!and!Freud!roughly!marked!this! dividing!line.! ! It!is!a!key!to!point!out!the!relation!we!develop!towards!certain!objects,!even!though! it!is!a!concept!brought!by!colonialism!and!the!white!European!view!over!African!and! LatinjAmerican!American!especially.!The!way!primitive!art!was!conceived!does!not! quite! fit! into! the! modern! society’s! ways! of! thinking! with! all! it! is! unbreakable! divisions!of!what!is!real!and!what!is!not,!what!is!necessary!and!what!is!not,!what!is! correct,!incorrect!or!where!the!self!ends!and!the!other!begins.! ! The! question! of! who! and! what! is! acting! upon! what,! whether! the! individual! is! the! active!observer,!acting!upon!the!passive!object,!or!if!it!can!also!work!the!other!way! around,!when!the!object!becomes!the!active!part!of!the!equation!and!the!spectator! remains!passive!is!important!to!grasp!what!happens!when!we!are!confronted!with! such! objects.! Rather! than! communicating! something,! animation! is! about! creating! substitutes!and!it!requires!a!prior!need!for!such!substitutes.!According!to!Gombrich! it!is!very!important!that!both!transmitter!and!receptor!of!the!image!are!aware!of!the! significations! enclosed! in! symbols,! signs! or! words.! Only! under! their! context! they! acquire!a!meaning.! ! However! animism! is! not! understood! in! the! same! way! on! the! modern! western! society!and!it!doesn’t!have!the!same!values!as!it!had!in!ancient!cultures.!The!path!of! progress,! technology,! christianity,! capitalism,! rationalization! among! many! other! divisory!lines!has!subjugated!and!rejected!old!animistic!beliefs.!However,!animism!is! still!present!in!our!everyday!life,!it!would!be!a!lie!to!say!that!we!do!not!experience! the!phenomenon!of!animism!when!we!try!to!find!face!shaped!stains!on!a!marble!plat! or!when!we!expect!a!sculpture!to!move,!even!though!it!won’t.!! ! How! to! understand! this! reciprocal! exchange! we! sometimes! have! when! we! are! exposed!to!this!“animated!objects”?,!Sometimes!this!exchange!happens,!and!it!is!an! !
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animated! dialogue,! sometimes! it! does! not! and! it! is! really! hard! to! explain! why! and! what!triggers!these!responses.!For!example!we!can!face!an!object!which!may!seem! entirely!lifeless!due!to!our!lack!of!understanding!of!its!context,!but!other!times!even! if!we!are!not!aware!of!the!history!behind!the!object!or!image,!we!feel!immediately! connected! to! it,! like! when! we! see! a! sculpture! and! feel! that! it! is! about! to! move! although!we!know!that!will!never!happen.!! ! According!to!!Freud!this!experienced!of!exchange!is!!triggered!by!what!he!called!The. Uncanny. (1919),! which! means! the! opposite! of! what! is! familiar,! it! is! something! unsetting,!strange!or!mysterious.!In!an!essay!by!the!same!name,!he!suggests!“…!it!is! in!the!experience!of!the!uncanny!that!the!unconscious!reveals!animistic!and!social! collective!roots…!they!fracture!the!border!between!past!and!present,!self!and!world,! life!and!non!life”6.! ! ! Human!race!has!always!had!the!need!to!animate:!from!the!cave!art!evoking!animals! in! Lascaux,! to! Christian! iconology,! from! there! to! the! creation! of! devices! like! the! phenakitoscope,! an! early! animation! device! made! of! a! spinning! disk! of! sequential! images!that!gave!the!impression!of!motion!when!it!spun.!Even!the!comic!may!serve! that! purpose.! In! Art. and. Illusion,! Gombrich! compares! comic’s! features! to! earlier! Primitive!Art.!In!the!technical!aspect!he!talks!about!the!local!use!of!colour!and!the! definition! of! characteristic! shapes! to! easily! describe! figure! and! therefore! be! animated! by! the! reader/viewer.! Let’s! face! it,! which! artist! wouldn’t! wish! that! his! painting!or!sculpture!would!come!to!life?,!Sometimes!art!lets!us!believe!it!happens,! even!if!it’s!just!for!a!second,!the!lifeless!becomes!alive.!! ! According!to!Anselm!Frank!(curator!and!critic!based!in!Brussels)!in!his!online!essay! for!ejflux!Animism:.Notes.on.an.exhibition,!“animism!is!a!multi!stable!picture,!where! figure!and!ground!are!equally!important!and!reversible”.!This!dualism!depends!on! negative! and! positive! variables,! which! are! also! given! by! the! modern! mindset.! It! juggles!between!a!negative!learned!judgment!that!involves!the!barbaric!absence!of! civilization!that!the!colonizer!puts!into!old!beliefs!and!practices,!and!the!positive!in! which! we! recognize! men! lived! in! very! structured! societies! and! belief! systems! without! the! separations! constructed! under! the! name! of! modernity.! “Animation! is! always!a!form!of!entanglement!with!an!environment!and!with!otherness”7!In!order! to! recognize! animism! as! a! part! of! our! everyday! life,! we! need! to! stop! setting! boundaries! which! decide! social! orders,! that! includes! what! should! be! included! and! excluded!from!our!collective!acceptance.! ! Examples.of.animism:.Totem.and.Taboo. ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6!Frank,!Anselm!(2012)!“animism:!Notes!on!an!Exhibition”!ETflux!from:!http://www.ej flux.com/journal/animismjnotesjonjanjexhibition/! 7Frank,!Anselm!(2012)!“animism:!Notes!on!an!Exhibition”!ETflux!from:!http://www.ej flux.com/journal/animismjnotesjonjanjexhibition/!
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There!are!several!examples!about!magical!procedures!being!used!for!protection!or! even! for! injuring! another! human! being,! which! can! be! done! by! building! an! effigy,! which!is!a!figure!representing!the!hated!person!or!group.!Another!purpose!it!might! have! would! be! to! offer! help! to! the! gods! against! evil! demons,! or! powers! of! nature! such!as!rain!or!darkness.! ! In!“Totem!and!Taboo”!we!begin!to!understand!how!certain!objects!can!have!a!direct! correlation!with!the!way!a!society!is!organized.!Freud!discusses!his!studies!on!some! primitive!tribes!from!Australia,!Melanesia,!Polynesia!and!Malaysia.! ! ! Taboo. ! Taboo! is! a! Polynesian! word;! it! is! considered! something! sacred! or! consecrated,! uncanny,!dangerous,!forbidden!and!unclean.! Its! restrictions! differ! from! religious! or! moral! prohibitions.! It! is! the! oldest! human! unwritten!code!of!laws!and!it!exists!before!any!kind!of!religion.! ! Taboo!can!pass!from!a!person!to!an!object!or!vice!versa,!it!can!also!“curse”!a!whole! tribe!for!an!undetermined!period!of!time.!Its!source!is!attributed!to!a!magical!power,! which! is! inherent! in! persons! and! spirits.! It! can! also! be! natural! or! inherent! in! a! person,!acquired!or!imposed!by!a!priest!or!other!person.! ! There! are! many! objects! of! taboo.! Direct! taboos! are! meant! to! protect! important! people!such!as!priests!or!chiefs,!keeping!women!and!children!from!the!harm!of!the! mana!(mysterious!power),!protecting!people!from!getting!in!contact!with!dangerous! threats!such!as!an!illness!brought!by!the!contact!with!a!corpse!for!example.! ! ! Totem. ! The! figure! of! the! totem,! is! an! animal! by! rule,! it! can! be! edible! and! harmless! or! dangerous!and!feared!in!some!cases.!It!also!stands!in!peculiar!relation!to!the!whole! clan;!it!is!a!central!figure!as!well!as!their!common!ancestor,!the!guardian!spirit!and! helper.! ! “The.totem.bond.is.stronger.than.the.bond.of.blood.or.family.in.the.modern.sense”8! ! Totem! figures! can! be! found! in! several! cultures,! the! most! common! are! in! Australia! and!near!Islands!and!North!America.! ! One!of!the!most!important!dogmas!regarding!totems!is!the!absolute!prohibition!of! incest.!Indeed!their!whole!social!organization!is!based!on!this!primary!rule.!There!is! a!law!of!exogamy,!which!prohibits!people!from!the!same!tribe!or!totem!to!marry!or! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !
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to!have!sex.!This!is!only!one!prohibition!among!others,!such!as:!Not!killing!the!totem! animal.!All!totem!clans!are!divided!into!subjphratries!(a!grouping!of!clans!or!other! social!units!within!a!tribe).! !and!two!phratries,!all!exogamous!units.! ! The! breaking! of! any! of! the! totem! rules! leads! directly! to! punishment! of! the! ones! involved.! In! Australia! the! punishment! for! people! having! sexual! relations! with! someone!from!the!same!clan!was!death.! ! ! This! is! one! of! the! clearest! examples! of! how! the! absolute! power! holding! a! tribe! together! can! be! conceded! to! an! object.! In! that! way,! laws! and! principles! become! stronger! and! non! negotiable.! There! is! a! power! that! the! tribe! accepts! and! respects! with!their!lives.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Museum!categories!and!some!examples!of!Museum!displays! ! At!the!peak!of!the!age!of!progress,!there!was!another!very!important!phenomenon! regarding!the!showcase!and!promotion!of!primitive!art.! The!creation!of!museums!divided!into!different!categories:!The!Fine!Arts!Museum,! The! Natural! History! Museum,! The! Museum! of! Science! and! Technology! and! The! World!Fairs.!They!all!support!the!idea!of!nation!state!and!colonial!practices.!These! categories!are!still!used,!but!now!not!only!in!Europe!and!North!America!but!also!in! the! formerly! colonized! countries! that! gained! their! independence! during! the! 20th! century! and! went! along! with! the! idea! of! progress,! catching! up! with! first! world! countries.! !
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The.Cinquentenaire.Museum!in!Brussels,!built!by!Leopold!II,!is!a!clear!example!of!the!nation!state,! colonialist!showcase.! Photo!by!me!
! The! new! Museum! categorization! democratized! knowledge! in! art! and! history.! The! former! private! collections! belonging! to! the! elite,! where! converted! into! public! collections.! In! Steven! Mulaney’s! words! (author! of! Strange. things,. Gross. Terms. Curious. Customs,! 1983),! quoted! by! Errington! in! her! book! introduction:! “The. museums.as.an.institution.rise.from.the.ruins.of.such.collections,.like.country.houses. built. from. the. dismantled. stonework. of. dissolved. monasteries”(1983)! Pg.! 18,! Errington.! This! metaphor! could! be! referring! to! the! objects! contained! in! the! museums! as! well.! They! usually! have! a! dark! past,! as! memorials! of! lost! cultures.! All! veiled!by!the!idea!of!a!superior!knowledge,!a!supposedly!“objective!knowledge”.! ! This! categorization! of! knowledge! is! especially! interesting! when! we! think! about! Natural! History! Museums,! where! there! is! a! taxonomical! and! geographical! organization,! in! which! different! displays! pretend! to! imitate! nature! as! well! as! the! men!and!women!who!inhabited!it!in!ancient!times.! ! Natives! are! represented! as! objects! of! knowledge! rather! than! as! producers! of! knowledge,! they! are! being! studied! from! the! “state! of! knowledge”.! Dioramas! and! taxidermy! aim! to! create! the! illusion! of! a! frozen! time,! as! a! stage! when! the! modern! man!has!not!yet!intruded.!The!paradox!is!that!it!reflects!the!complete!opposite!in!my! opinion.! This! cold,! stiff,! fake! displays! completely! erase! the! possibility! of! an! encounter! with! the! other,! they! rather! accentuate! the! differences! between! us! and! them.! !
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The.Royal.Museum.for.Central.Africa,!Tervuren! Photo!by!me.
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! Museum!display!practices!in!relation!to!“the!primitive!men”!such!as!the!exhibiting!of! masks!or!customs!meant!to!be!worn!in!ritual!ceremonies!detach!the!object!from!the! body! where! it! belongs,! therefore.! A! new! presence! is! created! by! the! means! of! absence.! ! In! the! Essay! Playing. to. the. Gallery,. Masks,. Masquerades. and. Museums. (2008),! professor! of! Art! and! anthropology! Polly! Savage! strongly! criticizes! the! lack! of! involvement!and!the!exposure!of!cult!objects!because!of!its!loss!of!context!and!to!a! reconfiguration!of!its!original!meaning,!or!maybe!“fragmentation”!would!be!a!better! word! ! There! have! been! many! discussions! around! this! problematic! display! at! museums.! Museums!in!the!Western!culture!represent!an!institution!of!knowledge!and!power,! so,! it! also! has! the! big! responsibility! of! educating! and! shaping! the! way! we! can! conceive!history,!and!how!we!see!the!others.! ! When!a!mask!is!displayed!at!the!museum!there!is!a!loss!of!contact,!when!the!body!is! missing,!the!viewer!is!the!one!who!stares!but!he/she!does!not!get!a!gaze!in!return,! but!rather!two!empty!black!holes.!This!one!way!exchange!is!also!a!way!to!diminish! the!mask’s!presence!and!power.!It!is!a!fragmentation!in!both!concept!and!function! which!allows!the!viewer!to!be!the!powerful!active!half!in!this!dichotomy.!
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! This!problematic!issue!has!been!discussed!over!and!over!by!curators,!ethnographers! and!anthropologists!and!there!have!been!intentions!of!changing!this!dynamic.!There! are! two! important! questions! asked! by! Savage.! The! first! one! is! Should.the.Museum. become.a.place.of.performance?!The!second!is!Does..living.human.body.complete.the. absence?9..!In!2006!the!Musée!du!Quai!Branly!in!Paris!intended!to!challenge!the!old! ways!and!create!a!more!“authentic”!experience!for!the!viewers.!For!this!particular! event,! the! Museum! invited! a! group! of! performers! from! Burkina! Faso! to! perform! a! Bwaba! mask! during! four! nights! in! the! Levij! Strauss! Theater.! In! their! context! the! masks!serve!as!guarantors!of!the!fundamental!values!that!govern!the!people!of!Boni.! They!are!also!incarnations!of!a!genie!and!considered!force!of!nature.!This!series!of! performances!were!part!of!a!more!extended!program!that!promised!a!more!active! and!engaging!experience!for!the!viewer.! ! In!the!inauguration!speech,!Jaques!Chirac!(former!president!of!France!from!1997!to! 2007),!made!a!remark!on!the!importance!of!keeping!the!museum’s!romanticism!to! evade! the! threat! of! globalization.! In! his! words! quoted! by! Savage! “Now! that! the! world!is!seeing!the!mixing!of!nations!as!never!before!in!history,!it!was!necessary!to! imagine! an! original! place! that! could! do! justice! to! the! diversity! of! cultures,! a! place! that! displays! another! view! of! the! genius! of! the! peoples! and! civilizations! of! Africa,! Asia,!Oceania,!and!the!Americas”.(Pg!3).!! ! So!even!if!colonialist!display!practices!are!disguised!under!the!cover!of!creating!an! authentic!experience!that!involves!the!viewers!and!completes!that!former!absence! of!the!body,!it!is!still!a!spectacle,!it!is!exoticism,!it!is!a!reenactment!that!emphasizes! this! relation! between! colonialist! and! colonized.! There! is! a! very! strong! sense! of! power! over! the! displayed! other.! This! does! not! mean! that! the! experience! does! not! change.! At! least! this! time,! during! the! performance,! the! viewer! will! possibly! get! a! gaze!back!from!the!performer,!the!gaze!entails!power,!even!if!the!performance!is!all! made!up.! ! ! !
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Savage,!Polly..Playing.to.the.Gallery,.Masks,.Masquerades.and.Museums.on.African.Arts. Magazine.!University!of!California!Press,!Los!Angeles,!!Winter!2008.!(Posted!Online!in! www.mitpressjournals.com)! !
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Mask!display!at!the!Quai!Branly!Museum!
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! Several!artists!have!joined!these!discussions!in!order!to!emphasize!the!problematic,! to! reflect! on! it! and! also! as! a! social! experiment.! Sometimes! art! is! the! best! way! to! reveal!what!is!deeply!rooted!in!people’s!perception!of!the!other.!! ! During! 1992j93,! artists! Coco! Fusco! (Cuban! American)! and! Guillermo! Gomez! Peña! (Mexican)! presented! their! performance! Couple. In. Cage! in! a! tour! through! various! western!metropolises.!They!presented!themselves!as!a!coupe!of!Amerindians!from! an! undiscovered! tribe! in! the! Gulf! of! Mexico! which! they! called! the! Guatinau.! The! performance! consisted! in! exhibiting! them! locked! in! a! cage! performing! their! traditional! day! to! day! activities! like! sewing! voodoo! dolls,! watching! tv! or! eating! bananas,!all!dressed!up!in!their!supposedly!traditional!tribal!costumes.!Right!next!to! the! cage! there! where! always! guards! standing,! they! answered! questions! from! the! audience!and!gave!an!introduction!for!the!people.!The!two!natives!also!posed!with! people! from! the! audience,! and! in! some! cases! they! were! even! fed! by! them.! Their! skulls! were! measured! and! they! were! scorted! in! and! out! from! the! cage! in! a! leash.!! Throughout! the! performance! they! gave! speeches! or! sang! songs! in! their! invented! Guatanui! language.! This! performance! was! thought! as! a! clichéd! satire! and! a! very! strong! critique! to! colonialist! Museum! practices,! providing! a! reversed! ethnography! 500! years! after! Colombus! conquest! in! the! Americas.! The! performance! was! also! complemented! with! a! documentary! titled! Couple. in. Cage:. A. Guatinaui. Odyssey,! compiling!all!their!performances!and!people’s!reactions,!all!parallel!to!images!from! real!human!exhibiting!in!freak!shows,!zoos,!taverns,!museums,!circuses!spectacles,! or! for! supposedly! scientific! purposes,! like! in! the! case! of! The! Venus! Hottentot.! The! audience!might!have!thought!that!they!were!the!ones!scrutinizing!the!Guatinaui,!but! they!were!scrutinizing!the!audience!at!the!same!time.! ! According!to!Cusco’s!words!quoted!by!Savage,!the!performance!aimed!to!“Create!a! satirical!commentary!on!Western!concepts!of!the!exotic!primitive!other”!and!to!find!
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a!“strategically!effective!way!to!examine!the!limits!of!the!`happy!multijculturalism´! that!currently!reigns!in!cultural!institutions”10.! ! The!performance!questions!the!audiences!subjective!view!on!human!objectification! and! exhibition! practices,! but! the! unexpected! happened.! A! substantial! part! of! the! audience!in!every!performance!actually!believed!that!their!fictional!identities!were! real,! some! even! spoke! on! their! behalf! and! felt! offended! by! the! act,! other! were! amused! and! curious! by! their! presence,! and! behaved! not! very! differently! than! one! would! do! in! a! zoo.! This! recording! of! the! audience’s! reaction! proved! many! racist! beliefs! that! are! still! imprinted! on! the! Western! minds,! it! proved! there! are! many! assumptions! of! primitive! societies! being! inferior,! and! that! the! colonial! systems! of! thought!are!still!very!present.! !
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Gauatinaui.people!posing!with!a!person!from!the!audience! URL!https://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/es/hidvljprofiles/item/245j09jcouplejinjthejcagej guatinauijodyssey?tmpl=component&print=1! Entry:!April!13,!2014!
! So! getting! back! to! the! discussion! on! The! Quai! Branly’s! practices! and! whether! the! body!presence!could!complete!the!absence,!well!it!is!pretty!clear!it!does!not.!These! practices!are!totally!inadequate!for!confrontation,!representation!and!they!definitely! wont!help!to!erase!borders!in!a!globalized!world,!or!create!consiousness!of!any!kind.! The! performance! by! Fusco! and! Gomez! Peña! questions! stereotypes,! the! historical! violence!behind!Museum!exhibiting!practices!and!it!functions!as!a!mirror!to!society.!! ! “Our! cage! performances! forced! these! contradictions! out! into! the! open.! The! cage! became! a! blank! screen! onto! which! audiences! projected! their! fantasies! of! who! and! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10!Fusco,!Coco.!The.Other.History.of.Intercultural.Performance.“The.Drama.Review”,.1994!! (Currently!published!online!by!MIT!Press)
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what! we! are.! As! ! we! assumed! the! stereotypical! role! of! the! domesticated! savage,! many! audience! members! felt! entitled! to! assume! the! role! of! the! colonizer,! only! to! then!find!themselves!uncomfortable!with!the!implications!of!the!game.”11! !
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Poster!of!the!International!Exhibition!in!Brussels!! URL:!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_International_(1897)! Entry:!April!2,!2014!
! To!give!another!example!of!how!these!exhibition!practices!are!still!present,!I!would! like!to!share!a!recent!visit!I!had!to!The.Royal.Museum.for.Central.Africa!in!Tervuren,! Belgium,! which! is! currently! being! renovated.! It! focuses! on! the! Congo,! a! former! Belgian!Colony.!It!was!built!during!king!Leopold!II!reign!and!was!open!to!the!public! during!the!1987!World!Exhibition!held!in!both!Tervuren!and!The!Cinquentenaire.!It! was!the!perfect!opportunity!for!the!king!to!display!all!his!monumental!possessions.! All! product! from! the! colony! and! financed! mainly! on! the! profits! from! rubber! exploitation! in! the! so! called! Congo! free! State,! later! to! be! sold! to! other! European! countries.! Under! Leopold! II! regime! over! 10! million! Congolese! people! died,! several! children! were! mutilated,! punishment! by! death! was! applied! as! well! as! slavery,! a! tragedy!lasting!from!1885!to!1907,!a!genocide!comparable!to!Hitler’s!reign!of!terror.! However! the! king! claimed! to! be! bringing! “civilization”! to! the! Congo .! So! this! museum’s!foundations!are!built!with!African!blood,!yet!it!is!meant!to!be!a!showcase! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11!Fusco,!Coco.!The.Other.History.of.Intercultural.Performance.“The.Drama.Review”,.Pg!152.! ∗
1994!!(Currently!published!online!by!MIT!Press)! !There!is!a!very!interesting!documentary!on!the!matter!White.King,.Red.Rubber,.Black. Death,!Peter!Bate,!2004! ∗
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for!anthropology!and!ethnography,!to!“learn”!more!about!African!cultures.!But!the! feeling! one! gets! when! stepping! in! is,! first! amazement! for! the! immensity! of! the! building,! but! there! is! also! a! feeling! of! mourning.! Large! collections! ranging! from! insect!collections,!to!ritual!masks!from!Central!and!West!Africa,!cluttered!with!dark! cases!and!dead!animals,!including!two!rhinoceroses!with!their!horns!cut!off,!because! they! where! to! valuable! and! all! of! it! contrasting! with! an! astounding! neoclassical! building.! !
Photo!by!me!
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! This!would!be!a!clear!example!of!how!the!circuit!works.!Colonization,!exploitation,! reduction!of!subjects!to!objects!of!study,!display!of!power!and!superiority,!blood!on! their!hands,!all!in!the!name!of!progress.! ! The! museum! remained! conserved! just! as! a! Museum! from! the! mid! 1920’s,! so! it! wasn’t!even!been!smoothed!enough!to!be!less!politically!incorrect.! ! !
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The.Royal.Museum.for.Central.Africa,.Tervuren.
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. In! most! museums! under! this! category! the! labels! under! the! displays,! portray! the! primitive!man!“in.the.realm.of.myth.rather.than.on.the.realm.of.history”!Pg.!26.!Like! men! who! lived! under! a! perpetual! state! of! ritualization! and! ceremony.! A! savage! a! non! literate,! prejhistoric! man! linked! to! magic! and! superstition.! While! in! the! other! side! of! the! glass! there! is! the! exhibitor! and! the! spectator,! the! white,! religious,! rational,!literate,!civilized!man!who!is!writing!history!in!his!own!terms.! ! Ever!since!the!era!of!enlightenment!there!has!been!a!clear!division!between!nature! and! culture.! Under! this! dichotomy,! western! man! has! categorized! what! belongs! where! in! the! narrative! of! progress.! Civilization! was! regarded! as! the! dominating! sphere,!but!that!was!the!19th!century.! ! Earlier! in! the! text! I! mentioned! that! the! concept! of! what! Primitive! means! has! fluctuated!and!its!meaning!has!changed!and!layers!have!been!added!through!time.!In! the! mid! 20th! century! Primitive! Art! was! already! accepted! among! the! mainstream! European! art! circles.! It! was! recognized! as! a! strong! influence! for! many! artists.! Movements!like!Surrealism!and!Cubism!were!at!!stake!and!Primitive!art!was!already! as!a!part!of!the!higher!art!circuit,!but!only!after!the!“approval”!of!the!artists!of!the! moment.! ! Progressively!the!term!Primitivism!was!no!longer!considered!a!evaluative!term!for! inferior!societies,!once!it!was!romanticized!and!credited!by!the!artistic!sphere!that! was!giving!birth!to!the!new!era:!Modernism.!To!some!artists!and!philosophers!the! pre! modern! primitivism! represented! a! sort! of! “Golden! Age”,! a! time! were! men! was! free! from! industrialization,! capitalism,! a! time! before! the! European! enlightenment! and!the!non!stopping!march!for!progress.!It!is!not!unusual!that!at!the!peak!of!an!era,! people!begin!to!yearn!about!previous!times!.! ! ! !
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! Modernism,!postmodernism!!and!the!inclusion!of!Marginal!arts! ! Modernism! came! with! a! change! of! mind! set,! with! a! critical! view! on! older! social! structures!and!ideologies.!It!was!an!era!in!which!the!notion!of!the!primitive!in!the! western! world! transformed! greatly.! Inserting! the! notion! of! the! interior! self! and! a! new! value! for! nature.! This! interest! was! supported! by! psychoanalytical! and! psychological! practices,! which! questioned! the! path! of! progress! that! humanity! had! chosen.! One! of! the! reasons! why! the! idea! of! progress! started! to! shake! in! Euro! America!during!the!20th!century!was!the!independence!of!various!nations!in!Africa! and! Asia! from! European! colonies,! therefore! Europe! ceased! to! have! the! hegemonic! power! and! knowledge,! and! suddenly! more! people! where! becoming! interested! in! ancient! foreign! practices! and! in! other! alternatives,! in! terms! of! aesthetics,! spiritualism!and!basically!different!ways!of!living.!! ! During! the! late! 1900’s,! the! term! postmodernism! was! applied! to! host! different! movements!among!the!arts,!departing!from!modernism!but!strongly!criticizing!the! capitalist!system.!Postmodernism!meant!nothing!but!a!revolution!in!the!fields!of!art,! music,! architecture,! literature,! philosophy,! history! and! economics.! As! well! as! a! rej evaluation! of! the! former! western! values! that! used! to! be! the! bases! of! support! for! modern! society,! concepts! like! marriage,! popular! culture,! the! shift! from! industrial! economy! to! service! economy,! and! even! the! way! people! valued! their! environment! and!the!time!on!their!hands.! The!“people!of!nature”!gained!a!different!status,!from!formerly!being!recognized!as! savages! and! inferior,! now! they! were! being! regarded! as! another! source! of! knowledge.! The! western! world! was! apparently! at! the! peak! of! the! era! of! progress,! and!the!former!idea!of!“civilization”!was!replaced!for!a!march!towards!technological! and!scientific!research.!So!the!previous!nature/culture!dichotomy!had!a!swift.!With! nature!having!a!higher!status!in!the!general!mindset,!certain!circles!begin!to!arise,! such! as! ecology! movements,! now! the! words! emotion! or! instinct! were! slowly! replacing!the!old!ideals!of!the!age!of!reason.!Even!medicine!changed,!western!people! had! now! access! to! alternative! medicine,! were! ancient! practices! were! now! used! to! treat!sickness!and!release!stress.!Such!practices!embraced!both!mainstream!science! and! ancient! traditions.! The! New! Age! spiritual! movement! is! a! clear! example! of! the! mixture!of!western!and!eastern!traditions.! ! In!the!fields!of!art!and!aesthetics,!there!was!also!a!common!interest!in!non!European! forms! of! art! making.! In! a! way! art! was! being! universalized! and! one! of! the! main! characteristics! that! became! important! was! the! sense! of! transcendence.! So,! now! many!of!the!Primitive!objects!were!being!classified!within!the!realms!of!official!art! while!others!where!left!aside!as!mere!artifacts!with!no!artistic!value.!For!many!art! historians,! collectors! and! curators! this! is! the! principal! characteristic! that! will! separate!an!artifact!from!an!art!object,!other!features!such!as!material,!durability!or! technique!are!symptoms!of!their!time.! !
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With! this! demand! for! “transcendent! art”! spread! of! interest! upon! the! societies! behind!the!creation!of!such!objects!as!well!as!their!original!function!in!their!context.! ! The!value!of!transcendence!brings!up!the!notion!of!art!as!a!universal!expression!of! the!spirit.!! ! With!the!recognition!of!forms!of!art!outside!from!the!European!official!Art!History,! there! are! new! forms! of! art! making! that! also! gained! a! place! among! the! art! sphere.! There! is! an! apparition! of! new! forms! of! art! in! very! unexpected! places:! mental! asylums,!psychiatric!hospitals.! ! The!first!interest!in!the!work!of!psychiatric!patients!came!up!during!the!mid!and!late! 19th! century,! when! a! group! of! psychiatrists! and! psychoanalysts! began! to! take! the! patient’s!work!more!seriously,!to!write!about!it!and!to!analyze!the!images!that!were! being!produced.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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Part!II!OUTSIDER!ART! ! The!moment!of!creation!from!a!psychoanalytical!perspective:! ! ! Role!of!the!artist! ! The!image!and!recognition!of!the!artist!has!changed!throughout!history!and!it!has! scaled!from!one!social!position!to!another.!Whilst!!during!the!renaissance,!the!artist! was!considered!as!a!“genius”,!or!a!master!who!had!knowledge!of!many!other!fields! such! as! science,! philosophy! or! architecture.! In! folklore! art! and! primitive! art,! the! artist!has!the!role!of!a!sorcerer!or!magician.! ! The!artist’s!intention!is!not!to!imitate!nature!but!to!create!a!new!one;!it!is!regarded! as! a! sorcerer! because! he/she! controls! the! world,! through! his/her! work.! “When! looking!at!the!object!that!he!wishes!to!“make”,!he!takes!it!in!with!his!eyes!until!he! feels!himself!in!full!possession!of!it”.!This!process!of!reduction!of!the!reality!means! that! destruction! of! the! real! is! fused! with! the! construction! of! a! new! image.! That! is! how!artists!are!able!to!create!new!possible!universes.! ! ! Executers! of! certain! art! or! craft,! have! a! certain! social! position! given! by! the! admiration!of!their!skill!and!on!the!other!hand!amazement!inspiration,!which!may! come!from!the!spiritual!dimension,!and!it’s!not!considered!to!be!the!artist’s!gift!or!a! personal! achievement,! the! craftsmen,! sorcerer! or! executer! works! as! a! channel! between!both!worlds.! ! It! is! hard! to! draw! a! borderline! between! the! concept! of! magic! and! communication.! Where!magic!is!given!by!images!or!objects,!which!give!power!over!what!they!depict.! The!magic!interpretation!of!these!images!takes!them!as!real,!while!communication! recognizes!these!images!as!a!representation!of!the!real.!One!main!difference!is!that! ritualistic!art!in!primitive!cultures!was!not!meant!for!an!audience,!it!didn’t!have!the! connotation!of!an!artwork,!it!had!a!function!in!society.! ! In!his!book!“Psychoanalytic.Explorations.in.Art”!!(1952),!Ernst!Kris!gives!a!very!good! example! to! explain! this! difficult! comparison.! He! mentions! the! power! of! images! of! idols,! which! have! had! a! level! of! primitiveness! in! almost! every! culture! that! has! existed.! Idols! are! the! proof! of! the! magic! and! power! within! them,! even! if! they! are! represented! as! a! basic! wooden! sculpture! with! no! significant! detail! or! even! as! a! puppet,! they! are! real! for! the! devotee.! But,! when! these! images! change! context,! the! function! changes,! if! the! viewer! is! not! at! least! informed,! everything! becomes! mere! exoticism.!That!is!when!communication!takes!place,!it!fluctuates!depending!on!the! development!of!a!concept,!sometimes!pictures!become!symbols!or!icons.!The!act!of! seeing! relies! on! both! of! this! elements:! recognition! and! understanding! an! idea! but! always!with!a!foot!on!the!ground!of!reality.! !
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“Gestures.must.be.seen..when.they.are.made;.words.must.be.heard.when.they.are. spoken..Pictures.can.be.read.in.aftertime..In.this.very.fact.there.is.magic”12.
! ! A! clear! example! of! this! image! recognition! process! is! cave! art.! According! to! researchers! cave! paintings! where! meant! to! be! magical,! but! they! can! also! be! regarded!as!historical!representations.! ! “Trespassing!the!passing!reality!into!the!eternity!of!pictorial!representation”13! . . ! The!Creative!Spell! ! In! his! investigations! Kris! studied! the! meaning! of! an! artistic! creation! in! an! insane! patient,!focusing!on!the!instant!of!making!or!the!creative!spell!as!he!puts!it.!There! are!some!common!denominators!in!psychotic!patients!way!of!making.!First!there!is! an! uncontrollable! urge! to! create,! even! if! there! are! no! material! available! they! ! will! use!any!tool,!like!carving!a!bed!with!a!spoon!or!even!painting!with!your!own!blood,!I! mean!anything!is!potentially!a!instrument!for!creation.!This!activities!engaging!the! creative!side!of!the!patient!take!most!of!his/her!time!and!if!it!is!encouraged!by!the! institution! they! are! in,! they! will! work! to! the! full! extent! possible,! with! an! urge! and! obsession!that!a!lot!of!“sane”!artists!would!like!to!have,!or!maybe!not?!! ! Training! does! not! interfere! with! the! patient’s! development.! Whether! they! have! painted,! carved! or! drawn! before! the! psychotic! stage! does! not! have! a! repercussion! on!what!the!patient!will!produce,!it!has!no!influence!whatsoever.!The!patient!might! have!a!very!prolific!and!even!compulsive!creative!process!but!skills!do!not!change!or! evolve.! ! On! the! other! hand! an! untrained! sane! adult! will! seek! to! develop! their! talent! and! become!better!and!more!productive!in!his/her!artistic!activities.!This!awareness!for! achieving! something! better! and! being! in! control,! disappears! in! one! specific! task:! Doodling.. When! the! sane! person! doodles! there! is! a! state! of! unawareness! of! one’s! own!ego,!and!thoughts!and!fantasies!get!liberated.! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12!Kris,!Ernst.!Psychoanalytic!Explorations!in!Art.!Pg!50.!Yale!University!School!of!Medicine,! Child!Study!Centre,!London,!1953.! 13!Kris,!Ernst.!Psychoanalytic!Explorations!in!Art.!Pg!51!
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The!primary!process!in!psychotic!art! ! According!to!Kris’s!studies,!patients!usually!take!responsibility!of!the!authorship!of! their! works! but! the! interesting! fact,! is! that! most! patients! describe! the! process! of! creation!as!if!there!was!an!apparition!or!as!if!they!act!as!mere!mediums!of!a!stronger! spiritual!strength!that!makes!them!do!what!they!are!doing.!In!that!way!they!are!not! responsible!for!the!result,!it!flows!through!them.!This!is!a!very!important!statement.! There! is! no! ego! involved,! there! is! no! intention! of! making! a! work! of! art,! or! being! recognized!as!an!artist.!(insert!paragraph!that!we!skipped)!That!is!what!makes!this! works!real!and!raw.!I!won’t!get!in!the!discussion!of!whether!this!can!be!considered! as!art!or!not,!because!that!is!not!important!here.!This!just!proofs!that!humans!have! this! need! to! express! themselves! materializing! their! internal! struggles! and! not! restraining!and!holding!them!in.!It!becomes!as!vital!as!eating,!drinking!or!sleeping.! ! The! primary! process! is! described! as! a! process! operating! in! the! ID.! The! understanding! of! most! of! this! works! can! be! like! when! attempting! to! understand! a! dream!and!it’s!inner!associations.! ! The! mechanisms! of! the! primary! process! are! condensation! and! symbolization,! analysed! by! Kris! in! mainly! schizophrenic! patients.! The! easier! way! to! understand! this!new!associations!given!by!the!patient,!the!person!in!charge!can!turn!to!dream! psychology,!a!term!acquainted!by!Freud.!In!the!language!of!dreams,!where!“…objects. can.be.interchangeable.and.clang.associations.replace.object.associations;.that.is,.the. double. meaning. of. words. is. used. in. the. dream. like. the. double. meaning. od. shapes. in. drawings”.14! ! As!objects!often!change!meanings!in!psychotic!art!it!is!almost!impossible!to!give!a! certain! drawing! or! object! depicted! in! the! drawing! a! single! meaning! without! even! knowing! the! patient’s! history,! but! that! doesn’t! mean! that! as! a! viewer! one! cannot! play!with!this!fusions!and!multiple!readings.! ! The!problem!of!ego!in!creation! ! There!is!a!field!in!psychoanalysis,!which!deals!with!ego!psychology!and!I!find!very! interesting!how!many!processes!in!the!moment!of!thinking!an!image!and!making!it! are!similar!between!psychotic!patients!and!the!way!primitive!art!was!conceived.! ! Kris!conducted!many!investigations!and!experiments!comparing!the!activity!and!the! creation!by!psychotic!patients!and!untrained!normals!as!he!mentions!in!his!book.!He! was! mainly! interested! in! the! intellectual! intuition! or! Wessenschau,! a! term! used! in! phenomenology! described! as! an! a! priori! method! of! gaining! knowledge! at! the! moment!of!making!rather!than!only!giving!a!psychological!explanation.! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14!Kris,!Ernst.!Psychoanalytic!Explorations!in!Art!Pg!100.!Yale!University!School!of!Medicine,!
Child!Study!Centre,!London,!1953.!
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! “According! to! psychoanalytic! insight:! Some! ego! functions! of! the! psychotic! are! disturbed,!the!ego!however,!is!not!only!the!apparatus!of!perception!but!also!the!one! entrusted!with!that!formal!elaboration!which!shapes!contact!with!the!environment”! 15! . Once!the!ego!loses!some!of!it’s!functions,!the!primary!process!can!occur,!there!is!also! little! use! of! Displacement,! a! word! used! in! psychology! to! describe! a! subjconscious! defense!mechanism.___! ! ! The! freedom! of! the! artist! equals! the! compulsion! of! the! psychotic.! Whilst! the! artist! seeks! for! a! development! in! skill,! getting! to! an! “ideal”! way! of! doing,! training! his/herself! while! producing,! psychotic! patients! do! not! care! about! improving,! they! just!do,!as!a!mania,!even!if!their!productions!are!highly!abundant,!their!skill!remains! unchanged.!In!this!case!the!isolated!work!is!not!what!matters!but!the!production!as! a!whole.!Their!incessant!struggle,!although!liberation!may!also!be!an!accurate!word.!! ! The!psychotic!process,!works!placing!an!inner!experience!into!the!outside!world,!as! a! mechanism! of! projection.! He/she! does! so! by! recurring! to! symbols! and! visual! metaphors!they!have!developed!due!to!past!experiences!or!education.! . Representations!made!by!psychotics!are!attempts!for!restitution!of!their!reality!and! rejestablishing!contact!with!the!world,!this!may!also!apply!to!dreams,!they!remain! unintelligible! until! a! translation! process! is! applied,! in! both! the! dream! and! the! creative!process!the!ego!plays!a!small!role.! ! There!is!a!very!interesting!case,!studied!by!Kris,!which!shows!the!transformation!of! a! Master! painter! from! the! beginning! of! the! 1900’s,! Ernst! Josephson! who! became! mentally!ill.!Before!he!did,!he!used!to!paint!realistically.!After!he!became!ill,!he!began! to! draw! using! contours,! which! obviously! don’t! exist! in! reality,! another! important! characteristic! is! that! the! human! body! is! represented! in! a! very! rigid! way,! almost! unnatural.!This!are!shared!characteristics!between!a!Master!painter!with!a!mental! illness,! in! this! case! schizophrenia! and! a! psychotic! art! patient! with! no! former! knowledge!of!art.!This!was!a!key!discovery!for!Kris.! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 15!Kris,!Ernst.!Psychoanalytic!Explorations!in!Art!Pg!116.!Yale!University!School!of!Medicine,!
Child!Study!Centre,!London,!1953.!
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a.!Nacke!(1882)! !
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!b.Drawing!from!psychotic!stage! ! Image!a!URL:!http://www.fineartjchina.com/oil%20painting%20artist/Ernst%20Josephson.html! Image!b!URL:!http://23sicksicksick.blogspot.be/2010/09/somejmorejswedishjart.html! Entry:!February!5,!2014! !
There! is! also! a! tendency! to! fuse! different! forms,! conjoining! human! features! and! portraits!with!other!objects!or!animals,!a!play!with!shapes!which!creates!ambiguous! lectures,! the! same! way! as! caricature! does.! Our! work! here! as! viewers! would! be! to! unmask!the!hidden!meaning,!which!only!true!meaning!would!be!the!psychological! function!it!had!for!the!author.! ! Portraits! made! by! psychotics! loose! all! trace! of! true! identity,! they! no! longer! represent! someone! who! exists,! but! rather! an! exteriorization! of! their! own! loss! of! connection! with! the! world,! it! is! impossible! for! them! to! detach! their! own! mental! strangeness!and!disturbance!from!the!images!they!are!making.! ! It! is! very! difficult! to! find! a! common! ground! when! analyzing! these! works! because! most! of! the! symbols! used! are! very! intimate! and! are! connected! to! the! artist’s! experience.! They! become! even! more! interesting! when! the! viewer! has! to! interpret! these!meanings!by!him/herself.!!That!ends!up!being!a!moment!of!self!discovery.! ! ! ! ! ! !
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The!role!of!the!symbol!in!psychotic!Art! ! “I. am. convinced. that. the. artist. can. only. become. articulate. through. the. symbols. presented. to. him. by. the. age,. the. real. work. of. art. clearly. achieves. more. than. the. satisfaction.of.a.few.analyzable.cravings”16! ! To! contextualize! the! connection! there! is! between! Freud,! Kris! and! Gombrich! very! briefly:! ! Gombrich! worked! as! Kris’s! assistant! in! that! beginning! of! the! 1930’s.! After! the! ! I! World!War,!Austria!was!under!the!regime!of!the!Patriotic!Front,!a!Romanjcatholic,! antijMarxist!and!military!party.! ! Just!around!the!time!the!Nazis!where!attacking!Austria!in!1934,!Kris!and!Gombrich! where! working! on! their! first! publication! together! about! the! history! of! caricature.! They! shared! a! passion! for! Freud’s! studies! of! primitive! cultures! and! insight! on! art! psychoanalysis;! this! publication! on! caricature! certainly! demonstrated! a! strong! connection!with!his!approaches!to!the!study!of!art.!! ! Caricature!represents!a!very!different!mental!process!than!the!making!of!a!drawing,! which! attempts! to! imitate! or! represent! reality.! The! process! consists! in! identifying! the! most! important! characteristics,! distorting! them,! condensing! them! and! by! alluding! and! playing! with! symbols.! These! techniques! resemble! the! unconscious! techniques!found!in!jokes,!children’s!play!or!dreams.! ! As!mentioned!before,!these!metaphors!are!described!in!symbols!which!according!to! Gombrich!“symbols.developed.from.a.common.stock.will.tend.to.have.a.certain.family. likeness”,!this!happens!because!each!era!will!have!a!certain!image!bank,!and!among! the!art!circuit!there!are!certain!characteristics!that!will!be!shared!by!the!artists!of! that! time.! However! in! the! case! of! psychotic! patients,! those! symbols! do! not! come! from!the!same!background,!in!most!cases!those!symbols!come!from!their!personal! experiences!and!interpretation.!In!any!case!there!are!some!universal!symbols,!which! can!be!understood!in!any!time!or!culture,!such!as!the!difference!between!man!and! woman,!sun!and!moon,!light!and!darkness!or!good!and!evil.! . “….The.symbol.of.a.woman.is.not.created.by.closely.imitating.the.appearance.of.the. female.body,.but.moreless.the.process.the.historians.have.called.conceptual. representation..In.this.case.it.is.the.representational.formula.for.man,.which.is.just. sufficiently.modified.to.be.acceptable.as.the.symbol.for.a.woman.”17. . In! the! chapter! Meditations! of! a! Hobby! Horse,! Gombrich! describes! the! idea! of! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16!Gombrich,!E.H.!Meditations!on!a!Hobby!Horse!And.other.essays.on.the.theory.of.art.!Pg!30.! Phaidon,!London,!1963.! 17!Gombrich,!E.H.!Meditations!on!a!Hobby!Horse!And.other.essays.on.the.theory.of.art.!Pg!34.! Phaidon,!London,!1963.!
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representation!of!a!conceptual!image!in!terms!of!having!a!psychological!disposition.! The! mode! of! representation! between! children’s! art,! primitive! art! and! art! made! by! psychotics! there! is! a! clear! intention:! “Not. to. draw. what. they. ‘see’. but. what. they. `know’”,! which! is! completely! different! from! abstraction,! this! creation! will! use! substitutes!out!of!given!material.! ! The!reception!of!the!image!is!a!whole!different!story.!For!the!conceptual!image!to!be! recognized!by!the!viewer,!there!is!need!for!a!“minimum!image”!which!means!to!have! the!most!general!characteristics!of!what!we!are!representing,!those!images!should! fit!into!a!“psychological!lock”!so!they!can!be!read.! ! . 2.!THE!GRADUAL!RECOGNITION!OF!OUTSIDER!ART! ! After! radically! different! forms! of! art! were! introduced! in! the! art! circuit,! first! by! artists!like!Gauguin!and!his!obsession!with!Polynesian!arts!and!women,!or!Picasso’s! passion! for! African! wood! carving,! Paul! Cezanne! and! Henri! Matisse’s! interest! for! Algerian! and! Moorish! art! after! their! travels,! George! Braque’s! love! for! Iberian! sculpture,!Alberto!Giacometti’s!inspiration!on!Etruscan!Art,!or!Paul!Klee’s!interest!in! children!art!and!art!made!by!psychiatric!patients.!!It!was!clear!Europe!was!no!longer! the!center!of!the!art!world!and!artists!began!to!look!further!and!further!to!find!the! most!exemplary!and!authentic!kind!of!art.!Finding!a!new!place!for!the!strange,!the! uncanny,!the!magical,!and!obviously!the!primitive.!This!brought!in!a!drastic!change! of!style,!challenging!the!classical!approach!and!it!also!brought! new!ways!of!seeing! and!interpreting!art.!! ! During! the! 1880’s! the! idea! of! displaying! curiosities! and! non! academic! art! was! already! in! the! air.! And! different! collectors! were! putting! together! exhibitions! with! the!idea!of!!displaying!a!cabinet!of!curiosities,!or!as!in!the!case!of!George!Courteline,! who!put!together!a!series!of!woodcuts,!naïve!!and!non!academic!work,!but!there!was! still! the! undertone! of! exoticism! and! not! a! real! appreciation! for! the! works! themselves.! ! In! the! early! 1990’s! It! was! Guillaume! Apollinaire! who! first! stood! up! for! one! of! the! considered! greatest! modern! primitive! or! naïve! artist! that! ever! existed.! The! artist! was! Henri! Daumier! Rousseau.! Apollinaire! saw! the! genius! in! him,! and! the! authenticity! and! strength! of! his! work,! despite! having! many! ! detractors.! Rousseau! painted! in! a! nonjacademic! way,! with! disregard! for! perspective! and! anatomically! correct!depictions.!He!also!used!colour!in!a!very!particular!way.!So,!he!was!basically! out! of! his! time,! like! most! great! geniuses.! His! paintings! have! an! amazing! sense! of! composition!and!special!attention!for!detail.! ! His! compositions! often! include! several! types! of! vegetation! and! jungle! scenarios,! even!though!it!is!told!that!he!never!left!France,!never!saw!an!actual!jungle!he!visited! botanical! gardens.! There! is! a! myth! spread! by! some! of! his! followers! saying! that! he!
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made! part! of! the! French! troops! sent! to! Mexico! during! Napoleon! III’s! intervention,! but!these!rumors!are!unfounded.! ! Slowly!he!gained!attention!from!a!wider!audience.!In!1886!he!exhibited!4!paintings! in! the! Salon! des! Indépendants! in! Paris,! and! from! then! on! he! exhibited! on! regular! basis.!In!1891!he!showed!Tiger.in.a.Tropical.Storm.(Surprised!),!and!got!a!review!by! the!painter!Felix!Valloton,!were!he!claimed!“His!tiger!surprising!its!prey!ought!not!to! be!missed;!it's!the!alpha!and!omega!of!painting.".! !
Henri!Rousseau!Tiger.in.a.Tropical.Storm(.Surprised!).(1886)! Entry:!May!15,!2014! !
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! These! paintings! were! being! made! at! a! time! were! World! Fairs! where! being! held! across!Europe,!as!symbols!of!power,!scientific!and!economical!progress.!Often!they! displayed! ethnographic! displays! showing! the! richness! of! their! colonies.! Rousseau! was!deeply!impressed!and!he!wrote!a!play!about!his!visit!to!the!exhibition.18!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 18!http://www.tate.org.uk/whatsjon/tatejmodern/exhibition/henrijrousseau/henrij
rousseaujjunglesjparisjroomjguide/henri!
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The.Equatorial.Jungle!(1909)! Entry:!May!15,!2014! !
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Each! one! of! his! paintings! has! a! very! unique! atmosphere,! his! wild! settings! are! magical,!enchanting!and!mysterious,!and!the!scenes!are!put!together!in!a!theatrical! way,!were!characters!appear!and!tell!a!secret!story!in!dramatic!moments.! ! In! 1987! he! produced! one! of! his! most! famous! works! Sleeping.Gypsy,! a! dreamy! and! poetic!scene,!that!Rousseau!describes!as!“A!wandering!Negress,!a!mandolin!player,! lies!with!her!jar!beside!her!(a!vase!with!drinking!water),!overcome!by!fatigue!in!a! deep! sleep.! A! lion! chances! to! pass! by,! picks! up! her! scent! yet! does! not! devour! her.! There!is!a!moonlight!effect,!very!poetic.!�! ! !
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Sleeping.Gypsy!(1897)! Entry:!May!15,!2014! !
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Once,!Pablo!Picasso!encountered!one!of!his!paintings!being!sold!in!a!street!market! as!a!canvas!to!paint!on,!he!immediately!recognized!the!genius!behind!these!works!so! they! met.! In! 1908! Picasso! held! a! dinner! in! his! honor! in! his! BeteurjLavoir! studio.! Even! though! he! was! not! accepted! among! the! conservative! academic! French! art! circles,!Rousseau!was!of!great!influence!to!many!of!the!Cubists!and!the!Surrealists! that! came! after,! Robert! Delaunay,! Picasso! and! Apollinaire! are! among! his! biggest! supporters.! !
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(Picasso!in!his!studio!holding!Rousseau’s!SelfTportrait.of.the.artist.with.a.lamp![1903].and!Portrait.of. the.artist’s.second.wife.with.a.lamp![1903],!which!he!purchased.)! ! URL:!http://selfportraitoftheartist.wordpress.com/tag/museejpicassojdejparis/! Entry:!May!10,!2014!
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! !
He! decided! to! retire! in! 1983,! having! painted! dozens! of! astonishing! paintings! including!landscapes,!portraits,!jungle!and!city!scenes.!He!worked!in!part!time!jobs,! played!violin!in!the!streets!and!worked!for!a!small!journal!making!cover!art.! ! His!last!exhibition!was!at!the!Salon!des!Independents!in!1910,!with!his!painting!The. Dream,!just!a!few!months!before!his!death.! ! Rousseau! is! usually! out! under! the! categories! of! Modern! Primitivism! as! well! as! of! Naïve!Art!and!he!is!a!key!figure!on!understanding!the!change!of!philosophy!that!took! place!during!Modernism!and!the!search!for!a!new!kind!of!art,!an!art!that!was!more! intensively! connected! with! nonjwestern! art! and! cultures,! it! meant! a! resistance! to! the!fast!moving!modern!reality,!an!alternative!to!the!path!of!progress.!These!artists! were!looking!for!a!more!honest!form!of!expression,!returning!to!nature,!inspired!by! ancient!civilizations!among!Africa,!Oceania!and!The!Americas.! ! There!was!a!conscious!search!for!“the!real!thing”,!what!I!mean!by!this!is!a!search!for! art! that! goes! deep! into! the! human! psyche,! into! the! depths! of! art! that! is! deeply! connected!to!humans!fears!and!desires,!art!that!is!not!mediated!by!trends!or!styles! or!that!is!influenced!by!art!history.! ! Many!forms!of!art!making!such!as!which!used!to!be!in!the!peripheral!area!regarding! art! history,! were! now! centerfolds! and! geographical! and! cultural! borders! began! to! shrink.! ! The! interest! in! other! kinds! of! art,! formerly! recognized! as! naïve! or! made! by! psychotics,! started! early! in! the! 19th! century! when! a! group! of! psychoanalists! and! psychiatrists! decided! to! take! a! closer! look! into! the! works! made! by! patients! in! mental! asylums,! they! noticed! that! their! work! was! spontaneous! and! some! patients! had!an!incredible!amount!of!work!and!slowly!but!surely!they!were!taken!out!of!the! mental!institutions!and!started!to!be!shown!as!works!of!art,!on!their!own,!outside!of! their!context.! ! ! One!of!the!psychoanalysts!that!studied!the!subject!of!the!art!of!the!insane!was!Ernst! Kris!(1900j1957),!in!his!text!Psychoanalytic.Explorations.in.Art,!he!is!concerned!with! the!creative!stage!and!the!genius!behind!some!of!the!creations!by!psychotics,!as!well! as!the!cathartic!process!of!creation!and!how!fantasy!plays!a!very!important!role!and! its!connection!to!subjective!experiences!and!how!creating!somehow!brings!a!feeling! of!relief!and!works!as!a!way!of!dealing!with!reality!while!having!a!mental!illness.!I! will!discuss!some!chapters!of!this!book!later!in!the!text,!about!the!creating!process! and!the!role!of!the!ego.!! ! During!the!1900’s!there!were!many!others!who!got!incredibly!interested!by!the!new! discoveries!on!the!creative!process!of!the!insane,!such!as!Dr.!Paul!Gaston!Meunier,! !
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who!argued!that!“the!art!of!the!insane!had!a!direct!relationship!with!the!art!of!the! `normal´,!but!also!had!a!quality!of!its!own”!19.!Dr.!Auguste!Marie,!began!collecting!art! from! patients,! and! finally! opened! Le.Musée.de.la.Folie.(Museum.of.Madness),! at! the! Villejuif!Asylum!in!Paris!in!1905..!Around!the!same!period!Dr.!Charles!Ladame!was! building!up!a!collection!from!hospitals!in!Geneva!and!Solothurn.!These!doctors!were! very! intrigued! by! the! qualities! in! these! artworks! but! they! still,! classified! them! as! research! material,! patients! were! not! even! referred! by! their! own! names! and! the! works!produced!were!not!considered!to!be!part!of!the!real!art!scene.’! ! This!practice!became!more!and!more!popular,!and!it!was!only!until!the!1920’s!that! there!were!improvements!in!the!regarding!of!such!works.!Theories!and!analysis!by! Sigmund! Freud! and! Carl! Jung! had! brought! up! the! subject! of! the! importance! of! the! unconscious.!This!idea!did!not!scape!the!realms!of!the!art!world.!At!the!same!time! the!Avant!Garde!artists!were!getting!very!influenced!with!nonjwestern!forms!of!art.! They!also!became!eager!to!encounter!spiritual!dimensions!through!art,!which!had!a! lot!to!do!with!the!creative!process!in!psychotic!patients.! ! ! During!the!late!1920’s!the!very!meaning!of!art!was!being!re!discovered.!In!Munich,! The. Blaue. Reiter,! a! collective! including! artists! like! Vassily! Kandinsky! ! and! Franz! Marc,! focused! on! setting! the! art! of! the! primitive,! children! artworks! and! art! of! mentally! ill! patients,! side! by! side! from! expressionist! contemporary! images.! The! incredible! force! they! reflected,! went! beyond! a! clinical! curiosity,! it! was! authentic! fascination.! ! All!these!changes!in!the!general!view!upon!art,!obviously!brought!a!change!of!taste! and! broadened! aesthetic! tolerance! among! the! western! countries.! ! The! French,! the! Swiss!and!the!German!were!among!the!first!ones!to!take!the!risk!on!putting!together! non!academic!works!and!to!display!them!like!something!other!than!mere!curiosities.!! ! In! 1921,! Walter! Morgenthaler! published! the! first! book! about! a! single! psychotic! artist.!The!book!was!titled!ein!Geisteskranker!als!Künstler!(A!Mentally!Ill!Patient!as! an!Artist)!and!the!artist!was!the!incredibly!prolific! Adolf!Wölfli.!!Only!a!year!after,! Hans! Prinzhorn! ! who! was! a! German! psychiatrist! and! art! historian,! published! the! book! Bildnerei. der. Geisteskranken,. (Artistry. of. the. Mentally. Il),. were! he! placed! together!over!5000!drawings!from!over!500!patients,!between!1890!and!1920.!His! investigation! mainly! gathered! works! among! institutions! in! German! speaking! countries.!In!this!publication,!Prinzhorn!analyses!the!images!from!an!aesthetic!and!a! psychiatric!perspective.! ! This! series! of! publications! demonstrated! that! creativity! and! powerful! art! could! be! found! outside! from! the! frontiers! of! the! educated! eye! and! the! academic! European! approach.! The! renovated! insight! on! the! creative! approach! of! the! patients! corresponded! to! six! urges! according! to! him:! the! urge! for! expressiveness,! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 19!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!13.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.!
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palyfullness,!active!decorative!ordering!which!had!to!do!with!rhythm,!copying!and! usage!of!symbols.!Prinzhorn’s!collection!in!Heidelberg!is!still!open!for!the!public.! ! ! One! of! the! artists! who! got! very! influence! by! Prinzhorn’s! contribution! was! Jean! Dubuffet!(1901j!1985),!he!was!a!key!figure!in!the!development!and!recognition!of! outsider!art.!He!was!a!French!Painter,!sculptor,!musician!and!writer/poet!who!after! dropping! out! of! art! Academy! in! Laussane! and! having! and! on! and! off! relationship! with!art.!Took!a!very!strong!interest!in!the!art!of!the!insane.! ! ! ! ! Dubuffet!and!Art!Brut! !
Jean!Dubuffet!at!the!opening!of!the!Collection!D’!Lart!Brut!,!Lausanne!1975! The!sculpture!is!by!Pierre!Kerlaz!and!the!paintings!in!the!background!are!by!Augustin!Lesage! Image!taken!from!Raw!Vision!book!Pg.!41!
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! ! With!almost!five!decades!of!relatively!new!information!and!discoveries!around!the! art!made!by!psychotic,!Dubuffet!found!himself!in!the!middle!of!a!revolutionary!turn! in!art!history,!in!terms!of!content,!of!procedure!of!aesthetics!and!intention.! !
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He! had! a! very! radical! approach,! at! rethinking! all! the! western! art! history! until! his! days.!He!found!the!institutional!kind!of!art,!empty!and!“no!more!than!a!sugar!coated! sham”,!while!being!absorbed!by!the!works!of!Adolf!Wölfli,!Alöise!corbaz!or!Augustin! Lesage!among!many!others.!It!was!not!only!the!work,!which!was!remarkable!but!the! stories!behind!these!characters.!Most!of!them!had!very!difficult!childhoods,!traumas! and! abandonment! and! many! of! them! ended! up! in! psychiatric! institutions! for! a! lifetime,!this!fact!also!intrigued!and!fascinated!Dubbuffet.! ! There! is! an! essay! by! Dubuffet! titled! Anticultural. Possitions! ! (which! was! actually! a! lecture! he! gave! in! The! Chicago! Institute! for! The! Arts! in! 1951,! and! was! later! transcripted!and!published!in!1969)!that!sums!up!a!clear!view!of!his!thoughts!on!the! classical!way!to!conceive!art!in!the!western!culture!of!the!fifties.!He!!mainly!criticizes! it’s!intellectual!up!bring!and!the!forgotten!values!of!the!so!called!primitive!cultures! and! to! promote! their! value! as! the! most! honest! and! direct! way! of! making! art,! precisely!because!it!does!not!have!the!pretention!on!being!seen!as!art.! ! Dubuffet!believed!that!the!savage!and!primitive!feelings!have!been!suppressed!from! the!western!culture,!and!all!those!rough!edges!have!been!polished,!therefore!art!has! lost! its! instinct,! passion! and! madness,! that! is! implicit! on! human! beings! on! an! everyday!life!context.! ! In!the!text!he!enumerates!six!points!were!he!states!his!critiques!and!opinions.!It!is! important!to!keep!it!in!mind!to!understand!his!deep!connection!with!marginal!arts! and!his!rejection!for!“educated!art”.!! ! On! the! first! point,! he! criticizes! the! hierarchy! that! western! people! have! built,! the! belief! that! us! humans! are! more! valuable! than! other! beings! in! nature,! instead! of! looking! at! ourselves! as! beings! who! harmonize! with! our! environment! we! tend! to! look!down!at!it!,!and!wish!never!to!be!put!at!the!same!level,!while!primitive!societies! believed!and!acted!upon!the!notion!of!wholeness.! ! He!also!explains!his!thoughts!on!the!myth!of!reason,!he!believes!that!the!world!an! not!be!seen!through!the!lens!of!logic,!but!through!more!real!states!of!mind,!that!we! usually! call! madness.! He! is! very! interested! in! people! who! have! mental! disorders,! from!a!traditional!point!of!view!they!can!be!called!crazy!or!mad!but,!from!a!his!point! of!view!they!can!have!everything!more!clear!than!the!rest!of!us.! ! The!following!points!keeps!on!going!about!the!idea!of!reason!and!logic!turning!into! complex! ideas.! He! has! absolutely! no! regard! for! elaborated! thoughts! and! he! uses! a! very!interesting!metaphor!to!make!an!image!out!of!it:!!
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“! I! think! ideas! are! rather! a! weakened! rung! in! to! the! ladder! of! mental! process:! Something! like! a! landing! ! where! the! mental! become! impoverished,! like! an! outside! crust!caused!by!cooling”20! ! ! There! are! several! metaphors! referring! to! both! nature,! natural! states! and! the! changes! that! take! place! without! human! interference.! He! appears! to! be! very! interested! in! science,! but! not! in! the! scientific! way! of! approaching! phenomena,! not! by!bringing!nature!to!our!comfort!zone!and!analyze!but!rather!to!get!out!there!and! learn!how!to!become!a!part!of!it!and!regard!its!natural!state!of!being.! ! Another! important! remark! on! the! text! is! Dubuffet’s! notion! of! beauty:! He! believes! arts!ultimate!function!is!not!to!be!beautiful,!he!states!that!the!concept!of!beauty!was! created! by! the! occidental! culture,! starting! from! the! Greeks! and! that! primitive! and! savage!cultures!did!not!posses!that!notion!of!what!was!beautiful!or!ugly,!therefore! no!one!could!be!deprived!from!it.!In!his!words!! ! “…Art!,!then!returns!to!its!real!function,!much!more!significant!than!creating!shapes! and!colors!agreeable!for!a!so!called!pleasure!of!the!eyes…!Art!addresses!itself!to!the! mind! and! not! to! the! eyes.! It! has! always! been! considered! in! this! way! by! primitive! peoples,!and!they!are!right.!Art!is!a!language,!instrument!of!knowledge,!instrument! of!expression.”! ! ! In! the! text! Dubuffet! clearly! states! a! position! that! puts! painting! highly! over! the! written!language,!he!believes!it!is!an!empty!language!full!of!cold!signs!which!don’t! really! express! what! humans! want! to! express,! to! him! it! is! isolated! and! impersonal,! while!painting!“can!illuminate!the!world”.! ! It!is!important!to!understand!the!time!when!this!text!was!written:!the!year!1951,!in! this!specific!time!art!is!going!through!the!rising!of!post!postwar!art!in!Europe!and! USA,!op!art!and!minimal!art.!Dubuffet!is!the!one!who!brings!outsider!art!or!art!brut! into!the!scene.!Afterwards!it!influenced!a!number!of!artists!such!as!Claes!Oldenburg,! Christo!or!Yves!Klein,!with!its!roughness!and!honest!approximation!to!art:!when!art! forgets!it!is!art!and!works!just!as!an!expression!of!the!visceral!and!real!instincts!and! feelings!we!have!as!animal!beings.! ! Dubuffet!firmly!believed!that!art!should!carry!the!trace!of!the!tool!and!of!the!hand!of! the!creator,!while!getting!rid!of!compositional!effects!and!over!conceptualizing!the! works!of!art.!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !20!Dubbuffet,!Jean,!excerpts!from!Anticultural.Positions!(Lecture!presented!at!The!Arts!Club! Chicago,!1951);!phostatic!copy!of!the!original!manuscript!in!library!Museum!of!Modern!Art,! New!York!,!1960.!
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Anticultural!positions!represent!a!shifting!point!in!the!way!everyone!was!looking!at! art!at!the!first!half!of!the!20th!century.!His!philosophy!on!art!has!influenced!dozens! of! artists! who! came! after! him,! bringing! back! the! value! of! art! as! an! intimate! and! human! way! of! expression! which! concerns! about! the! inner! self,! the! mystical! and! strong!act!of!creating!and!dealing!with!a!material,!whether!it!is!painting!or!sculpting,! but! doing! it! from! the! core,! it! also! concerns! with! our! relation! with! the! natural! surroundings!and!the!position!we!take!as!humans!being!part!of!it!and!not!being!on! top!of!it.!! After!reading!Prinzhorn!text!and!theories!!about!the!spontaneity!and!creative!urge! of! the! mentally! insane,! visiting! various! psychiatric! institutions! such! as! the! Rodez! psychiatric!Hospital!in!the!south!of!France!and!visiting!Dr.!Ladame!and!his!patients! in!Geneva.!!Dubuffet!started!to!build!up!his!collection.! ! He!encountered!the!works!of!artists!like!Adolf!Wölfli,!Heinrïch!Anton!Muller.!At!the! clinic! of! la! Rosière! he! met! Aloïse! Corbaz.! He! also! visited! prisons! were! he! came! across!more!and!more!people!producing!images!or!sculptures.! Thus!the!term!Art!Brut,!comes!from!the!notion!of!raw!art.!It!is!not!a!synonym!of!Art! of!the!insane,!it!is!more!less!the!sum!up!of!all!kinds!of!marginal!arts,!it!is!art!created! by!the!outcasts,!who!might!be!eccentric!or!just!misunderstood.!But!the!main!value!in! their!work!is!the!lack!of!contamination!and!the!freedom!from!cultural!boundaries.! ! “…These! artists! derive! everything! –subjects,! choice! of! materials,! means! of! transposition,!rhythms,!styles!of!writing,!etcj!from!their!own!depths,!and!not!from! the!conventions!of!classical!or!fashionable!art.!We!are!witness!here!to!a!completely! pure!artistic!operation,!raw,!brut,!and!entirely!reinvented!in!all!of!its!phases!solely! by! means! of! the! artists’! own! impulses.! It! is! thus! an! art! that! manifests! an! unparalleled!inventiveness!unlike!cultural!art,!with!its!chameleon!–and!monkeyjlike! aspects”21! ! Only!the!art!made!by!the!artless!was!free!from!cultural!settings!in!terms!of!beauty!or! aesthetics.!It!is!real!because!it!is!not!meant!to!be!called!art,!it!does!not!care!about!art! and!its!prejudices,!and!it!flourishes!in!the!most!unexpected!places.! ! ! The! term! outsider! can! be! quite! confusing,! and! it! has! been! debated! in! many! occasions.! ! these! artists! are! outside! of! what! exactly?,! of! their! social! circles?,! of! the! mainstream!culture?,!maybe.!I!found!this!passage!on!the!book!by!Michael!D!Hall!and! Eugene! W! Metcalf,! Jr! The. Artist. Outsider,. Creativity. and. the. boundaries. of. Culture. (1994)! “They! are! outcasts! only! because! those! who! live! in! their! head! tend! to! be! ignored! in! a! society! that! primarily! decorates! the! pocket! and! the! outer! self.! Their! isolation! is! actually! a! perceived! but! unacknowledged! class! difference.! From! an! existential!position,!they!are!no!more!isolated!than!most!modern!souls”! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 21!Dubuffet,!Jean.!L’art.brut.préferé.aux.arts.culturales.!Exhibition!catalogue,!Galerie!René!
Drouin,!Paris,!1949.!Translated!by!Paul!Foss!and!Allen!S!Weiss!in!Art.Brut:.Madness.and. Marginalia,!a!special!issue!of.Art.&.Text!no.!27!(December!1981jFebruaryj1988)p.33!
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! Grasping! the! categories:! Art! Brut,! Art! Naïve,! Folk! Art,! Neuve! Invention,! Outsider!Art,!Visionary!Environments! ! It! is! always! hard! to! try! to! categorize! works! of! art! under! strict! rules! and! names.! Dubuffet! had! a! clear! idea! of! what! Art! Brut! was! meant! to! be,! he! made! it! clear! in! statements!like!Anticultural.Positions!(1951)!or!L’art.brut.préferé.aux.arts.cultureless! (1949),!when!he!described!what!the!Art!Brut!idea!covered!“What!we!mean!by!this! term!is!work!produced!by!people!immune!to!artistic!culture!in!which!there!is!little! or! no! trace! of! mimicry! as! is! invariably! the! case! of! intellectuals;! that! such! creators! owe! everythingj! their! subject! matter,! their! models! of! transcription,! their! rhythms! and!styles!of!drawing,!and!so!onj!to!their!resources!rather!than!to!the!stereotypes!of! artistic! tradition! or! fashion.! Here! we! are! witness! to! the! artistic! operation! in! the! pristine!form,!something!unaltered,!something!reinvented!from!scratch!at!all!stages! by!its!maker,!who!draws!solely!upon!his!private!impulses”22! ! His! categorization! was! completely! antij! academic! and! he! did! not! want! that! the! artists! in! his! collection! had! connections! with! the! cultural! world! and! knowledge! about!Art!History.!But!this!is!very!hard!to!measure,!and!to!catalogue!artists!under! such!strict!boundaries!means!that!in!the!end,!many!wonderful!artists!got!left!behind,! and! passed! on! to! other! categories.! Meaning,! rejecting! the! rejected! all! over! again.! That!is!why!many!of!Dubuffet’s!followers!decided!to!broaden!the!concept!and!they! even!came!up!with!new!words!and!slightly!different!philosophies.! ! ! This! absolutism! and! strictness! when! categorizing! the! works! of! the! untutored! led! him!to!reject!some!great!creators!like!Gaston!Chissac!(1910j1964)!France,!who!even! though! was! very! talented! and! created! amazing! collages,! painted! on! wood! stones,! and! later! worked! in! building! totems! and! was! outside! from! the! mainstream! art! circuit,!he!was!still!rejected!from!the!collection.!The!only!reason!why,!was!because! he! had! contact! with! mainstream! artists! and! intellectuals.! Dubuffet! did! get! inspiration!from!Chaissac’s!work.!After!his!rejection!he!felt!used!and!excluded!and! died!before!he!could!have!his!breakthrough.! ! !! But!not!all!cases!were!so!tragic,!some!artists!who!also!got!rejected!became!yet!part! of!a!new!category!named!by!Dubuffet!himself.!It!was!the!Neuve!Invention,!so!these!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 22!Dubuffet,!Jean..L’art.brut.préferé.aux.arts.culturales!(1949),!in.L´Homme.du.commun.à.
lóuvrage!Pg!91j22,!!Gallimard,!Paris,!1973.!Translated!and!quoted!by!Roger!Cardinal!in!The. Artist.Outsider,.Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.!Hall!and!Eugene!W! Metcalf,!Jr.!!Chapter:!Towards.an.Outsider.Aesthetic!Pg.!28.!Smithsonian!Institute!press,! Washington!and!London,!1994.!
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artists! had! contact! with! the! mainstream! culture,! they! were! in! the! words! of! Roger! Cardinal!“an!innocent!aware!of!his!innocence”.!23! ! In!the!book!The.Artist.Outsider,.Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.! Hall! and! Eugene! W! Metcalf,! Jr,! there! is! a! chapter! called! crossing! into! Uncommon! Grounds,! where! Lucy! R.! Lippard,! an! international! renown! art! critic! and! curator,! quotes!Randall!Morris!on!this!matter,!he!says:! ! !“Entire!bodies!of!work!have!disappeared!from!our!knowledge!banks!because!the!art! establishment!did!not!have!the!right!word!to!describe!it.!Environments!both!sacred! and!secular!are!destroyed!every!week!because!their!importance!in!the!universe!has! never! been! understood…! We! are! the! outsiders.! We! are! dominating! and! invading! entire!ways!of!life!and!giving!them!our!names.!By!naming!it,!we!think!we!own!it”.24! ! Cardinal! also! criticizes! these! segregating! notions,! and! in! the! 70’s! he! proposed! the! term! Outsider! Art! as! an! alternative! to! broaden! the! gap! among! the! taxonomical! classification! that! existed! until! that! time.! In! the! book! mentioned! before,! there! is! a! chapter!called!Toward.an.Outsider.Aesthetic!written!by!Cardinal!himself.!He!explains! that!the!concept!he!created!is!both!a!new!general!concept!and!a!way!to!acknowledge! this! phenomenon! as! an! international! issue,! and! not! just! an! European! issue.! So! far! there! had! been! increasing! interest! in! the! art! being! created! in! European! Mental! Institutions,!all!the!collections!where!held!in!Europe.!! ! He! still! believes! in! the! importance! of! the! process! in! an! artist’s! work,! as! well! as! Dubuffet!did,!but!he!also!believes!that!these!works!could!and!should!stand!on!their! own!without!giving!so!much!importance!to!the!biography,!their!childhood!problems,! social!behavior!issues,!psychological!problems!etc.!This!background!information!can! drastically!change!what!we!are!looking!at,!we!perceive!the!works!in!a!very!different! way!after!we!know!that!the!artist!had!all!sorts!of!misfortunes.! ! So,!the!question!remains,!what!are!the!guidelines!to!understand!what!Outsider!art! really!means?.!There!is!no!way!of!classifying!Outsider!Art!as!good!or!bad!art!because! it!serves!its!own!purpose!and!it!is!not!meant!to!please!the!viewer.!However!when!it! enters!a!more!mainstream!field,!this!works!will!be!judged!under!a!different!and!will! be!evaluated!on!their!aesthetic!qualities!and!their!conceptual!content.! ! What! should! really! matter! according! to! Cardinal! is! the! artistic! maturity! of! the! creator,!there!should!not!be!an!age!limit!or!a!concrete!set!of!definitions!of!what!can! and! can! not! be,! in! his! words!an!Outsider!“!…Should!be!possessed!of!an!expressive! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 23!Cardinal,!Roger..Toward.an.Outsider.Aesthetic,!Essay!Pg!24!on!the!book!The.Artist.
Outsider,.Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.!Hall!and!Eugene!W!Metcalf! Jr.! ! 24!Morris,!Radall.!“A!Question!of!Authenticity”.!Unpublished!Manuscript,!New!York,!1990.!
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impulse! and! should! then! externalize! that! impulse! in! an! unmonitored! way! which! defies!conventional!artjhistorical!contextualization�!Pg!30.! ! It! is! necessary! to! understand! the! difference! between! the! different! terms! and! categorizations! among! marginal! arts,! such! that! there! is! no! confusion! when! these! terms!are!used!!in!the!next!sections.! ! The!sense!of!artistic!immunity!that!Dubuffet!talked!about!is!still!a!marking!point!to! distinguish! Outsider! Art! from! other! kinds! of! art! as! Folk! Art! or! Popular! Art.! For! example,!In!Folk!art!there!can!be!a!repetitive!use!of!patterns!or!of!figurative!forms,! in!embroidery!or!maybe!in!a!mural!sign!or!a!carved!wood,!but!there,!these!patterns! and! forms! are! preconceived,! they! serve! a! purpose! of! communicating,! there! is! a! certain!respect!for!norms.! ! Folk!art!is!art!coming!from!the!inside,!not!the!outside,!it!is!art!part!of!a!community! and! comes! from! the! core! values! of! society! rather! than! from! its! fringes.! However,! sometimes!artists!who!have!little!or!nothing!to!do!with!communal!values!are!labeled! under! the! Folk! Art! label,! but! we! already! know! this! happens! among! any! rigid! classification.! ! In!the!early!20th!century,!most!of!the!unclassifiable,!nonjacademic!artists!were!put! under! the! Folklorist! rug! in! North! America.! Many! artists,! collectors! and! curators! began! searching! for! the! mundane! and! common! art! made! by! common! men,! which!! included! ,! paintings,! drawings,! assemblages,! toys,! almost! anything! you! could! think! of.!It!is!a!very!interesting!parallel!between!two!kinds!of!non!academic!artists!way!of! working,! and! how! they! become! accepted! among! a! more! mainstream! culture! maintaining!their!status!as!something!out.of.the.margins,!even!if!they!are!considered! insiders,!outsiders,!marginals,!crazy,!common!or!gifted.! ! In! the! book! mentioned! above,! there! is! an! essay! by! Charles! G.! Zug! III,! were! he! analyses! the! differences! between! Folk! and! Outsider! art! based! on! the! works! and! biographies! of! two! artists.! Burlon! Craig,! a! potter! who! works! burning! and! turning! alkaline!glazed!stoneware!in!the!Catwba!valley!in!North!Carolina!during!most!of!his! life! He! is! considered! the! quintessential! Folk! artist.! The! other! artist! is! Raymond! Coins,! who! was! born! near! Pilot! Mountain,! North! Carolina.! He! used! to! work! as! a! tobacco! farmer.! When! he! retired! at! 66! he! began! carving! numbers,! human! and! animal!!figures!and!words!on!wood!and!rock..25! ! Burlon! Craig! learned! his! craft! at! a! very! young! age! and! had! training! in! order! to! develop! his! passion! for! pottery.! He! begun! a! tradition! of! alkalinejglazed! stoneware! makers! in! this! area! of! North! Carolina.! He! was! born! on! 1904,! he! had! 9! brothers,! 1! sister!and!his!father!worked!as!a!preacherjcarpenterjfarmer.!During!his!childhood!it! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 25!Zug!III,!Charles!G.!Folk!Art!and!Outsider!Art,!Essay!Pg!146!on!the!book!The.Artist.Outsider,.
Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.!Hall!and!Eugene!W!Metcalf,!Jr.! Smithsonian!Institute!press,!Washington!and!London,!1994.!
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was!usual!for!him!to!work!in!the!field,!and!other!chores!of!the!farming!life.!He!left! school! at! a! very! young! age! and! became! an! apprentice! of! a! veteran! potter.! ! Craig! developed!his!own!particular!style,!first!as!an!apprentice!during!the!30’s,!and!later! working! alongside! with! his! wife.! They! purchased! a! potter’s! former! home! and! started!their!own!business.!With!time,!many!people!became!interested!in!his!work,! he!received!awards!and!sells!at!very!high!prices.!Today!he!is!a!master!of!pottery!and! he!works!teaching!the!technique,!that!is!now!recognized!all!over!the!country.!Now! the! Catawa! valley! is! famous! for! its! Pottery! tradition.! So! this! is! an! example! of! a! typical!Folk!artist,!coming!from!the!inside!of!the!community,!learning!his!trade!from! a!very!young!age! !
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Burlon!Craig!working!on!his!pottery! ! URL:!http://www.jonespottery.com/facejjugs/! Entry:!May!18,!2014! !
! On! the! other! hand,! Raymond! Coins’! history! is! very! different;! he! represents! the! Outsider! Artist! in! this! comparison.! He! was! also! born! near! North! Carolina! on! 1904! and!dropped!school!when!he!was!10.!He!had!to!face!a!harsh!world,!having!so!little! education.! He! helped! his! father! raising! corn,! wheat! and! tobacco.! As! a! teenager! he! also!worked!in!farms.!He!married!his!wife!in!1962!and!saved!enough!money!to!buy!a! house!and!30!acres.!He!had!in!many!jobs,!throughout!his!life,!including!working!in!a! furniture!factory,!in!a!sawmill!and!in!a!number!of!tobacco!warehouses.! ! After!his!retirement!in!1970.!The!unexpected!happened.!Coin!had!an!artistic!urge,!a! creative! explosion! that! changed! everything.! He! recalls! having! an! interest! in!
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collecting!various!items!since!he!was!very!young.!He!was!interested!in!old!things,!he! says,! like! arrowheads! and! different! odd! artifacts! he! could! find! on! the! side! of! the! river!or!elsewhere.!There!was!an!interest!in!the!old,!the!ancient.! ! !
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Raymond!Coins!and!his!sculptures! URL:!http://mondojblogo.blogspot.be/2012/07/signsjandjwonders.html! Entry:!May!18,!2014!
! ! At! first! he! started! to! carve! occasionally,! in! wood! first! and! then! in! rock.! He! would! carve!all!sorts!of!images!using!soapstone,!which!gave!it!a!very!old!look!resembling! ancient! carvings.! Some! scholars! and! antique! dealers! could! not! tell! whether! they! were!ancient,!there!was!no!question!about!it.!There!was!a!lot!of!speculation!around! the! source! of! these! sculptures,! they! had! an! apparent! African! influence,! the! simplification! of! forms! and! shapes! was! very! much! like! something! that! could! be! found! in! a! far! away! land,! with! hundreds! of! years! of! history,! but! that! was! not! the! case.!During!the!80’s!he!carved!many!different!animal!figures.!He!received!a!lot!of! recognition,!and!his!works!have!been!displayed!in!numerous!galleries,!museums!etc.! ! Charles! G.! Zug! III,! author! of! this! essay! (and! also! of! the! book! Turners! and! burners! [1990]! ),! clearly! explains! the! difference! between! Folk! and! Outsider! art! by! juxtaposing! the! lives! of! both! artists! ,! in! order! to! illustrate! the! way! both! artists! learned! their! art,! how! they! acquired! and! developed! their! skills.! Burlon! is! the! folk! artist,! he! learned! from! tradition,! Raymond! typifies! the! Outsider! Artist,! who! had! early! experiences! that! triggered! his! work,! he! worked! on! a! very! personal! and! intimate!impulse.!Unlike!Burlon,!he!worked!outside!form!the!community,!he!began!
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to! create! very! late! in! his! life,! which! is! a! common! characteristic! among! many! Outsider!Artists.26! ! Folk! artists,! usually! produce! familiar! and! useful! objects! among! the! community.! Burlon!produced,!jars,!mugs!and!jugs.!He!established!the!price!according!to!the!size! of!the!pot,!they!had!a!clear!commercial!value,!whilst!on!Raymond’s!case,!he!created! at!first!as!a!hobby!and!then!out!of!a!personal!need.!The!process!of!making!was!more! important! than! the! product.! Recognition! and! financial! success! came! as! a! consequence!of!his!intense!work,!but!it!was!not!what!he!was!after.!! ! There!are!numerous!types!of!artists!catalogued!among!these!two!currents.!However! both! concepts! represent! the! misfits! of! art.! Among! the! western! world,! these! artists! do! not! belong! to! the! category! of! high! art,! although! these! perceptions! are! slowly! changing.! ! The!author!presents!a!very!simple!graphic!to!illustrate!the!differences!among!three! types!of!nonj!academic!art!.! ! ! NON!ACADEMIC!ART! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Popular!art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Outsider!Art!!!! ! ! Folk!Art!!! ! ! ! ! School! !!!!!!!Factory! ! ! ! ! Craft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Religion!
! The!diagram!suggested!by!ZUG!III,!shows!three!types!of!nonjacademic!art.!In!the!left! side,! under! Popular! Art,! stand! the! two! major! institutions.! Popular! art! tends! to! be! narrative! and! reinforce! community! and! institutional! values,! generating! a! sense! of! identity.!From!mural!painting!to!poster!art,!calligraphic!drawings!etc.!this!kind!of!art! always! borrows! from! the! popular! culture,! from! entertaining,! music,! current! issues! and! so! on.! It! is! a! very! regionally! based! art! with! little! variation;! the! work! of! the! individual!maker!is!not!relevant!in!Popular!art.!In!the!right!side!of!the!diagram!there! is! Folk! Art,! which! rises! from! a! “informally! transmitted,! craftjbased! or! religious! tradition�!Ibid..Pg.!158.!In!the!middle!of!both!there!lies!Outsider!Art,!which!stands! independently!from!both!traditions.! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 26!Zug!III,!Charles!G.!Folk!Art!and!Outsider!Art,!Essay!Pg!157!on!the!book!The.Artist.Outsider,.
Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.!Hall!and!Eugene!W!Metcalf,!Jr.! Smithsonian!Institute!press,!Washington!and!London,!1994.!
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Naïve!Art,!also!spelled!naïf!art,!is!art!made!among!!“sophisticated!societies”,!it!has! been!regarded!as!a!type!of!art!with!no!formal!training,!an!art!that!shows!a!sort!of! innocence!or!child!like!appearance.!However!this!term!has!been!re!evaluated!during! the! last! decades.! It! is! indeed! a! pejorative! term,! such! as! primitive,! it! is! a! term! that! excludes!and!emphasizes!on!the!notion!of!the!other.! ! Naïve! Art,! in! painting! and! drawing! is! characterized! because! it! does! not! follow! the! formal! rules! formulated! on! the! renaissance.! It! has! different! qualities,! it! does! not! follow!the!rules!of!perspective!and!it!does!not!intend!to!copy!reality.! There!is!no!regard!for!size!or!color!according!to!distance,!which!gives!the!“wrong”! perspective,! and! awkwardness! in! the! shapes.! These! types! of! works! have! been! compared!to!children’s!work!or!medieval!painting.!There!is!usually!a!strong!use!of! color! and! of! patterns! and! an! equal! treatment! of! details! in! the! front! and! in! the! background.! ! This!description!is!now!obsolete!in!my!opinion.!Many!of!the!so!called!Naïve!Artists! were!misunderstood!in!their!time.!That!was!the!case!of!Henri!Rousseau! !Or!Alfred!Wallis,!who!are!now!recognized!as!pioneers!and!geniuses.!They!were!of! great!!influence!for!some!of!the!greatest!artists!of!the!20th!century.! ! Rousseau! was! painting! at! the! same! time! as! the! early! modernists,! meaning! the! beginning!of!the!20th!century.!Modernism!brought!many!changes!in!the!way!people! though! about! the! path! of! progress! and! technology,! and! within! the! art,! it! meant! a! comeback!to!the!old!ways,!ancient!ways!of!living!and!outside!from!Europe.! ! So,! Naïve! Art! is! not! a! very! rigid! categorization,! some! of! the! artists! who! have! been! included!in!this!category,!have!been!called!also!Modern!primitivists,!Outsiders,!even! “Sunday!Painters”.!The!words!change!but!the!work!stands!the!same.! ! ! ! Visionary!or!Outsider!Environments!are!terms!to!describe!astonishing!and!unusual! places! that! exist! all! over! the! world.! Most! of! this! space! projects! are! product! of! a! lifetime! of! dedication! and! creative! work.! Some! people! feel! the! urge! to! build! this! scenarios,!as!their!personal!manifesto!or!testimony!,!as!their!!mark!in!history.!There! are!many!of!these!marvels!around!Europe,!mostly!in!France!and!also!in!the!U.S.!27 ! •
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 27!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Part.III:.Visionary.Environments..Pg!158.!Phaidon,!London,!
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! ! There!is!a!very!interesting!series!(3!episodes!of!1!hour!each)!about!Outsider!environments! •
titled:! Journeys! into! the! Outside! with! Jarvis! Cocker.! Directed! by! Martin! Wallace,! Broadcasted! on! UK’s! Channel! 4! in! 1999.! ! I! would! recommend! it! to! anyone! interested! in! learning!more!about!this!topic.! Found!in!youtube,!link:!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU8XqLs5knw! !
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! Most!of!the!creators!have!no!contact!or!interest!in!the!art!world!or!formal!training.! There!are!hundreds!of!examples,!like!Ferdinand!Cheval’s!Palais.Ideal!in!Hauterives,! Lyon! or! Abbé! Fouré’s! ! Les.Rochers.Sculptés! In! Brittany,! northwest! of! France.! I! still! have!not!had!the!pleasure!to!visit!these!places!but!I!have!visited!one!of!this!personal! paradises!in!!EbemjEmael!,!North!of!Liège!in!Belgium,!it!is!Robert!Garcet’s!,!La!tour! d´Eben!Ezer/The!EbenjEzer!Tower.! ! Robert! Garcet! was! born! in! Mons,! Belgium! in! 1921.! He! moved! out! of! his! town! into! the!north!East!part!of!Belgium,!bordering!with!Maastricht!in!the!Netherlands,!where! many!silex!quarries,!so!he!went!to!work!there.!Years!after!he!became!the!owner!of! one!of!those!quarries.! ! In! 1947,! right! after! the! II! World! War,he! decided! that! he! would! build! a! castle,! he! began! making! plans! and! in! 1953! he! started! building! it,! to! him! it! represented! a! symbol!of!peace,!peace!for!mankind.!In!the!construction!he!had!the!help!of!a!small! group,!but!he!basically!built!it!with!his!hands.! ! He! built! it! entirely! from! silex! stone,! it! consists! of! 4! towers,! all! 33! meters! high.! In! every! tower! there! is! ! a! mystical! animal! on! top,! protecting! and! watching! over! the! castle! and! surroundings,! they! are! also! biblical! animals! from! the! apocalypse! book.! Every!element!in!the!castle!inside!and!out,!is!symbolic,!even!the!height!of!the!towers! is!given!by!ancient!measurements,!it!all!has!a!logic.! Garcet!was!passionate!about!geology,!history,!nature,!biblical!texts,!he!evn!wrote!a! huge!collection!of!books!that!remain!in!the!castle.! ! Garcet! was! an! avid! collector! of! fossils,! ancient! tools! such! as! arrow! tips,! animal! bones.!Inside!of!the!castle,!there!is!a!museum,!were!his!collections!are!displayed!as! well! as! pictures! of! the! building! process,! there! is! a! library! full! of! books! written! by! him! and! also! amazing! representations! of! the! apocalypse! as! painted! reliefs! on! the! walls.! ! Garcet!was!an!artist,!a!builder!a!visionary,!a!writer!a!stone!cutter,!definitely!out!of! the!ordinary.!He!died!in!2001,!leaving!behind!this!wonder!that!is!now!administered! and!open!for!the!public.! !
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All!photos!by!me!
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Detail!of!the!depiction!of!the!Apocalypse!in!the!ground!floor!of!the!castle.!
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From!the!top!of!the!castle!
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! ! ! The!Collection!of!Art!Brut.! ! In!1947!Dubuffet!put!up!his!first!exhibition!at!the!René!Drouin!Gallery!in!Paris,!titled! Le!Foyer!de!l’art!brut.!A!year!later!he!moved!most!of!the!works!of!his!collection!to!a! house! owned! by! the! Gallimard! publishers,! were! along! with! his! fellow! colleagues! from! the! compagnie! de! l’art! brut! took! care! of! the! artworks! and! gathered! more.!! Later! there! was! another! exhibition! at! the! same! gallery! as! before.! Only! this! time! there!were!works!by!over!63!artists.!The!exhibition!was!all!about!Art!Brut!and!this! time!artists!were!recognized!and!for!the!first!time!their!works!were!identified!with! their!names.!The!exhibition!was!accompanied!with!the!catalogue!L’art.brut.préferé. aux. arts. culturales. were! he! shared! his! thoughts! on! Art! Brut! in! contraposition! to! academic!arts.! ! After!La!compagnie!de!l’art!brut!dissolved!due!to!differences!between!Dubuffet!and! Breton!and!difficulties!with!time!and!money.!Dubuffet!took!an!offer!from!his!friend! Alfonso!Osorio!and!he!shipped!all!the!collection!to!Long!Island!in!the!U.S,!keeping!it! safe!in!his!friend’s!house.!It!remained!there!until!1962.! ! During!the!next!few!years!Dubuffet!spent!a!great!amount!of!time!in!the!U.S,!traveling! back!and!forth!to!Europe.!It!was!also!during!this!time,!he!gave!his!famous!lecture!at!
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the!Art!!Institute!of!Chicago.!He!also!had!the!chance!to!exhibit!his!personal!work!on! different!occasions.! ! He!had!very!clear!rules!or!standards!for!works!that!embedded!the!authenticity!of!a!! disregard!for!culture!and!almost!no!contact!with!society,!meaning!the!creators!could! be!housewives,!taxi!drivers,!patients,!hermits!and!misfits,!but!definitely!not!trained! artists.!The!works!that!did!not!meet!that!standard!were!set!in!a!different!category! which!he!called!Neuve!Invention.! ! It!was!very!hard!for!Dubuffet!to!find!a!permanent!place!to!exhibit!his!collection,!and! his!repellence!towards!French!institutions!did!not!help.!Most!places!offered!limited! space! and! did! not! promise! an! onjgoing! exhibition.! It! was! in! Switzerland! that! he! found!the!support!he!was!looking!for,!which!was!also!the!place!were!Wölfli!was!first! discovered.! With! the! support! of! eminent! figures,! especially! Doctors! in! the! psychiatric!field,!they!managed!to!find!a!place!in!Lausanne.!The!former!Château!de! Beaulieu!became!the!home!!of!the!collection!of!Art!Brut!in!October!1972!and!it!was! opened!for!he!public!in!1976.! ! Not!only!did!he!gave!them!a!home,!but!also!a!history!and!the!respect!they!deserved.! He!included!the!names!behind!the!works!and!later!a!small!biography!of!the!authors! to! contextualize! the! viewer.! These! works! were! now! put! on! a! higher! ladder! sort! of! speak.!Not!longer!considered!just!scribbles!and!doodles!of!deranged!patients!but!a! pure! and! strong! demonstration! of! coping! with! life,! with! madness,! with! fears! and! desires,!of!latent!humanity.! ! The!collection!occupies!the!whole!extension!of!the!château,!which!was!remodelled! to!make!space!for!the!amount!of!works.!The!pieces!are!put!up!against!dramatic!black! walls! and! spotlights.! Each! work! is! given! a! single! space;! they! are! not! organized! in! categories! of! style! or! “movements”! because! there! is! none.! They! all! represent! the! authenticity!and!genius!of!their!creator!and!are!accompanied!by!a!bit!of!background! information!when!is!known.!When!Dubuffet!established!the!collection!he!made!sure! to!make!sure!that!his!collection!would!not!be!shown!outside!from!the!collection!and! alongside! “normal”! artworks,! he! was! very! keen! on! maintaining! their! essence! and! not! letting! the! works! be! subjugated! or! misread! when! placed! among! the! common! artistic!practices.!His!collection!was!permanently!growing,!and!only!himself!and!his! successors!were!able!to!decide!what!could!stay!or!not.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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Some!Artists!of!the!collection! ! The!collection!gathers!works!of!hundreds!of!artists,!some!of!them!have!been!there! from! the! very! start! of! the! collection,! such! as! Willhem! Van! Genk,! Aloïse! Corbaz,! Heinrich! Anton! Mßller,! ! Carlo! Zinelli,! Augustin! Lesage,! Henry! Darger! among! many! others.!I!will!briefly!introduce!some!of!my!personal!favourites.!Each!one!of!them!has! a! very! particular! background! and! very! different! interests,! some! are! obsessed! with! an!idyllic!and!romantic!fantasy,!others!are!into!politics!and!city!landscapes,!others! into!words,!sex!and!religion,!others!into!music!or!grandiose!delusions.!These!are!all! things!we!can!relate!to,!human’s!fears,!emotions!and!desires.!I!like!their!authenticity,! their!art!is!alive,!it!is!real,!human!and!provoking.! ! ! I! have! based! my! research! on! two! books:! Raw. Creation,. Outsider. Art. and. beyond. (1996). by! John! Maizels! and. Groundwaters,. A. Century. of. Art. by. SelfTThaught. and. Outsider.Artists.(2011)!by!Russell!Charles.! ! ! ! ! Willhem!Van!Genk!(1927j2005)! !
Willem!Van!Genk!with!part!of!his!raincoat!collection,!1988! Image!taken!from!Raw!Creation!book!Pg.!45!
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! ! ! He! was! born! in! 1927! in! The! Netherlands.! His! work! depicts! the! anxiety! and! input! overload!that!comes!from!living!in!a!large!metropolis.!The!city!is!his!starting!point;!it! !
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is! not! a! city! but! any! city.! He! executes! his! drawings! with! bright! and! dark! colours,! entangled!in!a!bundle!of!energy!and!frenzy.!Van!Genk!had!a!serious!fascination!with! communism,! he! had! a! whole! series! on! Moscow,! where! he! combines! communist! iconography!with!subjects!of!the!western!lifestyle.!Text!functions!parallel!with!the! drawing!by!reinforcing!it,!giving!a!complete!sense!of!horror.vacui!and!an!emotional! struggle! in! each! one! of! his! works.! He! also! works! building! paper! and! cardboard! models!recreating!buses!and!trams.!During!the!mid!1900’s!he!had!a!fear!of!leaving! his!house!for!fear!of!hairdressers.28! ! ! !
Tube.Station,!before!1986.!Collection!d’!L’Art!Brut,!Laussane! Image!taken!from!Raw!Vision!book!Pg.!45! ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 28!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!45.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.!
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Self.portrait.in.the.arc,!1974! URL:!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/6309236/ThejMuseumjofj Everything.html?image=2! Entry:!April!26,!2014!
! Alo誰se!Corbaz!(1886j1964)!Switzerland! !
Alo誰se!Corbaz,!1963!
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Image!taken!from!Raw!Creation!book!Pg.!45!
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La!Caporale!Dieu!Bien!Fou,!collection!Sreck,!Switzerland! Image!Taken!from!Groundwaters!Book!Og.!86!
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! Aloïse’s! drawings! exude! a! powerful! femininity,! digging! into! the! realms! of! imagination!and!dreams.!They!have!something!of!a!childlike!quality!but!as!soon!as! you! pay! real! attention! you! realize! there! is! something! disturbing! and! obsessive! in! this!universe!of!princesses!and!their!princes,!of!love,!lust!and!luxury.!A!search!for!a! true!and!impossible!love.! ! Her!drawings!contain!many!elements!from!the!Opera,!the!ballet,!theatre,!!as!well!as!! religious! and! ! historical! references.! Which! Aloïse! was! familiar! with! during! her! youth,! when! she! worked! in! the! imperial! court! of! Kiser! Wilhem! II! in! Germany! as! a! tutor!for!his!young!daughters,!this!was!before!World!War!I.!There!she!developed!a! sort! of! obsession! with! the! monarch! and! the! frustration! coming! from! the! impossibility!of!being!loved!in!return.!When!she!went!back!to!Lausanne,!where!she! !
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entered! the! asylum! La! Rosière! (Gimel,! Switzerland)! after! having! emotional! problems!due!to!psychiatric!disorders!.She!remained!in!there!for!the!next!forty!four! years.29! ! As!told!in!her!biography!by!John!Maizels,!she!“…remained!connected!to!her!society! through! her! transformations! of! the! era’s! romantic! imagery.! In! her! oeuvre,! we! observe! an! alienated! creature! ceaselessly! projecting! an! imagined! life! through! the! repertoire! of! women! idealized! and! scorned! in! our! culture;! we! encounter! a! drama! greater!than!what!we!might!find!in!the!theatre!she!adored.”30!Her!women!are!strong! and! great,! they! wear! sumptuous! dresses! ,jewellery! and! carry! floral! bouquets,! they! are! sensuous! women,! red! lips! lush! blond! hair! and! bright! blue! eyes! which! are! starring! but! also! empty.! They! usually! have! a! male! figure! accompanying! them,! but! men!are!always!a!lot!smaller!and!are!either!leaning!at!her!or!embracing!her.! ! All! scenes! depicted! are! romantic! and! passionate! and! are! accompanied! with! impressions!of!fruits,!a!variety!of!plants,!lovebirds,!peacocks,!nests!and!eggs.!All!the! figures! entwine! together! in! a! colourful! mellow! dance.! She! created! largejscale! drawings! by! sewing! pages! together! creating! multiple! panels! with! different! scenes! and! narratives! within! the! same! frame.! ! The! drawing! titled! Le.Cloisonné.de.theatre! reaches! almost! 14! meters! high.! She! uses! colour! pencils! in! very! bright! colours! and! her!trace!is!strong!and!confident.!! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 29!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!45.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.!
! 30!Russell!Charles.!Groundwaters,!A!Century!of!Art!by!SelfjThaught!and!Outsider!Artists.!Pg!
85.!Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!!
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The.star.of.the.Paris.Opera.(Napoleon.III.at.Cherbourg).(LÉtoile.de.l’Opera.Paris[Napoleon.III.à. Cherbourg]),!Collection!de!L’Art!Brut,!Lausanne! Image!taken!From!Groundwaters!book!Pg.!88!
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! August!Walla!(1936j2001)!Austria!! ! !
! August!Walla!in!his!studio!
! August!Walla’s!work!revolves!around!a!search!for!the!meaning!of!existence!and!its! mystery! using! his! own! clues! and! symbols.! The! images! he! creates! have! a! strong! political! and! religious! content! as! well! as! a! depiction! of! his! dramas! ,! passions! and! struggles!with!sexuality!and!death.! ! His! paintings! are! usually! in! a! big! scale,! as! murals! over! the! walls! and! ceilings,! ! his! crayon!drawings!!come!in!a!smaller!scale!but!are!still!very!powerful.!Their!symbolic! content,! the! use! of! text! and! image,! bright! colours! and! the! trace! left! by! a! confident! hand!make!his!work!very!shocking,!confronting!and!energetic.! ! The! icons,! symbols! and! words! he! uses! can! be! contradictory.! There! is! a! very! good! description! of! one! of! his! works! by! Charles! Russell! ! about! the! painting! Untitled! (Teufelgott! [Devilgod])(1984;! below)! “…! Extending! this! declaration! of! self! is! the! avowal:! “Ealigion! +! Christ,! Voter! Communist”.! Expecting! the! figure! below! to! !
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represent!a!selfjportrait,!we!find!a!creature!whose!head!bears!two!horns,!a!halo,!a! crown!emblazoned!with!the!word!“SATAN.!.”!In!his!left!hand!,!he!bears!a!sceptre;!in! his! right,! he! holds! a! snake,! also! labelled! “SATANAS.!.”! A! penis! emerges! from! his! opened!pants.!He!is!surrounded!by!symbols!such!as!the!christen!cross,!the!hammer! and! sickle,! an! abbreviation! KPÖ! for! the! Communist! Party! of! Austria,! and! private! signs!and!amorphous!forms!bearing!words!such!as!“GOD”,!“LULUHONEY”,!“DEATH”,! “WODAN”!(Wotan);!“URANUS”;!“SATANAS”;!as!well!as!a!jumble!fo!words!at!his!feet;! some!unrecognizable,!others!provocative,!including!“Allah”;!“Devil”;!“Elias;!and!“End! of!all!God.””!
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(Teufelgott![Devilgod])(1984),!abcd!Art!Brut!Collection,!Paris! Image!Taken!from!Groundwaters!Book!Pg.!134!
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August.Walla's.room.in.the.Haus.der.Künstler! (©.Guggging.Museum)!
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! Walla’s!work!seems!to!be!rooted!in!the!catholic!catechism,!there!seems!to!be!a!lot!of! struggle! and! confrontation.! He! depicts! women! figures! as! the! blessed! ones,! they! represent!his!mother,!and!his!late!grandmother!who!where!the!only!women!in!his! life.! He! often! depicts! himself! as! a! good! and! evil! character,! he! was! raised! under! catholic! religion! but! there! is! always! a! double! side.! He! is! also! confronted! with! his! carnal!desires,!he!painted!himself!with!his!penis!hanging!out!of!his!pants,!sometimes! ejaculating! or! peeing.! He! is! a! sinner,! he! fears! God! too,! he! respects! him,! and! Satan! too.! ! Throughout!his!work!there!is!also!a!strong!political!presence.!At!the!same!time!he! puts! together! antagonistic! symbols,! some! belonging! to! communist! parties! fro! Austria! and! he! also! depicts! swastikas,! and! references! to! Hitler.! He! even! links! his! name!to!Hitler’s,!calling!himself!Adolli.!This!is!all!imagery!coming!from!his!childhood! memories.!He!was!2!years!old!when!Austria!was!annexed!to!the!Nazi!Germany!and! he! lived! under! the! fascist! regime! for! 9! years,! and! he! was! 11! when! the! Russians! occupied! Niederösterreich! region! of! Austria,! which! made! him! very! aware! of! the! icons,!symbols!and!images!related!to!both!regimes.! ! The! immediacy! in! his! works! is! enriched! with! language:! words,! symbols! and! emphasis! through! punctuation.! Words! have! the! same! weight! as! images! do.! Walla! showed! a! keen! interest! in! foreign! languages,! and! on! altering! words,! manipulating! the!accents!in!a!sort!of!private!dictionary,!which!served!his!work!only.! ! He! lived! a! marginal! existence,! from! his! early! childhood! he! showed! symptoms! of! mental!disorders,!so!he!was!not!admitted!in!public!schools,!he!did!not!have!the!right! !
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to! vote! and! he! could! not! find! any! jobs.! He! was! born! when! his! mother! was! 44,! his! father! did! not! recognize! him! as! his,! so! he! was! raised! by! his! mother! and! his! grandmother!who!died!when!he!was!6.!She!is!often!depicted!in!his!works.!During!his! early!years!he!got!diagnosed!several!times,!until!he!was!enrolled!on!a!special!school! at!age!15.!At!16!he!was!sent!to!a!hospital!near!Gugging.!During!several!year!he!was! treated! there,! while! he! was! living! with! his! mother! in! complete! isolation! in! a! little! village!near!Vienna.!They!became!inseparable!and!he!had!all!the!time!to!inmerse!in! his!mental!world!and!create!his!own!universe.!They!lived!in!social!housing!for!many! years,! at! times! they! were! evicted! from! the! property! for! poor! housekeeping.! In! the! backyard!of!one!of!the!houses!they!lived!in!August!gathered!lots!of!trash,!pieces!of! wood,! or! anything! he! could! use! and! started! building! objects! and! painting! his! symbols! and! words! all! over! the! place.! His! works! worked! as! talismans! against! evil! spirits,!humans!and!death.! ! On! 1972! he! had! to! return! to! Guggin,! there! he! met! Dr.! Leo! Navratil.! While! he! was! diagnosing!Walla,!he!was!struck!by!!a!drawing!he!had!made!on!the!diagnose!sheet,!it! was! a! human! figure.! Even! though! Walla! was! not! his! patient! he! continued! visiting! him! often.! Navratil! had! been! studying! the! creations! of! ! schizophrenics! and! he! believed!Walla!showed!strong!signs!of!that!disease.!He!also!supported!the!creativity! from! the! mentally! ill! and! he! encouraged! them! to! keep! on! working,! providing! all! services!in!the!Gugging!facility!Haus!der!Kßnstler!(House!of!Artists).! ! In! this! residence! facility! Walla! was! given! support! and! a! place! to! develop! his! work! and! flourish.! He! painted! interior! walls,! and! also! part! of! the! façade.! He! was! a! very! silent!patient!who!chose!to!communicate!through!his!paintings!and!words!on!paper! and! on! the! walls.! Separation! from! his! mother! was! very! hard! for! both! of! them,! she! was!interned!on!a!geriatric!institution!and!he!visited!her!almost!everyday.!When!she! died,!he!stopped!creating!for!several!years.!He!died!in!2001.31! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 31!Russell!Charles.!Groundwaters,!A!Century!of!Art!by!SelfjThaught!and!Outsider!Artists.!Pg! 142.!Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!!
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Image!taken!from!the!book:!Die!Künstler!aus!Gugging!(1983)!!by!Leo!Navratil!
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Alle.heiligen.Götter.(Pandemonium).(All.Holy.Gods.[Pandemonium]),!1984.!Gouache!and!colored!pencil! on!paper.!Collection!d’!L’Art!Brut,!Lausanne! Image!taken!from!the!book:!Ground.Waters.A.century.of.Art.by.Self.Taught.and.Outsider.Artists.Pg.!135!
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RUSSLANDS.OPERATZIJON.KOMMUNISTENDOPPELKNABEN.MADCHEN.ALS.MIR.AUS.NAZIMÄCHEN,! n.d!crayon!and!marker!(29.5!x!21!cm)! Image!taken!from!the!book:!Ground.Waters.A.century.of.Art.by.Self.Taught.and.Outsider.Artists.Pg.!141! !
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Tischdecke.(tablecloth),!1993! Photo:!gugler!print!&!media!gmbH,!Melk! URL:http://www.essl.museum/sammlung/kunstler/person?article_id=1364903155040! Entry:!May!18,!2014!
! ! ! HENRY!DARGER!(1892j1973)!United!States! ! To! enter! the! world! of! Henry! Darger! is! to! embark! on! a! vivid! horror! picture,! even! though! at! first! glance! his! images! resemble! the! innocence! of! oldjtime! children! illustration! books,! we! are! immediately! swept! away! to! a! disturbed! and! rather! dark! imagery! coming! from! the! deeps! of! the! subconscious! of! a! disturbed! and! beautiful! mind.! ! The! world! as! Darger! depicts! it,! is! coloured! in! watercolours,! elongated! landscapes,! lush! vegetation! and! scenes! of! children! running! around,! screaming,! and! sometimes!
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being! tortured! and! killed.! His! images! are! very! narrative! and! often! seem! to! depict! different!stages!in!time,!in!the!same!picture,!like!sequences.! ! Some! of! his! drawings! are! accompanied! by! captions,! which! clarify! the! meaning! of! each! scene.! Apparently! they! function! as! sarcastic! commentaries,! and! can! even! be! funny!but!it!is!actually!pretty!dramatic.!! ! The! scenes! he! created,! go! back! and! forth! between! heaven! and! hell,! victory! and! defeat.! Little! girls! are! slave! rebels! and! adult! men,! the! enemies,! coming! from! Glandelinia,!the!nation!who!enslaved!and!tortured!them.! ! The!leaders!of!the!child!rebellion!are!the!Vivian!Girls.!Seven!sisters!who!fight!to!end! the! abuse! that! children! have! endured.! The! whole! imagery! found! in! his! work! are! inspired! by! the! 15.000! pages,! 15! volumes! unpublished! collection:! The.Story.of.the. Vivian.Girls,.in.what.is.known.as.the.Realms.of.the.Unreal,.of.the.GlandecoT.Agelinean. War.Storm,.Caused.by.the.Child.Slave.Rebellion.!It!gathered!both!image!and!text,!and! depicted!scenes!from!a!non!stopping!war,!in!an!imaginary!place.!Scenes!range!from! forests!on!fire!with!little!girls!running!and!screaming!around,!to!the!view!of!a!camp! after!battle,!with!children!bodies!laying!around,!guts!out,!blood!pouring!out.!! ! Darger’s!aesthetic!was!very!inspired!by!children!books!and!catalogues!for!drawing.! He!was!afraid!he!could!not!draw!appropriately!so!he!actually!photographed!pictures! from! the! books,! enlarged! them! and! printed! them,! so! he! could! ! copy! them! straight! from! the! paper.! He! took! the! photos! from! articles,! magazine! illustrations! and! colouring! book! which! gave! his! drawings! a! distinctive! trace.! Little! by! little! as! his! drawing!skills!developed!he!could!detach!from!these!sources!and!began!to!draw!by! memory.!His!sense!of!colour!must!have!been!instinctive!and!also!influenced!by!the! image! collection! he! amassed.! Composition! and! regard! for! the! background! information!and!details,!in!the!description!of!weather,!plants,!location!or!the!clothes! the! children! wore,! made! these! scenes! more! vivid! and! disturbing.! He! could! spend! months!working!on!a!panel!consisting!on!several!papers!joined!together.! ! His! images! come! from! popular! culture,! those! aesthetics! are! deeply! rooted! in! the! collective!memory,! ! The!mixture!between!comedy,!horror!and!innocence,!manage!to!build!an!ambiguous! lecture!with!tensions!pulling!towards!different!sides.!But!one!thing!is!certain,!there! is!a!very!obscure!place!behind!those!pastel!colours.! ! Darger!was!born!in!Chicago!in!1892,!and!lost!his!mother!at!a!very!young!age,!while! she!was!giving!birth!to!his!sister,!who!was!given!on!adoption.!He!was!raised!by!his! father!before!he!was!put!on!an!orphanage!when!he!was!only!8!years!old.!Some!years! later,!after!presenting!strange!behaviour!and!after!getting!the!nickname!of!“crazy�,!
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Darger!was!sent!to!an!Asylum!for!Feeble!Minded!Children!in!Lincoln,!Illinois,!a!place! now!known!for!a!history!of!physical!violence!and!patient!abuse.32! After! he! turned! 15! and! knew! about! his! father’s! death,! he! tried! to! escape! several! times,!until!he!was!able!to!flee!to!Chicago.!After!his!troubled!bring!up,!he!settled!in! the!city,!as!a!quiet!man!with!an!uneventful!and!lonely!way!of!living.!He!worked!as!a! janitor! and! as! a! dishwasher! in! different! catholic! Hospitals,! and! apparently! spent! most!of!his!time!off!duty,!at!home!in!solitude.!Before!his!death!he!was!working!as!a! tenant! for! the! photographer! Nathan! Lerner,! and! he! was! the! first! one! to! find! his! amazing!collection!of!drawings!stacked!at!his!home.!(See!picture!below)!! !
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Henry!Darger’s!Home!Photograph!by!Nathan!Lerner!and!David!Berglund!c.!1970s!American!Folk!Art! Museum!Gift!of!Kiyoko!Lerner,!2003! URL:!http://www.curatedobject.us/the_curated_object_/2010/05/exhibitionsjnycj.html! Entry:!May!18,!2014!
! ! His! iconography! is! unmistakable,! the! repetitive! use! of! hermaphroditer! girls,! children!with!horns,!with!butterfly!wings,!slaughtered,!tortured,!made!him!an!easy! target!for!the!critics!after!his!death!he!was!called!even!a!pedophile!and!a!sadist!and! his! work! was! judged! severally.! The! issue! with! child! nudity,! and! specially! a! hermaphrodite! child! is! still! regarded! as! a! taboo! in! the! conservative! American! society.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 32!Russell!Charles.!Groundwaters,!A!Century!of!Art!by!SelfjThaught!and!Outsider!Artists.!Pg! 106.!Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!!
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! The!dualism!and!ambivalence!are!present!along!all!of!his!work;!he!presents!himself! as!“…both!a!protector!and!a!destroyer!of!innocence;!a!servant!of!god!and!an!agent!of! Satan;! a! vulnerable! child! and! a! murderous! adult;! a! victim! of! horrific! torture! and! a! slayer!of!demons;!a!little!girl!and!a!little!boy.!Every!element!of!Darger’s!Manuchean! world!claims!equal!validity;!all!being!the!projected!psychological!and!moral!struggle! for!which!Darger!had!no!convincing!resolution”.!Ibid,!Pg!108.! ! After!going!through!all!the!violent,!tender,!innocent,!frail!images!we!have!a!taste!of! what!it!meant!to!be!inside!Darger’s!head,!he!was!definitely!a!tormented!man!but!his! broad!imagination!and!skills!helped!him!cope!with!it.!The!themes!of!fantasy,!sexual! aggression,!religious!fervour,!violence!and!gender!antagonism!are!recurrent!in!our! popular! culture! and! that! is! what! makes! it! even! more! shocking! to! see,! it! is! unrepressed!and!extremely!direct,!but!Darger!managed!to!depict!such!harmonic!and! well!balanced!images,!that!makes!us!see!beauty!where!there!is!only!terror.! ! !
Henry!Darger,!18!At.Norma.Catherine..But.wild.thunderTstorm.with.cycolone.like.wind.saves.them,!n.d.! Watercolour,!pencil!and!carbon.!American!Folk!Art!Museum,!New!York! Image!taken!from!the!book:!Ground.Waters.A.century.of.Art.by.Self.Taught.and.Outsider.Artists.Pg.!105! !
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Details!from:! They.are.almost.murdered.themselves.though.they.fight.for.their.lives..Typhoon.saves.them..Middle:.At. Norma.Catherine.via.Jennie.Richee..Vivian.Girls.withess.children.bowels.and.other.entrails.torn.out.by. infuriated.Glandelinians..Right:.Vivian.Girl.princesses.are.forced.to.witness.frightful.massacre.of. childrenTVivian.girls.not.shown.in.this.composition.!Collection!Kiyoko!Lerner.! ! Image!taken!from!the!book:!Ground.Waters.A.century.of.Art.by.Self.Taught.and.Outsider.Artists.Pg.!110! !
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ADOLPH!WÖLFLI!(1864j1930)!Switzerland! !
! Skt.!AdolfjDiamantjRing,!1913.!Adolf!Wölfli!Foundation,!Museum!of!Fine!Arts,!Bern,!Switserland! Image!taken!from!the!Groundwaters!book!Pg.!29! !
Wölfli!is!one!of!the!most!renown!Art!Brut!artists,!nowadays!he!is!also!regarded!as!a! creative! ! genius.! As! I! mentioned! before,! Walter! Morgenthaler! wrote! a! book! about! him! entitled! A. Mentally. Ill. patient. as. an. Artist.! This! was! the! first! book! of! its! kind! because!it!was!the!first!time!that!a!patient!was!considered!a!real!artist!and!also!the! first!time!someone!focused!on!an!individual!rather!than!a!group!or!a!collection.! ! It!is!difficult!to!untie!his!personal!life!and!background!from!his!work.!As!a!child!he! was!abandoned!and!molested,!which!led!to!a!violent!and!isolated!behaviour.!At!the! age! of! 31! he! was! admitted! in! the! Waldau! Clinic! in! Bern! and! after! some! years! he! began!to!draw!out!of!the!blue.!Most!of!his!early!work!was!destroyed!or!got!lost.!But! some!pencil!drawings!he!made!in!the!early!1900’s!survived,!so!Morgenthaler!could! spot!them!on!his!visit!to!the!clinic.! ! “He! was! an! outjandjout! madman! from! the! golden! age! fo! creative! insanity,! but! he! had!absolutely!no!art!training,!no!contact!with!the!art!world,!no!professional!vanity.!
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Thanks!to!these!notions,!Wölfli!was!established!in!Dubbufet’s!eyes!as!an!irrefutable! paradigm”33! ! ! Wölfli’s!compositions!are!symmetrical,!intricate,!they!include!a!number!of!symbols! and! a! wide! visual! vocabulary.! Highly! repetitive! and! decorated.! His! drawings! are! usually! numbered! and! they! leave! no! empty! spaces.! Most! of! his! works! include! musical! manuscript! fragments,! letters,! words! and! motifs! such! as! small! heads! or! birds.!He!was!captivated!by!algebraic!forms!and!musical!compositions.34! ! According! to! Morgenthaler,! Pg.! 21! in! his! book.! Wölfli! worked! intensely! from! morning! till! late! evening,! and! every! week! he! was! given! new! materials! to! work.! Apparently!he!used!a!whole!pencil!in!just!two!days,!when!he!was!out!of!material!he! had! to! literally! beg! the! other! patients! to! lend! him! some! and! he! would! gather! wrapping!paper!or!paper!of!any!kind!to!continue!working.! ! After!Morgenthaler!discovered!his!talent,!he!became!a!sort!of!celebrity!within!small! artistic! circles,! he! often! had! visitors! and! collectors! coming! over! to! have! a! piece! of! him.! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 33!!Cardinal,!Roger..Toward.an.Outsider.Aesthetic,!Essay!Pg!24!on!the!book!The.Artist.
Outsider,.Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.!Hall!and!Eugene!W!Metcalf! Jr.! 34!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!24.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.!
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Felsenau,.Bern,!1907.!Adolf!Wölfli!Foundation,!Museum!of!Fine!Arts,!Bern,!Switserland! Image!taken!from!Groundwaters!book!Pg.!24!
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! One!of!his!most!astonishing!works!is!a!book,!which!he!started!in!1908.!It!assembled! 25.000! pages,! 1.600! illustrations! and! 1.500! collages! in! 45! volumes.! Which! he! worked!on!during!22!years.!The!first!eight!volumes!entitled!From.the.Cradle.to.the. Grave! are! imaginary! chronicles! narrating! his! life! as! a! child.! The! abandonment! and! suffering!he!went!through!are!replaced!with!the!travels!of!child!Doufi!accompanied! with! his! family! and! friends.! Also! the! events! of! his! adult! life! are! replaced! by! adventures!and!fantastic!experiences!were!he!names!himself!Knight.Adolf,.Emperor. Adolf. and. `St.. Adolf. Great. God´.! All! texts! are! together! with! drawings! and! musical! compositions.!The!next!seven!volumes!!the!Geographic.and.Algebraic.Books.(1912j 16),! he! describes! the! founding! of! St! Adolf! Giant! Creation´! its! construction,! the! travels!and!discoveries!that!took!place!during!its!formation.!The!volumes!that!came! next! were! titled! Books. with! Songs. and. Dances. (1917j21). were! he! continued! developing! his! personal! imagery! and! personal! universe,! followed! by! Dances. and. Marches! (1924j28),! to! close! up! with! the! 16th! volume! Funerals.and.Marches! (1928j 30)!.!Many!of!the!drawings!included!in!the!books!unfold!up!to!100!centimetres!wide.! It!is!an!astonishing!amount!of!work!telling!the!story!of!a!parallel!and!fantastic!life!he! lived!through!the!paper!and!pencil!and!his!infinite!imagination..Ibid.. . There!is!a!very!interesting!remark!on!Wölfli’s!impression!of!himself!and!the!changes! he!went!through,!during!the!entire!length!of!his!autobiography,!by!John!Maizels,!in! !
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the! first! volumes! Wölfli! thought! of! himself! as! “…! Naturalist,! poet,! writer,! draughtsman,!composer,!farm!labourer,!dairyjhand,!handyman,!gardener,!plasterer,! cementjlayer,! railway! worker,! dayjlabourer,! knife! grinder,! fishermen,! boatman,! hunter,!migrant.!Worker,!grave!digger,!and!soldier!of!the!Third!section!of!the!third! company! of! Emmental! Batallion! Horray!”! and! in! the! latest! volumes! he! depicts! himself! as! “! St! Adolf! II,! Master! of! Algebra,! Military! CommanderjInjChief! Musicj Director,! GiantjTheatrejDirector,! Captain! of! the! AlmightyjGiantjSteamship! and! Doctor! of! Arts! and! Sciences,! Director! of! the! AlgebrajandjGeographyjTextbookj! Production! Company! and! Fusilier! General.! Inventor! of! 1600! original! and! highly! valuable! inventions! patented! for! all! time! by! the! Russian! Tsar! and! hallelujah! the! glorious!victor!of!many!violent!battles!against!Giants”!Ibid,!Pg!26.! ! So! apparently! he! went! from! being! a! ground! settled! “ordinary”! human,! with! high! value! for! labour! work! to! a! limitless! empowered! genius! with! the! world! at! his! feet,! with!grandiose!delirium.!He!lived!a!whole!different!life!on!his!thousands!of!drawings! and! compositions,! besides! from! the! ones! included! on! his! autobiography.! He! was! a! genius!indeed,!in!his!very!unique!way.! ! There!is!a!harmony!of!forms!and!colours!and!a!high!level!of!symbolism!in!his!work.! This! visual! sophistication! was! evident! since! his! early! works! and! the! imagery! he! would! use! throughout! his! life.! There! is! a! distinctive! skill! for! tracing! symmetrical! curved!lines,!without!the!help!of!any!instrument.!He!also!has!a!very!keen!sense!for! colour!relations!and!of!form!and!composition.!Some!of!the!drawings!have!a!central! element! and! others! surrounding! it! as! waves! emerging! from! a! nucleus,! they! somehow!resemble!mandalas.!Others!have!a!more!horizontal!composition,!were!he! puts! together! several! papers! to! create! very! large! images,! often! incorporating! musical!notation,!numbers!and!scripts.! His!texts,!handwritten!in!Old!German,!are!found!all!over!his!oeuvre,!side!by!side!with! drawing.! Most! of! the! pages! in! his! autobiography! include! text! only,! so! on! the! first! instance!he!could!be!considered!a!writer.35! ! .
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33.!Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!
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Der.Gross.=.Gott.=.Vatter.=.Huht.mit.Skt.Adolf.=.Kuss,.Riesen.=.Fonttaine.(The!great!=!god!=!father=!hat! with!St!Adolf!=!Kiss,!giant!=!Fountain),!1917! Adolf!Wölflij!Stiftung,!Kunstmuseum!Bern! Image!Tken!from!Raw!Creation!book!Pg.!28!
! ! Wölfli’s! work! is! a! journey! into! a! mystic,! enchanting! and! obsessive! world.! Through! his!vision!,!his!charts,!maps,!calculations!and!parallel!stories,!we!find!a!man!with!a! need!to!control!both!time!and!space!around!him.!The!fiction!becomes!so!real!we!can! begin!to!imagine!what!it!must!have!felt!like!to!live!in!his!skin,!trying!to!overcome!his! demons!and!living!a!rich!end!eventful!life!through!his!pencils!and!paper.! ! The! founding! of! the! collection! inspired! many,! who! later! started! their! own! collections! in! France,! The! Netherlands,! Germany,! Italy! and! others.! And! this! is! only! Europe.!Nowadays!there!are!Art!Brut,!Art!&!Marge!and!Outsider!Collections!all!over! the! world,! who! are! prepared! to! show! this! vital! and! unique! art! which! most! mainstream!Museums!would!not!accept!among!their!collections.! ! (To! read! more! about! other! Collections! and! some! of! the! artists! in! them,! refer! to! Appendix.1)! ! ! !
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What!about!the!rest!of!the!world?!! Outsider!Art!Outside!of!Europe! ! ! Nonjacademic! art! from! outside! Europe,! has! been! categorized! as! primitive,! unrefined,!charming,!exotic.!Neglecting!it!from!the!proper!recognition!in!Art!history.! However! there! are! hundreds! of! artists! coming! from! small! villages! and! big! cities! creating! works! which! mix! popular! art,! current! events,! religion,! tradition,! local! imagery.! Many! of! them! have! slowly! been! recognized! as! creative! and! genuine! individuals.!They!represent!a!form!of!resistance!to!globalized!aesthetics,!to!Western! European!history!and!to!the!ups!and!downs!of!the!art!world!and!its!market.!As!well! as! the! Primitive! Art,! and! the! Outsider! Art,! most! of! these! artists! work! in! different! spheres,!not!among!the!mainstream,!or!the!fine!art!elite!but!their!works!are!strong,! honest! and! unpretentious.! I! will! go! through! a! few! examples! acknowledging! that! there! is! another! whole! universe! to! discover! in! these! countries! “from! the! third! world”.! I! will! also! give! a! couple! of! examples! among! African! American! Folk! Artists,! who! might! be! called! differently! but! have! also! resisted! art! trends,! as! well! as! centralized!and!institutionalized!art!making.! ! Among!the!first!ones!to!caught!attention!in!the!west,!were!the!self!taught!or!Intuitive! Artists!from!Haiti.!A!country!with!such!a!mixture!of!beliefs,!and!incorporate!various! symbols! and! elements! coming! from! African! cultures,! on! the! other! hand! there! is! a! strong! presence! of! Catholicism.! Haiti! was! a! French! colony,! therefore! Christianity! was! enforced! on! the! people,! there! are! also! elements! coming! from! European! mysticism!and!freemasonry.!! ! Artistic! tradition! is! very! complex! due! to! the! numerous! influences.! Before! the! colonization!Taino!Indians!were!already!!creating!paintings!on!their!bodies,!caves,! huts! and! artifacts.! After! the! arrival! of! the! Spaniards,! traditional! Taino! culture! suffered!great!loss.! ! There!were!some!Art!schools!established!during!the!19th!and!20th!century,!many!of! the! painters! were! commissioned! to! paint! public! buildings! and! houses! of! wealthy! people! and! they! couldn’t! really! represent! their! people! or! traditions.! In! 1943,! an! American,!!Dewitt!Peters!who!was!a!watercolorist!on!a!wartime!assignment,!noticed! the!lack!of!genuine!Haitian!art,!so!among!with!others,!he!founded!The!Centre!D’!Art,! which!began!a!revolution!!in!the!Haitian!Arts,!it!was!also!the!first!window!of!their!art! to!the!rest!of!the!world.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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! ! HECTOR!HYPPOLITE!!(1894j!1948)!Haiti! ! ! Among!the!first!generation!of!painters,!there!was!Hector!Hyppolite,!on!of!the!leading! figures! in! the! modern! development! of! Haitian! painting.! So,! intuitive! Art! is! popular! art! among! nonjAmerican! and! nonjEuropean! countries,! it! usually! incorporates! beliefs,!traditions!and!religious!beliefs!from!the!inside.!That!is!why!Hyppolite’s!work! is!a!fine!example!to!grasp!this!categorization.! ! Hyppolite! was! born! in! St.! Marc,! Haiti! in! 1894! and! was! a! third! generation! voodoo! priest!(houngan)..His!artwork!was!totally!immersed!in!the!voodoo!imagery!and!he! was!encouraged!by!Dewitt!to!show!his!work!and!become!a!part!of!the!Centre!d’!Art,! but! he! preferred! to! work! on! his! own,! depicting! his! own! interpretation! of! the! loas,. which!are!spirits!of!Haitian!voodoo.!!! ! During! the! beginning! of! the! 1900’s! Hyppolite! lived! in! Cuba,! he! worked! in! sugar! plantations,! when! he! went! back! to! Haiti,! he! worked! as! a! house! painter.! Once! he! made!some!paintings!for!!a!bar,!he!painted!doors!and!furniture.!Once!Peters!saw!his! work,!he!!invited!him!to!join!the!centre.36! ! After!Hyppolite’s!arrival!to!the!center!he!painted!16!paintings!in!just!one!week.!His! paintings! were! very! immediate,! colorful,! and! raw.! They! depicted! different! African! traditions! and! symbolic! representations! of! the! loas.! In! 1946! the! surrealist! André! Breton!and!the!Cuban!painter!Wilfredo!Lam,!visited!Haiti!and!became!interested!in! Hyppolite’s! work.! Breton! bought! 5! of! his! paintings! and! he! stated! that! Hyppolite’s! work!would!revolutionize!modern!painting.!In!1947,!he!was!invited!to!the!UNESCO! exhibition! in! Paris,! which! meant! world! fame! and! acceptance! among! the! high! art! circuits!as!the!most!important!figure!in!Haitian!Art.!Even!Truman!Capote!was!a!fan! of!his!depictions!that!united!Catholic!imagery,!such!as!images!of!saints!with!spiritual! elements!of!the!voodoo!tradition.! ! ! !
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Saint!Francis!and!the!Christ!Child![Saint!François],!ca.!1946–48! URL:!http://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=516!Entry:!May!26,2014!
! ! One!of!his!most!important!paintings!is!called!St.!Francis!and!the!Christ!Child!(1946j 48),! which! shows! baby! Jesus! embracing! St.! Francis! of! Assisi,! the! ! Patron! saint! for! those! who! promote! care! for! nature.! He! is! also! a! saint! who! called! for! a! life! of! simplicity! and! humility,! which! Hyppolite! strongly! believed! in.! Both! figures! are! surrounded! by! angels,! birds! and! flowers! in! a! flamboyant! composition! of! bright! beautiful! colors.! His! depiction! of! nature! is! highly! detailed! and! his! figures! are! not! anatomically!correct,!but!they!do!not!need!to!be,!meaning,!the!message!is!clear!and! there! is! no! need! for! it.! Both! baby! Jesus! and! saint! are! portrayed! with! dark! skin,! resembling!his!fellow!compatriots.! ! St! Francis! has! a! direct! relation! with! Ogoun! Balandio,! the! Haitian! God! for! healing.! During!the!French!invasion,!African!slaves!were!forced!to!embrace!catholic!religion,! so! many! of! their! Haitian! gods! were! compared! and! shared! characteristics! with! Catholic!saints.!This!way!Haitians!were!able!to!maintain!some!of!their!traditions!and! beliefs.!Hyppolite’s!work!is!a!concrete!example!of!this!blend!among!cultures.! ! In!the!last!years!of!his!life,!he!depicted!darker!images.!He!was!no!longer!a!houngan,! he!became!more!devoted!to!art,!so!he!asked!the!spirits!permission!to!stop!painting.!
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His! work! will! always! be! remembered! as! one! key! figure! in! terms! of! portraying! the! true!Haitian!identity.!He!died!in!1948!of!a!heart!attack.37! !
Black!Magic!(Magique!Noir),!ca.!1946–47! URL:!http://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=516!Entry:!May!26,2014
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Mistress!Siren![Le!Metrés!Siréne],!1946! URL:!http://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=516!Entry:!May!26,2014!
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148.!Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!
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PHILOMÉ!OBIN!(1892j1986)!Haiti! ! Philomé!was!a!fellow!painter!at!the!Center!D’!Art,!he!worked!there!at!the!same!time! as!Hyppolite!and!is!also!praised!as!one!of!the!greatest!Haitian!artists.!He!was!born!in! 1892! in! CapjHaïtien.! As! a! boy! he! was! given! drawing! lessons,! and! it! was! not! until! 1908!that!he!produced!his!first!painting.! Most! of! his! work! was! lost,! a! great! part! of! his! paintings! were! painted! on! Masonite! and!cardboard!so!they!could!not!stand!time.!! ! His! work! was! not! very! well! received! by! Haitian! middle! class,! who! preferred! more! French! style! painting! instead! of! his! traditional! Haitian! scenes! and! visions.! So,! he! worked! mostly! painting! murals! and! other! decorative! pieces! for! different! establishments,! including! protestant! chapels.! This! would! put! him! under! the! category!of!a!Popular!Artist,!which!has!been!discussed!earlier!in!the!text.!Obin!was!a! Baptist!and!did!not!follow!the!voodoo!tradition.!However!he!did!have!contact!with! occultism!through!freemasonry.!! ! Obin! did! not! have! financial! success,! and! by! the! mid! 20th! century! he! still! had! not! received!any!money!for!his!art.!His!moment!of!luck!came!when!he!became!part!of! the!Centre!D’!Art!founded!by!Dewitte.!They!became!good!friends!over!the!years.!In! 1944,!he!began!to!sell!his!paintings!in!the!centre!at!very!good!prices,!art!seekers!and! curious! tourists! were! hungry! for! his! work,! during! the! 70’s! he! was! already! selling! small!paintings!at!$3000!US!dollars,!which!was!a!large!amount!at!the!time.! !
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Philome!Obin,!the!patriarch!of!the!Haitian!painter!in!his!studio!in!Cap!Haitien!with!his!students.! URL:http://www.fotofriedel.com/www_de//library.lib/img/HAITI/all/all/?search_str=+GEM%C4L DE&portrait=&sw=&landscape=&detail=1&start=2&num=8! Entry:!May!26,!2014! !
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! Philomé’s!images!show!a!lack!of!perspective,!giving!the!images!an!odd!look.!He!uses! powerful!allegories!and!symbols,!his!use!of!colour!is!particularly!muted,!unlike!most! of!his!fellow!colleagues!in!the!northern!part!of!the!country!and!his!attention!to!detail! is!nothing!but!impressive.!He!had!a!big!influence!on!the!northern!part!of!the!country! and! trained! lots! of! artists! too,! including! his! brother! Sénèque! and! his! children! and! grandchildren.! ! In! 1991,! a! man! was! brutally! killed! by! the! American! Occupation! in! Haiti,! his! name! was!Charlemagne!!Péralte.!After!he!was!killed!he!was!tied!in!a!door!and!left!there,!in! order! to! demoralize! the! population! and! any! kind! of! opposition.! But! actually,! he! became!a!martyr!for!Hiaitan!people.!Philomé!was!very!patriotic!and!although!he!did! not!witness!this!“crucifixion”!!he!made!a!couple!of!very!powerful!paintings!about!it,! honoring!him!as!a!national!hero.! ! One!of!his!masterpieces!was!a!mural!titled!crucifixion!and!it!was!the!central!of!three! murals!rising!over!the!altar!piece!in!Sainte!Trinité—the!Episcopal!Cathedral!in!Portj aujPrince.! He! died! in! 1986,! a! few! years! before! that,! he! visited! Europe’s! capital! cities! and! afterwards! the! U.S.! He! was! honored! and! his! work! was! highly! appreciated.! ! He! is! remembered!as!one!of!the!key!figures!in!Caribbean!art!naïf.! !
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The.Crucifixion.of.Charlemagne.Péralte.for.Freedom.(Crucifixion.de.Charlemagne.Péralte.pour.la. Liberté)!(197)0! URL:!http://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=4141! Entry:!May!27,2014!
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Le.Celebre.Peintre.Philome.Obin.et.Son.Fiene.Seneque!(1960)! URL:http://www.treadwaygallery.com/ONLINECATALOGS/DEC.2003/paint/0639.html! Entry:!May!26,!2014! !
! Carnaval.du.Cap.Ha誰tien!(1946)! URL:!http://www.artshaitian.com/Pages/haitianartphilome.html! Entry:!May!27,!2014!
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HORACE!PIPPIN!(1888j1946)!USA! ! Horace!Pippin!was!born!in!West!Chester,!Pennsylvania!a!small!town!of!about!7,000! inhabitants!and!moved!to!Goshen,!New!york!while!he!was!still!very!young.!In!school! he!had!problems!with!authority.!At!the!same!time!he!was!developing!an!interest!for! art! and! creation! and! that! is! how! he! could! cope! with! his! difficulties.! He! gained! recognition!and!support!from!his!friends!and!neighbors!due!to!his!skills.! ! In!1917!Pippin!had!to!enlist!for!the!army!and!fought!in!the,!all!black!369th!Infantry! regiment!in!France!during!World!War!I.!Just!before!the!war!ended,!he!was!shot!in! his! right! shoulder,! his! drawing! arm.! During! the! time! he! was! still! serving! he! kept! journals!where!he!would!draw,!write!anecdotes!and!letters.!These!journals!are!now! available! for! the! public! at! the! Smithsonian! Archives! of! American! Art! website.! His! time!in!war!really!affected!him,!he!once!even!wrote!that!war!“brought!out!all!the!art! in!me...!I!can!never!forget!suffering!and!I!will!never!forget!sunsets.!So!I!came!home! with!all!of!it!in!my!mind!and!I!paint!from!it!today.”38! ! Once!he!started!painting,!everyone!wanted!a!piece!of!him,!he!sold!at!very!high!prices! but!at!a!personal!level!things!were!getting!through.!His!wife!suffered!from!a!mental! illness!and!he!engaged!in!heavy!drinking!habits.!Pippin!died!in!46’!when!he!was!58! years! old,! leaving! behind! more! than! a! hundred! paintings! that! are! now! spread! around!museums!all!over!the!U.S.! ! His!type!of!work!has!been!difficult!to!categorize,!as!is!usually!the!case!with!so!called! Outiders!or!Folk!Artists.!On!one!hand!he!was!praised!as!a!genius!while!on!the!other! he! was! just! a! naïf,! a! “noble! savage”,! which! is! a! literary! term! used! to! express! the! concept!of!an!idealized!indigene,!outsider,!or!"other"!who!has!not!been!"corrupted"! by! civilization,! and! therefore! symbolizes! humanity's! innate! goodness! (Taken! from! Wikipedia!Entry).! ! Pippin! depicted! his! land,! the! people! he! knew! or! admired.! His! paintings! exude! a! familiarity!and!at!the!same!time!they!are!static,!they!are!instants!kept!in!time.!While! Rousseau!got!inspired!by!the!vegetation!found!in!Botanical!gardens!in!Paris,!Pippin! had! all! the! inspiration! right! in! front! of! his! eyes.! The! series! of! textures,! textile! patterns,!colours!and!compositions!can!be!placed!side!by!side!of!!the!bright!vibrancy! of! a! Matisse! or! a! Gaugin.! However! his! themes! vary! greatly.! Pippin! was! also! interested! in! engaging! the! viewer! with! situations! that! could! be! domestic! and! “ordinary”!but!also!situations!on!larger!scales,!of!political!and!social!importance.!As! it! was! the! case! with! the! painting! The.Trial.of.John.Brown! (1942)! ! and! ! John.Brown. Going. to. his. hanging! of! the! same! year.! They! had! a! strong! social! relevance.! John! Brown!was!a!white!abolitionist!who!believed!in!armed!insurrection!was!the!way!to! put!an!end!to!slavery!in!the!United!States.!He!was!labeled!as!a!terrorist.!In!1859!he! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 38!Pippin,!Horace!quoted!in!URL:!http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1jAj1A0! Entry:!May!28,!2014! !
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conducted!a!raid!where!he!was!captured!and!finally!sentenced!to!death!by!hanging.! He! remains! a! symbol! of! the! fight! against! slavery! and! an! important! figure! in! the! African!American!culture.!So!Pippin!was!really!engaged!with!his!reality,!his!history.! ! Other!scenes!he!depicts!are!more!domestic!and!closer!to!his!daily!reality.!His!work!is! hardly! easy! to! categorize.! His! intimate! portrays! of! the! people! he! lived! and! shared! with.! He! remains! as! a! voice! in! the! black! history! of! the! U.S.! He! painted! things! how! they! are,! how! he! saw! them,! and! his! resonance! in! the! art! world! dominated! by! the! white! is! an! statement,! as! strong! and! relevant! as! what! jazz! music! did! for! example.! Also,! his! topics! that! include! politics,! history! ,! personal! anecdotes! and! religion! are! still!very!present!in!this!century!and!that!is!why!we!can!still!relate!to!his!work!at!a! very!intimate!level.! ! His!work!has!served!as!influence!to!many!artists!generations!after!him.! !
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The.Trial.of.John.Brown!(1942)! URL:http://www.wikiart.org/en/horacejpippin/thejtrialjofjjohnjbrownj1942! Entry:!May!28,!2014!
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! Selfportrait!(1944)! URL:http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/thejcollectionj online/search/482605?rpp=60&pg=31&ao=on&ft=painting&pos=1856! Entry:!May!27,2014! !
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Harmonizing!(1944)! URL:!http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=5238! Entry:!May!27,2014!
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Christmas.Morning.Breakfast!(1945)! URL:http://www.whataboutart.org/blog/2012/3/7/horacejpippinj1888j1946.html! Entry:!May!27,!2014!
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FRÉDÉRIC!BRULY!BOUABRÉ!(1923j2014)!Ivory!Coast! ! ! !
! URL:!http://www.contemporaryand.com/blog/person/fredericjbrulyjbouabre/! Entry:!May!26,!2014!
! Frédéric!Bruly!Bouabré!!was!born!in!1923,!!in!Zéprégüé,!Ivory!Coast.!He!was!among! the! first! generation! of! Ivorians! who! were! educated! under! the! French! colonial! government! He!received!a!message!or!a!kind!of!vision!in!1948,!which!influenced!his!later!work.! In!his!own!words!““the!heavens!opened!up!before!my!eyes!and!seven!colorful!suns! described! a! circle! of! beauty! around! their! MotherjSun,! I! became! Cheik! Nadro:! ‘He! who!does!not!forget.’”39.!At!that!point!he!started!his!collection!and!a!search!to!find! his!own!religion!(The!order!of!the!prosecuted),!he!was!also!keen!on!recovering!an! old!dialect!from!the!Ivory!Coast!called!Beté.! His!divine!drawings!deal!with!revelations!and!the!tangible!world,!this!cards!are!also! very! useful! to! get! a! grasp! of! the! folklore! and! traditions! held! in! this! West! African! country.! ! From!then!on!Bouabré!began!creating!his!own!personal!alphabet!and!sign!language,! he!was!interested!in!gathering!a!collection!of!human!signs!and!signs!found!in!nature.! He!had!great!interest!in!arts,!philosophy,!traditions,!tales,!poetry.!His!drawings!work! as! a! net! of! relations! from! different! fields! of! knowledge! and! is! also! a! valuable! anthropological!and!historical!document!to!preserve!knowledge!and!language!from! his!country.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 39!Hancock,!Caroline!quoting!Frédéric!Bruly!Bouabré,!In.Memoriam:.Frédéric.Bruly.Bouabré.!
Online!article:!.Contemporary.and:.Platform.for.International.art.from.African.Perspectives.. URL:.http://www.contemporaryand.com/blog/person/fredericTbrulyTbouabre/.
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! Bouabré!was!part!of!the!55th!Venice!Biennale’s!Ill!Palazzo!Encclopedico!!curated!by! Massimiliano!Giani.!I!had!the!fortune!of!encountering!his!drawings.! Once! I! found! myself! in! front! of! Bouabre's! drawings,! I! got! the! feeling! of! having! a! whole!life!full!of!anecdotes!spread!right!!in!from!of!my!eyes.!! ! . He! gathers! an! amazing! collection! of! hand! made! index! cards,! all! of! them! include! image! and! writing,! using! very! simple! materials.! He! started! this! series! in! 1982! dividing! it! into! sort! of! chapters! as:! "Knowledge! of! the! world"! or! "myths! and! symbolism"and!"the!universe"!in!which!he!worked!until!88.! This!index!cards!also!had!an!educational!purpose,!Bouabré!was!able!to!teach!a!lot!of! members!from!the!order,!and!also!in!some!!Senegal!institutes!how!to!talk!and!write! in!this!old!decaying!language!and!bring!it!back!to!life.! ! Bouabré!died!at!age!91!this!very!year!in!January!29!in!Abdijan,!Ivory!Coast.! !
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Connaissance.du.Monde,!series!begun!1981! Top,!left!to!right:!L’Universe.Réscurrection.des.Morts.se.dérroulant.en.Vapeur.devenant.Nuages,.ceuxTci. se.révèlent.en.Squelette!(The!Universal!resurrection!of!the!dead!unfolding!in!the!vapour!coming!from! the!clouds!and!revealing!in!a!skeletal!form)! . Partout.où.passé.la.beauté.visuelle.elle.interpelle.son.Amant.le.regard.qui.lui.sourit!(Everywhere!visual! beauty!passes!it!calls!out!its!loving!regards!to!those!who!smile!on!it)! Bottom,.left.to.right:.La.République.Nigérian!(Nigerian!Republique)! Caroline. Wrakynson. Contemporary!Art!African!Collection,!Pigozzi!Collection,!Geneva.! ! Image!taken!from!Raw!Creation!book!Pg.!152! !
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What!is!happening!today?!The!phenomenon!of!the!last!Venice!Biennale! ! The!embracement!of!Outsider!Art!into!the!mainstream!sphere!has!been!gradual!and! slow,! nowadays! many! Outsiders! are! featured! in! Galleries,! having! solo! exhibitions! and! most! of! them! belong! to! some! collection,! at! least! the! ones! who! have! been! discovered!already.!However!in!2013,!the!ultimate!“legitimization”!took!place!at!the! 55th!Venice!Biennale,!which!is!one!of!the!most!important!art!events!in!the!world,!an! event!with!a!highly!commercial!purpose!too,!it!attracts!lots!of!wealthy!people,!and!it! is!definitely!an!institution!that!opens!or!closes!the!gate!for!upcoming!artists,!like!a! rite!of!passage!into!success.! ! Anyway,! last! year! the! story! was! different.! 39! year! old! independent! curator! Massimiliano! Gioni! was! invited! to! curate! part! of! the! biennale.! Gionni! had! the! magnific!idea!to!create!The.Encyclopedic.Palace!exhibition!at!the!Arsenale.!Gioni!felt! a!drive!to!accumulate!knowledge,!as!he!said,!quoting!Plato!at!a!press!conference!in! London!,!there!is!“Nothing!sweeter!than!knowing!everything”.!So,!that!is!how!it!all! started,! from! then! on! Gioni! gathered! the! works! of! more! than! 150! artists! (! from! whom!40!had!already!died)!from!40!different!countries,!where!Outsiders!shared!the! space!with!famous!contemporary!artists.!There!was!no!division!or!reference!to!the! Outsiders! condition,! meaning! to! their! biography! or! their! illness.! It! was! the! work! standing!by!itself.!Which!it!certainly!did.!Many!visitors!might!have!been!shocked!or! confused,!when!entering!The.Encyclopedic.Palace.!The!first!thing!you!saw!was!Carl! Jung’s! (1875j1961)! Red! Book,! Jung! was! a! Swiss! renown! psychiatrist! and! psychotherapist! who’s! work! was! very! influenced! by! religion,! philosophy,! archeology,! anthropology,! literature! and! dreams.! He! studied! the! mysteries! of! the! collective!unconscious,!dreams!and!what!they!told!us!about!human!nature.!In!Gioni’s! words:! ! “Jung!spoke!of!urjimages,!of!primordial!images!that!are!somehow!so!deep!that!they! connect!the!individual!to!a!tradition!and!a!collective!destiny.!I!cannot!claim!that!the! works! in! this! show! will! do! that,! but! there! is! something! these! artists! and! other! figures! can! teach! through! the! sort! of! collage! of! images! that! this! exhibition! is! about.”40!The! red! book! was! the! perfect! starting! point! for! entering! the! exhibition,! giving!a!clue!of!what!was!coming!next.!A!collection!of!collections,!of!obsession!and! thirst! for! knowledge.! Actually,! the! concept! of! a! encyclopedic! palace! is! borrowed! from!a!project,!Italian!architect!Marino!Auriti!had!in!1955.!He!designed!an!eccentric! building! which! objective! was! to! contain! all! human! knowledge.! The! project! was! never!realized!but!the!spectacular!Marquette!was!displayed!at!the!biennale.! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 40!Gionni,!Massimiliano,!Interviewed!by!Goldstein,!Andrew!M!for!artspace!(May!28,!2013).!! URL:http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/massimiliano_gioni_venice_ biennale_interview!
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Gioni’s!vision!is!certainly!revolutionary,!specially!in!an!art!context!where!names!and! money!sometimes!matter!more!than!art.!Gioni!felt!that!there!was!a!need!for!change,! where! art! was! not! just! visual! entertainment.! His! intention! is! explained! in! the! next! fragment!taken!from!an!interview!for!Blouartinfo:! ! “More! and! more,! I’m! interested! in! visual! culture,! or! figurative! expression,! rather! than!just!contemporary!art.!This!is!to!expand!the!dialogue!and!to!move!away!from! the!accepted!canon.!It’s!also!because!I!think!one!of!the!most!pressing!questions![to! interrogate]! is! the! role! of! art! and! artists! in! our! “image! society.”! To! do! that,! you! cannot!just!look!at!contemporary!art.!You!have!to!look!a!little!further,!and!that’s!why! I! included! those! artists.! I! think! they! provide! interesting! examples! of! attitudes! towards! imagejmaking,! imagejarrangement,! and! image! consumption! that! are! important!to!look!at!to!understand!how!we!can!engage!with!visual!culture!today.”41! ! The!pieces!included!at!the!exhibition!!ranged!from!19th!century!photography,!to!Art! Brut,! passing! through! comic,! African! voodoo! flags,! minimal! art! and! even! one! performance.! It! is! quite! amazing! to! have! access! to! so! many! different! gatherings! of!! knowledge!and!collections,!all!preceding!the!age!of!information,!internet!and!image! saturation.!I!mean!it!is!certainly!a!saturated!space!but!it!is!more!connected!to!a!real! human!need,!a!need!to!create,!to!gather,!to!know!and!to!share.!Not!a!bad!reminder! for! the! times! we! are! living! in.! By! including! Outsiders,! Giani! was! also! raising! a! question! about! the! definition! of! Outsider,! many! of! the! artists! included! are! not! Outsiders!in!the!sense!that!they!have!a!mental!disease,!some!of!them!just!decided!to! isolate,!others!are!just!Outside!contemporary!art.42! ! The! show! was! divided! in! various! sectors,! which! were! suggested! and! given! by! the! architectural! space.! There! was! the! central! pavilion! in! the! Giardini.! The! exhibition! displayed!images!that!dealt!with!an!inner!exploration!and!selfjrepresentation.!While! the!Arsenale!was!about!how!images!can!be!tools!that!help!in!the!understanding!of! the! world,! sometimes! involving! in! different! fields! of! research! like! science,! philosophy,! geography,! political! context! among! others.! This! area! also! featured! a! section! gathering! different! approximations! to! the! body! and! the! human! experience! curated! by! Cindy! Sherman.! Dolls,! puppets,! mannequins,! photography,! idols,! paintings,!votative!offers,!collections!are!shown!side!by!side!in!a!curatorial!job!very! in!tune!with!Gioni’s.!The!last!part!deals!more!with!performance!and!space.!Ibid.! ! The! dialogues! generated! between! the! heterogeneous! group! of! artists,! result! in! a! time! traveling,! imagejsaturated! and! compulsive! journey,! which! makes! us! rethink! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 41!Gionni,!Massimiliano,!Interviewed!by!Millard,!Coline!for!Blouinartinfo!(March!19,!2013).!
URL:! http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/880709/ijfeltjthejneedjtojdojsomethingj unusualjmassimilianojgionijon.!Entry:!May!28,2014! ! 42!Gionni,!Massimiliano,!Interviewed!by!Goldstein,!Andrew!M!for!artspace!(May!28,!2013).!! URL:http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/massimiliano_gioni_venice_ biennale_interview!
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the!idea!of!art!and!what!it!means!to!be!an!artist.!It!also!raises!questions!of!whether! the! limits! between! sanity! and! insanity! or! sacred! objects! and! artworks! are! valid.! I! think! this! is! the! point! where! this! whole! research! comes! to! an! intersection,! in! the! (very)! recent! context.! Now! we! are! at! a! time! when! art! needs! to! be! rejthought,! not! just! as! a! potential! source! of! income,! or! as! a! way! to! gain! recognition.! Or! as! hyper! conceptual! an! over! discursive! tool! which! ends! up! becoming! a! cold! void.! But! as! a! primal! creation! and! a! need! from! the! soul.! Inspiration! that! can! grab! anyone! by! surprise,!artist!or!not!artist,!what!does!it!matter?! ! A!collateral!exhibition!took!place!right!next!to!the!Giardini,!Il!Palazzo!de!Everything,! a! towering! installation! by! the! Museum. of. Everything! celebrating! the! work! of! the! Artist!Carlo!Zinelli.!An!Italian!20th!century!self!taught!artist!who!dedicated!his!life!to! painting!his!memories!of!country!life,!wild!animals,!soldiers,!priests!and!women.!On! an!amazing!almost!graphic!language,!an!extensive!use!of!symbols!and!a!clever!!use! of!primary!colors.!Praised!by!Dubuffet,!Breton!and!afterwards!by!many!others.!!43! !
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Quatre.Personnages.sur.Found.Jaune!(Four!people!on!a!yellow!ground),!1961! Collection!de!L’Art!Brut!Lausanne! URL:!http://www.jenesaispaschoisir.com/2011/09/19/unjevjfjajlausanne/! Entry:!May!31,!2014! !
In! the! Museum! of! Everything! Outsiders! are! called! revolutionaries.! They! travel! around! the! world! looking! for! new! extraordinary! art,! building! up! small! pop! up! exhibition.! So! far! they! have! been! at! Moscow,! Paris,! the! TATE! and! Selfridges! in! London!and!this!time!at!the!Venice!Biennale.!Since!2009!they!have!had!more!than! half! a! million! visitors.! ! They! also! promote! the! artists! they! represent! as! exhibitors! and!as!archive.!This!is!yet!another!example!of!the!recent!embracement!of!Outsider! Art!in!the!official!celebrated!mainstream.!Maybe!the!name!Outsider.should!be!given! a!second!thought.! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 43!
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Maybe! the! reason! why! this! phenomenon! is! happening! now,! is! because! there! is! an! urge!to!get!in!touch!with!our!inner!selves,!with!the!spiritual!world,!with!nature!and! our! primitive! instincts.! Maybe! it! is! because! most! contemporary! art! is! not! fulfilling! our!expectations.!When!art!gets!so!contaminated!by!the!market!and!its!!tendencies,! when!!It!happens!so!fast!and!there!is!so!much!going!on!that!there!is!no!time!to!digest! it! or! reflect! about! it.! It! can! get! so! cold! and! empty.! Most! of! the! works! displayed! on! this! exhibition! are! the! product! of! patience! a! different! perception! of! time,! these! works!are!product!of!passion!and!devotion,!a!whole!different!mindset!which!cannot! be!put!in!a!box.! ! Donald! Kuspit,! an! American! art! critic! and! Professor! of! philosophy! and! art! history,!! once! wrote! “The! appropriation! of! the! marginal! by! the! mainstream! is! dialectical! in! that!the!marginal!is!legitimated!by!the!mainstream!and!the!mainstream!acquires!the! aura! of! authenticity! and! integrity! supposedly! innate! to! the! marginal…! Once! appropriated! by! the! avant! garde,! the! artists! that! embody! marginality! slowly! but! surely!become!mainstream,!eventually!acquiring!the!status!of!high!art!even!though! they!were!initially!valued!because!they!had!nothing!to!do!with!its!conventions.!In!its! turn! the! avant! garde! acquires! the! exotic! look! of! being! at! the! limits! of! civilization…that!marginal!art!affords.”!44! The! quote! by! Daniel! Kustpit! embodies! the! contradictions! and! dialectics! that! take! place! once! the! Marginal! is! embraced! by! the! mainstream! or! by! its! artists.! However! these! questions! are! left! in! the! open.! Apparently! the! future! holds! a! very! different! scenario!for!Outsiders,!Naïve!and!Folk!artists.!Each!year!there!is!more!recognition,! Outsider! Art! fairs,! also! Art! Brut! in! commercial! fairs,! galleries! selling! their! work,! special!centers!created!to!promote!the!work!of!Outsiders.! ! Throughout! history! many! artists! have! been! influenced! by! these! wonderful! craftsmen,!mediums,!shamans!and!psychotic!creators.!Along!this!thesis!I!have!been! trying!to!answer!questions!of!whether!!art!institutions!deserve!to!have!possession!of! these! objects,! or! if! they! belong! in! a! museum! or! whether! they! are! simply! under! another!definition!beyond!art!.!The!magnificent!curatorial!job!of!the!Venice!Biennale! puts!all!of!these!questions!over!the!table!for!discussion,!and!presents!the!work!by! artists!and!non!artists!who!keep!a!dialogue!with!traditions,!ritualism,!religion,!thirst! for!knowledge!So!here!I!would!like!to!share!some!of!my!personal!highlights,!for!you! to!judge:! ! First!I!will!start!with!the!work!of!Phylis!Galembo,!who’s!work!was!included!in!the! Arsenale! a! Contemporary! artist,! born! in! New! York.! ! She! combines! art! and! anthropology! in! an! exploration! through! rituals! and! costumes! from! West! Africa,! Brazil,! Haiti,! Cuba! and! Jamaica,! rejcontextualizing! these! fetishized! objects! in! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 44!Kuspit!Donald,!The.appropriation.of.Marginal.art.in.the.1980’s.!American!Art!(winter!
spring).!Quoted!by!R!!Lippard,!Lucy!,!Crossing.into.Uncommon.Grounds!in!the!book!,!Essay!Pg! 10,!on!the!book!The.Artist.Outsider,.Creativity.and.the.Boundaries.of.Culture!by!Michael!D.! Hall!and!Eugene!W!Metcalf!Jr.!
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astonishing!large!scale!photographs!where!she!combines!the!colorful!and!saturated! costumes! with! more! occidentalized! indumentary,! like! plastic! halloween! masks.! Other! times! she! uses! the! original! indigenous! masks.! This! series! is! all! about! The! Winneba!Fancy!Dress!festival!in!Ghana.! !
Fancy.Dress.and.Rasta,.Nobles.Masquerade.Group,.Winneba,.Ghana,!2009! Photo!by!me!
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! This! festival! was! originated! in! the! late! 1920's.! but! during! the! years! it! has! transformed!constantly!and!new!elements!of!outside!cultures!as!well!as!parodies!of! local! people! and! professions,! in! the! 50's! the! festival! became! huge! and! it! gained! recognition!from!the!Ghana!government.! ! This! amazing! garments! are! a! mixture! combining! three! continents,! thousands! of! miles,! transformations,! from! Africa! to! The! Caribbean! and! Europe,! and! viceversa.! which!at!the!end!creates!a!fascinating!aesthetic!feel!to!it.!A!moment!where!humans! become! creatures! and! when! everyone! is! wearing! a! mask! the! world! goes! mad,! its! time! for! carnival!! Galembo’s! work! is! the! perfect! example! of! how! contemporaty! artists! can! still! get! in! touch! with! popular! traditions,! in! a! different! context! keeping! them!alive.! ! ! !
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Three.in.Fancy.Dress.with.Wire.Masks,.Anchors.Masquerade.Group,!Winneba.,!Masquerade!groups,! Ghana,!2009j2010! Photo!by!me.
. . ! On! of! my! personal! favorite! pieces! at! the! Encyclopedid! Palace,! where! the! Pa単o. Drawings.!An!amazing!collection!of!drawings!made!by!Mexicanj!American!prisoners! in! their! pa単os/! Tissues.! This! designs! are! only! made! by! the! ones! in! charge! at! the! prison,!the!ones!with!the!artistic!vein,!they!also!work!as!a!trading!good.! ! !Drawings!here,!work!as!a!way!of!communication!with!the!loved!ones!outside,!they! are!filled!with!images!deriving!from!Chicano!culture,!catholic!symbols,!pornography! and!lowjrider!magazines.! ! !I! find! the! aesthetic! mixture! very! interesting,! they! have! a! relation! with! mural! painting,! and! tattooing! by! the! way! characters! and! other! elements! are! settled.! Making! sure! they! can! use! all! of! the! space! possible! to! translate! their! message,! the! pa単os!end!up!giving!that!feeling!of!anxiety!that!horror.vacui!brings.! . .
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! . . ! Hans! Sch채rer! (1927,! 1997,! Bern,! Switzerland)! left! his! University! studies! in! Lausanne,! Switzerland! to! pursue! a! career! as! an! artist,! he! moved! to! a! villa! near! Lucerne,!and!started!working!in!painting,!sculpture,!tapestry,!drawings!and!prints,! however!he!never!intended!to!get!inside!the!where!of!commercial!art!world!and!he! was!satisfied!just!sharing!his!works!with!his!family!and!close!friends.! ! !In! the! late! fifties! and! until! the! mid! eighties,! he! worked! on! images! that! reflected! psychological!states!of!mind,!he!started!to!use!more!basic!shapes!and!patterns.!That! is!how!the!series!Madonnas!came!to!life.!he!used!thick!oil!paint,!mixed!with!different! materials! like! soil! or! wax,! he! also! added! elements! like! little! rocks! or! teeth! and! placed!them!as!amulets!in!the!female!bodies.! ! His! figures! where! obviously! feminine! but! sexless.! They! have! an! almost! magnetic! effect! on! the! viewer! with! their! vibrant! colours! and! textures! that! resemble! ritual! body!painting!and!have!a!god!likeness!in!its!presence.!
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Madonna.(1977)!
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. . Several!ExjVotos!have!been!collected!during!centuries!in!The!chapel!of!Romituzzo.!A! Painting!of!Madonna!and!The!Child!that!rests!on!the!altar,!devotees!believe!it!has!a! healing!power!and!they!offer!this!Exjvotos!as!an!exchange!for!healing!different!body! parts!and!diseases.! ! Hundreds! of! this! figures! have! been! found,! some! even! full! body! size.! However! ordinary! people! didn't! make! them.! They! where! commissioned! to! specialized! craftsmen!who!would!assemble!them!using!the!papier.mâchÊ!technique.!Some!of!the! figures!still!have!some!leftovers!of!the!original!paint,!however!the!ones!displayed!at! the! exhibition! where! washed! out,! in! bone! color.! Resembling! a! cemetery! or! a! common!grave,!but!on!the!other!side!it!reminded!me!of!little!spirits!from!all!those! people!in!pain.! ! I!can!imagine!how!they!would!put!all!their!hopes!and!charged!this!object!with!such! power,!as!a!reflection!of!themselves,!I!guess!that!energy!prevails!in!objects,!specially! ritualistic!ones.!So!it!was!definitely!very!interesting!how!the!curator,!managed!to!put! this! sort! of! sacred! objects! from! communities! and! tribes! from! different! continents!
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right! next! to! works! from! really! famous! contemporary! artists!,! i! think! that! is! fantastic!,!because!art!is!not!always!necessarily!called!art!to!start!with.. .
ExT.Votos.from.The.Santuario.di.Romituzzo..(16th!to!19th!century,!Poggibonsi,!Sienna,!Italy)!
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. . Voodoo!traditions!in!the!Caribbean!come!from!the!African!culture,!however!under! the! colonialism! it! merges! into! a! syncretic! gathering! of! European! and! African! religious!imaginary.! ! This! sparkling! flags! were! used! in! Voodoo! ceremonies! to! attract! the! spirits! and! entities!being!invoked,!to!occupy!the!bodies!of!the!devotees.!Most!of!the!four!Haitian! Voodoo! flags! have! catholic,! masonic! and! African! symbols,! maritime! lore! and! the! ritual!designs!veve!mixed!in!a!piece.!Each!Ioa!(gods!represented!in!the!flags)!has!a! specific!character!and!function,!like!in!a!set!of!tarot!cards,!and!they!have!a!certain! set!of!attributes!that!may!be!depicted!with!a!dagger,!a!boat!or!a!bird.! . Dambala,! the! creator! is! usually! represented! by! snakes,! he! is! the! life! giver,! the! one! who!provides!fertility!and!rain.!he!and!other!Ioas!can!be!help!for!people!who!need! council! or! advice! and! other! gods! like! Erzulie! Freda! can! bring! rage! and! lust,! flirts! with!men!and!hates!all!women.!This!incredibly!rich!mixture!of!cultures!and!religious! iconography!from!Africa!to!the!Caribbean,!through!Europe.! ! Coming!from!slavery,!colonialism!and!ancient!rituals,!brings!up!a!somehow!unheard! history!of!the!development!of!religion!in!this!long!time!European!colonies.!Some!of!
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this! rituals! are! still! practiced! all! around! the! world,! but! its! roots! stand! strong! in! Africa! and! the! Caribbean! Islands,! Santeria,! practiced! in! Cuba! is! another! clear! example!of!Africanj!European!syncretism.!! !
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Conclusions. . The! epic! stories! behind! Outsider! creators! are! not! all! there! is! to! them.! Some,! are! great! examples! of! a! lifetime! dedication! for! something! they! loved! and! believed! in,! without! being! pretentious! but! for! a! very! human! necessity.! Once! these! artists! become! part! of! the! public! domain,! they! enter! into! a! whole! new! value! system! and! often!their!work!looses!its!once!“sacred”!aura.!Sometimes!they!get!corrupted!by!the! system! and! turn! their! lifetime! work! into! a! commercial! affair,! which! is! understandable!due!to!the!hard!time!some!of!these!people!had!to!make!a!living.! ! The! need! to! create! is! one! of! the! greatest! urges! humans! can! experience,! thus! it! involves! mind,! body! and! soul.! Most! humans! never! get! to! fulfil! their! creative! potential,! while! others! embrace! it! at! its! fullest.! Outsider! and! Primitive! Art,! are,! according! to! Dubuffet,! like! the! centre,! the! purest! art! form,! from! which! all! the! rest! expands!in!concentric!circles,!ultimately!reaching!the!skirts!of!professional!art.45!! This!recent!phenomenon!of!inclusion!of!the!“other”,!will!probably!keep!expanding.! Especially,! at! a! time! when! contemporary! art! has! become! so! dubious! and! questionable.!The!great!movements!and!avant!garde!from!the!past!have!faded!away,! we! are! at! a! time! where! museums! and! galleries! sometimes! resemble! hermetic! hospital!rooms!jwhere!art!goes!to!diej!rather!than!places!to!enhance!and!appreciate! art.! So! as! long! as! we! still! have! access! to! more! accessible,! direct,! honest! and! passionate!art!which!cares!less!about,!there!is!still!hope.!To!me!ancient!art,!old!art! and!non!academic!art!represents!the!steady!ground,!the!home!where!I!can!always! come!back,!after!the!cold!confusion!and!mindjexhausting!feeling!that!contemporary! art!can!cause.! ! This!research!started!mainly!as!a!search!for!an!art!that!I!could!truly!believe!in.!An! art!that!was!uncontaminated!and!real,!as!real!as!it!could!be.!What!I!found!out!is!that! there! is! another! entire! Art! History! told! by! the! ones! left! aside,! the! once! called!! curiosities!or!exotic!marvels.!An!art!History!that!most!of!us!were!not!told!about!in! Art!school.!I!also!realized!it!is!such!a!wide!history,!which!has!happened!all!over!the! world,! sometimes! simultaneously,! I! end! up! with! the! feeling! that! this! is! just! the! starting!point.!I!intend!to!pursue!this!investigation.!Taking!it!further,!making!a!more! profound!insight!into!the!Caribbean!and!American!Art.! ! There!are!many!questions!left!open.!The!intention!was!not!to!present!a!single!truth! or! to! reject! the! actual! scenario.! The! important! issue! is! that! the! topic! is! out! for! discussion! and! echoing! hard! in! the! art! world! and! in! culture! generally.! The! Venice! Biennale,!was!one!great!experiment!which!brought!discussions!to!the!table!as!well! as!a!stronger!light!over!these!other!ways!of!making!“art”,!(I!use!quotes!because!I!am! still!not!sure!if!that!is!the!right!word!for!it).! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 45!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!227.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.! ! !
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History!cannot!be!told!and!thought!of!as!a!linear!progression.!This!notion!has!been! reinforced,! and! has! been! constant! for! hundreds! of! years,! it! was! that! way! for! the! Romans,! for! Christopher! Colombus,! and! for! anyone! looking! from! the! top.! The! structure!of!progress!is!a!two!way!street,!as!some!countries!thrive!for!progress,!in! terms! of! wealth! and! technology,! other! countries! are! getting! screwed! over! and! getting! left! aside! in! history.! It! is! necessary! to! keep! reminding! ourselves! that! there! are!other!narratives!of!progress.!! ! In! art! as! in! any! other! field,! this! tendency! to! categorize,! to! separate! the! other,! put! things! under! different! names! to! mask! a! history! of! domination! and! centralized! knowledge! production.! But! through! art! itself,! these! notions! can! change.! When! we! embrace!and!at!least!try!to!understand!the!world!from!a!different!set!of!eyes,!these! separating!line!might!disappear.! ! “Art!does!not!lie!down!on!the!bed!that!is!made!for!it;!it!runs!away!as!soon!as!one! says!its!name;!it!loves!to!be!incognito.!Its!best!moments!are!when!it!forgets!what!it!is! called.�!! . Jean.Dubuffet.. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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Appendix.. . ! Other!collections!around!Europe!! Gugging!House!of!Artists,!Museum!Dr!Guislain,!Art!&!Marge! ! ! The!Gugging!and!its!Artists! !
Johann!Hauser!looks!out!the!window,!1984! Image!taken!from!the!book:!Die!KĂźnstler!aus!Gugging!(1983)!!by!Leo!Navratil!
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! ! As! well! as! Dubuffet,! Leo! Navratil,! a! young! psychiatrist! in! the! mid! 1950’s,! became! very! interested! in! the! art! created! by! patients! with! mental! disorders.! However! he! encountered!their!work!from!the!field!of!psychology,!therapy,!diagnose!rather!than! in!the!field!of!art.!It!all!started!when!he!became!aware!of!the!very!distinct!work!his! patients!were!doing!and!how!depictions!would!change!from!one!patient!to!another,! from! one! illness! to! another.! He! specialized! in! schizophrenia,! and! he! thought! that! these!images,!drawings,!paintings!where!symptoms!of!this!illness.! !
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Navratil!was!aware!of!the!works!of!Prinzhorn!and!Morgenthaler,!he!also!got!in!touch! with! the! doctors! that! treated! Alöise,! in! Lausanne! and! he! became! renown! in! the! psychiatric! community,! and! also! among! some! artists! like! the! Austrian! Aarnulf! Rainier,! who! started! a! collection! in! the! 60’s! gathering! works! from! patients! in! Eastern! Europe! mainly,! his! collection! grew! up! to! a! point! that! it! was! one! of! the! largest!collections!of!Art!Brut.! ! In! 1965,! Navratil! published! his! acclaimed! book! Schizophrenie. und. Kunst! (Schizophrenia!and!Art)!and!a!few!years!later!he!worked!side!by!side!with!Dubuffet! to! organize! exhibitions! from! his! patients! all! over! Austria,! his! patients! were! also! represented! by! the! collection! in! Lausanne,! they! even! got! an! exhibition! in! the! London’s!Hayward!Gallery!in!1976.!46! ! In! the! late! 70’s! Navratil! could! no! longer! work! in! the! hospital,! it! was! overcrowded! and!patients!did!not!have!a!comfortable!place!to!work.!His!vision!and!his!innovative! approach! in! the! matter! of! the! patient’s! treatment! granted! him! recognition.! The! Hospital! directives! found! him! a! place! to! move! to! the! outskirts! of! the! hospital! in! 1981,!into!a!building!fitted!to!his!purposes.!Nowadays!this!building!is!known!as!the! Haus.der.Künstler!(House!of!the!Artists),!or!just!the!Gugging.!There,!artists/patients! have! a! place! to! live! and! to! work,! separate! from! the! hospital.! They! work! as! a! community!and!are!given!support,!encouragement,!materials!and!space!to!develop! their!work.!They!do!not!have!fixed!open!studios!or!specific!activities.!The!patients! are!free!to!work!on!their!own!time!and!terms,!they!each!one!has!a!spacious!place!to! live,!a!communal!area!and!studios!to!work!in;!while!in!the!hospital!they!are!offered! different! therapeutic! options! to! treat! their! illness,! nursing! care! and! any! kind! of! medical! care! they! require.! The! House! also! engages! them! in! recreational! activities! such! as! trips,! celebrations,! garden! design,! celebrations.! They! also! aim! to! accompanying! them! in! their! artistic! practice! and! keeping! them! motivated! and! interested.! ! ! The!inside!halls!and!the!façade!of!the!house!are!covered!in!drawings!and!paintings! by!the!Gugging!artists,!the!environment!is!not!reclusive.!As!told!on!their!mission! statement,!they!care!about!maintaining!the!patient’s!independence!and! individuality.!Their!mission!statement!claims:!“We!want!to!offer!the!House!of! Artists’!residents!a!life!of!individuality,!independence!and!selfjreliance.!To!grow!in! selfjconfidence!is!to!experience!meaning,!and!artistic!activities!enhance!one’s! personal!identity.!The!House!of!Artists’!team!are!committed!to!the!humanitarian! values!of!respect,!consideration!and!dignity;!their!professional!approach!to!care! giving!is!based!on!empathy,!consistency!and!reliability.”47! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 46!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!86.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.! ! 47!Extract!taken!from!Mission!Statement,!in!Gugging’!website!
http://www.gugging.org/en/verein_haus_der_kuenstler/house_of_artists! Entry!on:!May!27,!2014!
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Painted!exteriors!by!the!Gugging!artists!of!their!Haus.der.K端nstler,.Gugging!near!Vienna! Image!taken!from!the!book!Raw!Vision!Pg.!84!
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Image!taken!from!the!book:!Die!Künstler!aus!Gugging!(1983)!!by!Leo!Navratil!
! ! ! Navratil’s!work!was!not!recognized!by!the!psychiatric!community,!however!the! works!made!by!his!inmates!have!become!worldly!known!and!higly!appreciated.!In! 1990!all!!the!artists!from!the!house!received!the!Oskar!Kokoshka!Prize,!one!of!the! most!important!awards!of!contemporary!art!in!the!world,!among!the!artists!who! have!won!it!are:!Wilian!Kentridge,!Raymond!Pettibon,!Gherard!Richter!among! others,!now!the!“outsiders”!from!the!Gugging!are!part!of!that!list.!In!1986,!Navratil! retired!after!40!years!of!work.!After,!he!was!succeeded!by!Prof.!Dr!Johan!Feilacher,! !
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who!has!a!slightly!different!approach,!to!him,!the!inmates!are!artists,!their!work!is! treated!and!regarded!as!works!of!art,!and!not!as!the!work!as!a!symptom!from!a! mental!disorder,!and!he!has!extended!the!range!of!artists!accepted!in!the!program,! for!example!now!women!are!also!admitted.! ! This! new! vision! is! explained! by! Dr.! Feilacher! himself! in! ! the! BBC’s! Documentary! Turning.the.Art.World.Inside.Out.(2013)!when!!talking!about!the!aims!and!vision!of! the! Gugging! “…the! private! life! of! an! artist! should! not! have! to! be! important.! Work! and!life!are!divided!and!patients!are!given!treatment!on!the!side”,!so!they!work!as! any!other!artists!and!the!Gugging!also!works!as!a!gallery,!they!work!along!with!the! patients,!managing!their!artwork,!selling!their!pieces!and!supporting!them!on!their! mental!health!issues,!also!says!that!“A!single!piece!of!an!outsider!artist!has!the!same! value!of!any!single!piece!of!an!artist”.!This!couple!of!statements!the!philosophy!that! runs!in!the!House!of!!more!understandable.!! ! In!order!to!have!an!idea!of!how!the!House!operated!and!the!artists!who!were! involved,!I!will!focus!on!just!!a!few!of!the!artists!who!have!made!part!of!the! Gugging’s!history!and!briefly!summarize!the!contents!of!their!work!and!their! situation.!I!have!based!this!information!in!the!book!Raw!Vision!by!John!Maizels,!in! the!chapter!!Art.from.the.clinic.at.Gugging.! ! One!of!the!first!members!of!the!crew!was!Johan!Hausser!(1926j96)!in!the!former! Czech!Republic.!At!age!17!he!was!diagnosed!feeble!minded!and!was!put!in!a!mental! institution,!according!to!the!records!he!was!dreamy,!impulsive!and!irritable.!At!23! he!was!transferred!to!a!hospital!in!Klosterneuburg,!near!Vienna,!before!he!became! an!inmate!at!the!Gugging,!where!Navratil!encouraged!him!to!draw.! !
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! Liegende.Frau!(Reclining!woman),!1994! Haus!der!K端nstler,!Vienna! Image!taken!from!Raw!Creation!book!Pg.!88!
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Image!taken!from!the!book:!Die!K端nstler!aus!Gugging!(1983)!!by!Leo!Navratil!
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! Hausser!was!!inspired!by!photographs!of!film!stars!and!images!he!saw!on! magazines,!he!drew!women!mainly,!some!of!them!with!beast!or!animalesque! attributes!frequently!involved!in!sexual!activities.!During!the!years!he!worked,!his! figures!and!compositions!developed!in!complexity.!He!worked!with!a!very!primary! pallet,!with!lots!of!reds,!yellows,!browns!and!black,!in!hard!pencil!strokes!on!paper.!! !
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Johan!Hausser,.Königin.Elisabeth.(1969),!Coloured!pencil!on!paper!(40!x!30!cm)! ©!photo!credit:!Collection!de!l’Art!Brut,!Lausanne!! ! ! !
Another!one!of!the!Gugging’s!stars!is!Oswald!Tschirtner!(1920j2007),!he!was!born! in! Perchtoldsdorf! in! lower! Austria,! and! became! known! for! drawing! his! “cephalopods”,! which! consisted! in! narrow! and! long! figures! with! no! trunk.! The! shapes! he! created! became! his! personal! iconography.! Using! just! a! few! lines! Tschirtner!managed!to!depict!landscapes,!hordes!of!people,!only!depicting!their!face! profile!and!a!part!of!their!shoulder.!He!could!work!on!very!small!formats!up!to!very! large!canvases.!Through!his!40!years!of!work,!he!developed!his!skills!and!confidence! at! drawing.! He! managed! to! draw! at! a! fast! pace,! using! Indian! ink,! edding! and! acryl! paint! with! a! minimalistic! and! abstract! style! capturing! the! essence! of! what! he! depicted.! .
Tschritner! was! raised! as! a! catholic! child,! by! his! priest! uncle! and! devout! aunt.! He! wanted! to! become! a! priest! as! his! uncle! so! he! enrolled! in! a! seminar,! was! a! top! student! until! war! begun! and! he! had! to! join! the! German! army! .! He! was! taken! as! a! prisoner! by! the! French! and! that! is! when! he! started! to! show! signs! of! mental! disorder.48! ! He! was! admitted! in! the! former% Gugging% Regional% Psychiatric% and% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 48!Taken!from!Oswald!Tschirtner’s!bio!on!
URL:http://www.abcdartbrut.net/spip.php?article1403! Entry!May!27,2014!
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Neurologic* Clinic! in! 54’,! he! was! a! very! private! and! reserved! person! with! very! little!initiative.!In!85’!he!joined!the!House!of!Artists!and!Dr.!Navratil!adviced!him!to! try!drawing!,!from!then!on!he!did!not!stop!doing!it!until!he!died!in!2007.!According! to! John! Maizels! he! ! “! showed! little! interest! in! the! reception! of! his! art! or! its! exhibition,! in! solo! or! group! shows.! He! preferred! reading! the! bible! and! doing! puzzles”!49! ! !
Image!taken!from!the!book:!Die!Künstler!aus!Gugging!(1983)!!by!Leo!Navratil!
. . . . . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 49!Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond..Pg!146.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.!
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! Even! though! The! House! of! Artists,! has! been! exclusively! focused! on! the! artistic! community,!there!have!been!other!similar!initiatives,!inspired!by!this!new!vision!on! the!works!made!by!patients,!for!example!La!Tiania!Hospital!in!Florence,!it!is!a!small! community,!where!patients!are!free!to!express!themselves!in!various!mediums!like! ceramics! and! also! painting.! Some! of! its! artists! have! exhibited! around! the! world.! It! seems!to!be!a!very!calm!and!inviting!place,!fruit!from!a!70’s!initiative!to!change!the! way!psychiatric!patients!were!being!treated.! !
Untitled,!1978.!Outsider!collection!and!Archive,!London! Image!taken!from!Raw!Vision!book!Pg.!92! !
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Other!Collections!! After!the!Collection!de!L’art!Brut!was!founded,!many!people!took!a!serious!interest! in! Art! Brut,! or! how! it! was! generally! known,! self! thought! art.! I! am! aware! that! this! recognition! has! been! happening! all! over! the! world! and! not! just! in! Europe,! In! this! section!I!will!give!a!couple!more!examples!of!museums!and!collections,!both!located! in!Belgium!which!I!had!the!chance!to!visit.! . . Museum.Dr.Guislain!in!Gent,!Belgium! ! ! !
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Museum.Dr.Guislain!Jozef!Guislainstraat!43,!Gent! URL:!http://museumtoeren.be/museum/oostjvlaanderen/museumjdrjguislain/! Entry:!may!28,!2014!
! The!Museum!Dr.!Guislain!in!Gent!,!Belgium!!is!a!nice!parallel!to!the!House!of!Artists.! It!also!started!as!a!psychiatric!hospital,!actually!the!oldest!on!Belgium,!built!on!1857.! 129! years! later! the! Museum! was! founded! on! the! very! same! spot.! The! founders! decided! to! show! a! very! small! collection.! A! collection! that! would! reinterpret! or! rej think! preconceived! ideas! about! exhibition! displays,! what! is! normal! and! abnormal! and!what!should!be!shown!in!a!museum!and!what!should!not.!! ! In!the!first!years!it!was!difficult!for!them!to!engage!viewers!and!there!was!not!very! much! attention! towards! them.! At! the! time! the! former! director! of! the! psychiatric! centre! Brother! Dr.! RenĂŠ! Stockman,! now! curator! of! the! museum,! thought! it! was! important!to!start!showing!the!history!of!psychiatry!,!displaying!the!old!practices!as! they! where,! to! create! a! debate! of! mental! care! issues,! there! was! a! great! lack! of!
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knowledge! of! its! history,! procedures! and! in! ! many! cases,! patients! went! through! tremendous!suffering!due!to!the!techniques!hospitals!used!in!order!to!“cure”!them.! ! ! The!museum!is!divided,!one!part!is!an!exhibition!space!showing!the!collection!of!art! made!by!patients,!there!are!also!temporary!exhibitions.!On!the!other!part,!there!is!a! recreation! of! the! rooms! and! chambers! of! the! old! hospital! and! of! the! rooms! the! monks! slept! in,! very! austere! and! very! cold.! The! museum! is! full! of! stories! through! various!approaches,! ! As!written!on!their!history!in!the!Museum’s!website!“Museum!devotes!attention!not! simply! to! the! history! of! psychiatry! but! also! to! the! patients! who! underwent! those! various!psychiatric!treatments,!to!the!persons!who!worked!in!the!field!of!psychiatry,! to!the!religious!Brother,!to!the!nurses.!In!addition,!things!are!happening!around!it:! How! do! the! media! deal! with! the! phenomenon! of! psychiatry?! How! has! the! issue! of! normality!versus!abnormality!inspired!artists?!What!aspects!of!this!matter!affect!the! public! opinion?! To! combine! all! these! different! perspectives! in! a! way! that! is! at! the! same! time! inviting! and! intriguing! for! the! broad! public,! that! is! our! aim! in! a! nutshell.”50! ! ! The! museum’s! foundation! was! indeed! a! new! initiative,! to! open! a! museum! where! questions!could!be!raised!and!there!was!room!left!for!debate,!a!museum!that!could! grow! exponentially,! the! collection! of! artwork! has! gotten! bigger! as! well! as! the! collection! of! medical! equipment! including! tools,! engravings! and! old! medical! treatises.! The! museum! also! conducts! different! researches! among! the! history! of! psychiatry!and!art!is!usually!what!links!everything!together.! ! The! collection! of! Outsider! Art! includes! names! like! Madge! Gill! (1882j1961),! a! mediumistic! artist! from! England,! ! Luiz! Figuereido! (1944j1998),! a! self! thaught! painter! and! sculptor! from! Brasil,! Tim! Brown! from! the! U.S,! ! Willhem! Van! Genk,! August!Walla,!and!Adolph!Wölfli!among!many!others.!It!is!a!precious!hidden!place!to! visit!in!Gent.! ! ! ! ! ! Art.&.Marge!in!Brussels,!Belgium! ! The!Art!&!Marge!Museum!started!as!a!research!center!for!identifying!and!promoting! Outsider! Art! and! artists,! later! it! became! a! museum.! That! was! 25! years! ago.! The! museum! has! its! first! exhibition! in! 1986,! right! at! the! time! when! the! Dr.! Guislain! Museum!was!founded!in!Ghent,!although!the!exhibition!was!not!held!in!the!center! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 50!http://www.museumdrguislain.be/en/museumjlm/geschiedenis!
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but!in!the!Rue!des!Vierges!in!the!center!of!Brussels.!From!that!moment!on!they!have! arranged! dozens! of! exhibitions! showing! the! works! of! selfjthaught! artists.! Some! of! them! had! been! patients! at! psychiatric! clinics,! others! had! regular! jobs! such! as! woodcutters,!architects,!janitors,!musicians!etc.51! ! As!written!on!their!website,!the!museum’s!philosophy!praises!that!it!is!a!place!for! “stressing!the!content!and!artistic!dimension!of!works!we!intend!to!change!the!way! outsider! art! is! perceived,! encouraging! viewers! to! ask! questions! rather! to! pass! judgement”.!The!founding!of!this!and!other!art!!and!research!centers!and!collections! with!a!similar!philosophy!of!embracing!the!“other”,!redefining!the!concept!of!what! marginal!means!and!what!the!blanket!of!the!word!art!can!cover.!! ! Paraphrasing! their! mission! statement! I! understand! that! the! ! museum’s! approach,! opposing!to!the!philosophy!of!Art!Brut!defenders!such!as!Dubuffet,!does!not!reject! mainstream! art,! and! on! many! occasions! exhibitions! display! dynamic! relations! between!self!taught!and!lets!say!trained!artists.!It!is!a!place!for!exchange,!a!place!to! celebrate! individuality! it! is! about! blurring! the! margins! and! the! preconceived! concepts!on!both!ways!of!making!art,!it!is!about!generating!dialogues.! ! An!interesting!aspect!about!this!museum!is!that!it!promotes!research!by!having!its! own! library! and! study! centre! which! all! visitors! can! access,! it! includes! a! variety! of! books!and!material!on!different!artists,!collections!and!on!the!history!of!psychiatry! and!the!art!created!by!patients.! ! I! had! the! chance! to! visit! an! exhibition! this! year,! named! Démons. &. Marveilles. (Demons! &! Wonders)! (7/02! to! 1/06/2014)! which! was! built! in! collaboration! with! the!Art!Brut!Collection!in!Lausanne.! ! Most!of!the!works!displayed!are!belong!to!a!bestiary!created!by!Josep!Baqué!(1895j 1967),! he! used! to! be! a! guardian! of! peace! in! Barcelona.! In! the! 1920’s! he! began! creating! a! catalogue! of! amazing! creatures! coming! from! wild! places! in! his! imagination,! and! inspired! by! the! stories! of! the! colonizers! in! the! Americas,! and! the! animals! they! saw! or! think! they! saw.! He! continued! this! task! for! 40! years.! This! exhibition!includes!a!vast!collection!of!his!drawings!but!its!only!a!small!part!of!the! whole.! They! were! put! aside! some! works! by! self! taught! artists! who! as! him,! had! an! entire!imagery!of!monsters,!fantastic!and!mythological!creatures.!The!other!artists! of! the! exhibition! were:! ! Serge! Delaunay,! Danièle! Caron,! Vincent! Hayon,! Carine! Lacroix,! René! Perrot,! Antoine! Roegiers,! Karel! Lannen,! Albert! Mouhadeb! and! Jean! Michel!Wuilbeaux.! ! ! !
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Part!of!Joseph!BaquĂŠ!!Animaux.et.bĂŞtes.sauvages.(Animals!and!Beasts)! Art!&!Marge!Museum,!Brussels!,Photo!by!me.!
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Bibliography! ! Dubbuffet,!Jean,!excerpts!from!Anticultural.Positions!(Lecture!presented!at!The!Arts!Club! Chicago,!1951);!phostatic!copy!of!the!original!manuscript!in!library!Museum!of!Modern!Art,! New!York!,!1960.!! ! Dubuffet,!Jean.!L’art.brut.préferé.aux.arts.culturales.!Exhibition!catalogue,!Galerie!René! Drouin,!Paris,!1949.!Translated!by!Paul!Foss!and!Allen!S!Weiss!in!Art.Brut:.Madness.and. Marginalia,!a!special!issue!of.Art.&.Text!no.!27!(December!1981jFebruaryj1988)! ! Errington,!Shelly.!The.Death.of.Authentic.Primitive.Art.and.Other.Tales.of.Progress.! University!of!California!Press,!Los!Angeles,!!1998.! ! Freud,!Sigmund.!“Totem.and.Taboo:.Some.Points.of.Agreement.between.the.mental.Lives.of. Savages.and.Neurotics”.!Routledge!&!Kegan!Paul,!London,!1913! ! Gombrich,!E.H.!Meditations!on!a!Hobby!Horse!And.other.essays.on.the.theory.of.art.!Phaidon,! London,!1963.! ! ! Gombrich,!E.H.!Art!&!!Illusion!A.study.in.the.psychology.of.pictorial.representation.!Phaidon,! London,!fifth!edition!1977.! ! Gombrich,!E.H.!The.Preference.for.the.Primitive.!Pg!271.!Phaidon,!London,!2002.! ! ! Kris,!Ernst.!Psychoanalytic!Explorations!in!Art.!Yale!University!School!of!Medicine,!Child! Study!Centre,!London,!1953.! ! Maizels,!John.!Raw.Creation,.Outsider.Art.and.beyond.!Phaidon,!London,!1996.! ! Morris,!Radall.!“A!Question!of!Authenticity”.!Unpublished!Manuscript,!New!York,!1990.! ! Russell!Charles.!Groundwaters,!A!Century!of!Art!by!SelfjThaught!and!Outsider!Artists.! Prestel!Verlag,!Munich,!London.!New!York,!2011.!! ! ! ONLINE! ! Frank,!Anselm!(2012)!“animism:!Notes!on!an!Exhibition”!ETflux!from:!http://www.ej flux.com/journal/animismjnotesjonjanjexhibition/! ! Fusco,!Coco.!The.Other.History.of.Intercultural.Performance.“The.Drama.Review”,.1994!! (Currently!published!online!by!MIT!Press)! ! Gionni,! Massimiliano,! Interviewed! by! Millard,! Coline! for! Blouinartinfo! (March! 19,! 2013).! URL:! http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/880709/ijfeltjthejneedjtojdojsomethingj unusualjmassimilianojgionijon.!Entry:!May!28,2014! ! Gionni,!Massimiliano,!Interviewed!by!Goldstein,!Andrew!M!for!artspace!(May!28,!2013).!!
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URL:http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/massimiliano_gioni_venice_ biennale_interview! ! ! Savage,!Polly..Playing.to.the.Gallery,.Masks,.Masquerades.and.Museums.on.African.Arts. Magazine.!University!of!California!Press,!Los!Angeles,!!Winter!2008.!(Posted!Online!in! www.mitpressjournals.com)! ! ! ! FILM!AND!VIDEO! ! Les.statues.meurent.aussi,!Dir.!Allan!Resnais,!Chris!Marker,!France,!1963.! ! White.King,.Red.Rubber,.Black.Death,!Dir.!Peter!Bate,!2004! ! ! ! ! ! !
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