The Coming In of Outsider Art

By Audrey Regan, Art-Is-Life Director
The artist, Jean Dubuffet, was a pioneer in recognizing and collecting works of extreme individuality by creators who were not only untrained artists, but who were uninfluenced, in any way, by art being made elsewhere. Much of the art he collected was created by mental patients and prisoners. He formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut in 1948, in conjunction with Andre Breton, and others, giving birth to what would be known as the Dubuffet concept of Art Brut and one that is strictly adhered to today by many, particularly the powerful museum in Laussane, which has amassed the Dubuffet collection. In fact, it is claimed by the curators at Laussane that they, and only they, have the authority to designate a work of art as being truly Art Brut, i.e.: works that are in their "raw" state, unaffected by cultural and artistic influences and which bear no relation to developments in contemporary art; works that are the innovative and powerful expressions of a wide range of individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
Michel Thevoz, Curator of the Art Brut collection at Laussane, has used the terms Art Brut and Outsider Art, interchangeably. Therefore, in the view of the Laussane experts, there are conceivably millions of works of art around the world that will never be included in the realm of outsider art, as it wouldn't be possible for a handful of experts to view and categorize every one of them.
One thing is indisputable - art brut and outsider art are universally accepted as one and the same. Art brut, translated, means "raw art." The term "outsider art" was originally coined much later, in 1972, by an American - the art critic Roger Cardinal, who was attempting to explain this type of art to United States audiences. "Outsider artists," he said, "are those who are innocent of pictorial influences and perfectly untutored."
Based on the definition put forth by the self-appointed experts at Laussane, as well as that which is encompassed by others around the world, the real problem with identification may not be in determining how to delineate true outsider art from other forms of art, but in deciding at what juncture it loses its right to be called outsider art.
Outsider art is not determined as much by the artwork itself as by the set of circumstances that were present in the life of the artist when the art was made. Once the outsider artist is "discovered," he can no longer be classified as one who creates art for his own use, for he is now sharing his art with the public. He can no longer be described as one who is unaware of the art being made by others, as he is now a part of the very art world he once knew nothing about and will be influenced by it. Eventually, he may stop using the materials of his everyday life, when demand for his work necessitates the use of more effective and readily available materials.
"Un Lapin Blanc", if it is, indeed, outsider art or art brut, can easily be made again, on demand, by breeding and skinning another rabbit; by finding the same metal parts in a local hardware store. Perhaps, at this point, it becomes primitive or naif art. It is an accepted fact that creators of primitive art do seek official recognition of their work and thus, cannot belong to the society of outsider artists. Perhaps it might be recategorized as folk art or, that which is not made with the same psychic flow as outsider art. How is the psychic flow of the outsider artist compromised when the art dealer requests a piece for a new collector? Certainly the motivation has been changed from simple self-expression to meeting supply and demand. Perhaps "Un Lapin Blanc" could be more accurately described as marginal art or that which sits on the margin of outsider art and mainstream art. It is, after all, viewed daily by hundreds of people at La Halle Saint Pierre in Paris.
Prisoners, patients in mental and other institutions, such as centers for the blind, rural citizens who are far removed from urban centers, the members of native or aboriginal tribes - all of these groups have their untrained artists, those who pick up and use what is available to express themselves, often in primitive ways. It has been stated that in defining outsider art or art brut, it is important to acknowledge what it "isn't." Certainly, anyone who goes out in search of it; to acquire it for exhibition purposes or for sale, is turning the resulting definition on it's head. Art dealers, by their very proximity to the as-yet undiscovered artist, have the potential to create the biggest oxymoron in art history - that of the "famous Outsider artist".

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