I have been reaching out to art journals floating my recent article “Art and the Continuum of Human Emergence: The Paradox of Belonging to Something Massive and Being Uniquely God-Like.” One site and print journal, RAW VISION, had this to say about themselves:
“The controversy surrounding the exact definition of Outsider Art and allied fields has been going on ever since awareness of the phenomenon began so here we try to clarify the different aspects.
“The development of the awareness of forms of creative expression that exist outside accepted cultural norms, or the realm of “fine art”, began with the researches of psychiatrists early in the century.
“The work of Dr Morganthaler documented his patient Adolf Wolfli, a genius who produced countless thousands of works from a small cell in his Swiss asylum…”
WTF?!
I find this incredibly funny, the journal and others basing a movement on an insane person. Especially, when you consider that art programs YOUR mind. Why would anyone want to follow a pathway to insanity? Serious question.
The 40,000-year continuum of figurative art, the work integrates perception, emotion, and philosophy into an intelligible whole, while Outsider Art like Wölfli’s lacks that integration entirely. Hence the crazy flags.
BTW, I actually like his graphic designs as designs but not as art in a cognitive sense. But knowing his background I would be cautious about hanging is designs as shower curtains, drapes, or as carpets. Kind of like visiting a crazed amusement park totally surrounded by the visual manifestations and subconscious of the insane. The only difference with this pathway is that it is an asylum you can never leave.
Michael Newberry 