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Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives - Book Review
Arts & Activities, Feb, 2003 by Jerome J. Hausman
(2000; $14.95), by Colin Rhodes. Thames & Hudson Inc., 500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110.
What is generally taught in our schools can be said to be "insider art"; art forms that are identified and discussed in our art-history texts. Yet, on the periphery of these styles and images there are those forms produced outside the mainstream by self-taught, untrained visionaries, eccentric personalities, folk artists and others. In 1972, Roger Cardinal (influenced by Jean Dubuffet's use of the term "art brut"--literally "raw art," "uncooked by culture," unmoved by artistic standards) coined the term "outsider art."
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Of course, there are many well-known artists whose works can be discussed in the category of "outsider art"--Jean Dubuffet, Paul Klee, George Grosz, Cy Twombly, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock and others. Colin Rhodes' book is an excellent resource for teachers and students who wish to inquire about the origins and character of "outsider art." Most important, we can come to the realization that the sources for artistic expression are as diverse as is human experience itself. This book gives pause to those who would establish clear and unchanging rules for what "good art ought to be." Simply put, "outsider art" has influenced "insider art." Each art form stems from a particular culture--ideas and values of the artist; each art form helps to inform us of these cultures--and, in the long run, it is this kind of experience that helps inform us about ourselves. For information about this publication, circle No. 390 on the Reader Service Card.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
