stooka Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Big fan of guys like Howard Finster and R.A. Miller. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viatroy Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 A highlight of my trip to Nova Scotia was stumbling upon Maud Lewis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I recently picked up Colin Rhodes' "Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives" and have enjoyed reading snippets here and there when I've got a few minutes to spare. Totally recommend it to those interested in outsider art...it covers a lot of interesting ground. Also, I've been meaning to watch the Henry Darger doc for a very long time now and it's just now made it to the top of my Netflix Queue so I'm really looking forward to that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j4lackey Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Occasionally, the magazine Raw Vision has some very good stuff in it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
moxiebean Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I spent a day at Finster's Paradise Garden and studio as part of a road trip i took in 1987 - shot about 10 rolls of film of the garden & got a tour of his studio from Rev. Finster himself. Things I remember from his studio: A framed & signed photo of Gov. George Wallace, the walls and ceiling covered with letters, drawings, photos, etc. from fans including a drawing by Michael Stipe & autographed REM Rolling Stone cover (his comment on "the REMs": "They're good boys"). I'm glad I got to see his garden while it was still in one piece and in decent shape. At that time he was selling paintings out of his studio for 100 dollars apiece, regardless of size and media. (I still kick myself that I didn't have the spare $$ to buy one, altho I did get some posters & an artist's book). He's the most amazing person I've ever met.Love RA Miller, too - we have a dozen pieces or so scattered about the house. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 No. Insider art is bad enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted October 13, 2007 Author Share Posted October 13, 2007 A highlight of my trip to Nova Scotia was stumbling upon Maud Lewis It's hard to imagine this lady living her entire married life in a house that was only 10X10 ft. It seems that whenever an outdoor artist is discovered/recognized, some over-the-top circumstance exists. The stories seem to uplift the images into something far more precious than one could appreciate at first glance. The house is incredible! Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted October 13, 2007 Author Share Posted October 13, 2007 I spent a day at Finster's Paradise Garden and studio as part of a road trip i took in 1987 - shot about 10 rolls of film of the garden & got a tour of his studio from Rev. Finster himself. Things I remember from his studio: A framed & signed photo of Gov. George Wallace, the walls and ceiling covered with letters, drawings, photos, etc. from fans including a drawing by Michael Stipe & autographed REM Rolling Stone cover (his comment on "the REMs": "They're good boys"). I'm glad I got to see his garden while it was still in one piece and in decent shape. At that time he was selling paintings out of his studio for 100 dollars apiece, regardless of size and media. (I still kick myself that I didn't have the spare $$ to buy one, altho I did get some posters & an artist's book). He's the most amazing person I've ever met.Love RA Miller, too - we have a dozen pieces or so scattered about the house. While visiting my brother in Atlanta, he took us to Finster's place. Although by 2000, the garden had been "picked over" by an Atlanta museum, there were still enough things there to keep one fascinated several hours as we strolled around the property. His family had taken over things by then and although Mr. Finster was present during our tour, he was too ill to emerge from the house. We bought a wooden cutout of a Cadillac and hoped that it was indeed Howard who painted it. Again, an over-the-top circumstance existed in that he claimed to have been asked by God in a vision to paint 5000 pieces (I believe). As he was repairing an old bicycle one day, touching up some of its scratches by applying small amount of white tractor paint with his finger, he had a vision. He suddenly felt a divine sense of calm, and a human face appeared in the paint dripping from his finger. A voice said to him, "Paint sacred art". This guy was prolific. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 It seems that whenever an outdoor artist is discovered/recognized, some over-the-top circumstance exists. The stories seem to uplift the images into something far more precious than one could appreciate at first glance.For me at least, that's where outsider art holds interest. The paintings, sculptures etc. provide a means of communication for people normally outside of conventional society. They give us "not so outside" folks a peek into the lives and minds of people who might otherwise remain inaccessible due to their mental illness or disability, criminal inclination, radical spirituality, or some other unconventional trait. It's fascinating what these individuals, who have no formal training and often aren't even aware of "artist" as something they can aspire to be, go ahead and create (sometime entire worlds and languages into which they escape from reality). What they do is every bit as fascinating as what goes on in conventional mainstream art...I guess the big difference is with the outsiders, there is less self-awareness on the part of the artist and that leads to a different kind of work that calls for a different kind of interpretation, that really requires us to understand the artist in order to fully appreciate the work because what outsider artists create is usually coming for somewhere very personal and internal. Fascinating! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted October 13, 2007 Author Share Posted October 13, 2007 Exactly llynnowens! This concept applies also to musicians as well. Take Daniel Johnston, for instance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 This concept applies also to musicians as well. Take Daniel Johnston, for instance.Absolutely! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kathyp Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Outsider music, yes. I don't know much about outsider "visual" artists. IFC (or maybe Sundance) aired a documentary about Wild Man Fischer the other day. Interesting character, to say the least. The exploitation level is high, and that bothers me. Just because someone's in the throes of severe mental illness, that does not mean that he's an artist. (Sorry Wesley Willis fans.) I like Daniel Johnston. After hearing other people perform his songs (I can't stand his voice), you can't deny that he does have songwriting talent. And Roky Erickson, though I don't know if I'd really call him an outsider artist. Irwin Chusid wrote what's basically the primer on outsider music, Songs in the Key of Z. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 i guess on first glance outsider art does appear as if "anyone could do it". I have a friend who paints on boards, applies a newspaper clipping picture and then writes words (lyrics, poems, etc.) over the whole thing. Looks easy, however there is something unexplained going on with it. He is able to capture something I never could. He's not insane (although some might question that!), but I understand your point.Seems someone got a monkey to paint random things on paper and called it art. I guess if it pleased the eye, evoked somekind of emotion and could be displayed in yer living room, it would be. Now if you charged a couple of grand for it, then yes that might qualify as exploitation. quiz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedling Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I scored a 110. (Extra credit) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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