Outragous Outsider Art!

This year I discovered a new category of art. It is called Outsider Art, and it is characterized by artists who are for whatever reason disconnected with society. Often these individuals are or were held at an mental institution. Some of the great "Outsider" artists I have discovered are:

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Henry Darger.

Henry was a man who was very much to himself, he was suspected to be schizophrenic. He was a writer in addition to an artist. He wrote a large manuscript about young girls in slavery, and did over 100 paintings to accompany the story. His work is very unusual, and disturbing. It is interesting to me to see the outcome of an independent mind with no influence from the outside world. That's why this art is often called 'raw' art. It makes a person wonder; "with no connection to the world how can one create these pieces" ? That is the intrigue of Outsider art, there is no influence, or real contact with the outside world, yet the mind is able to conger up these often disturbing, but beautiful images ( as well as writing in this case). The mind is a mysterious thing.

Adolf WOlfi.

Adolf Wölfli had a very troubled childhood, in which he was abused, and molested. As he grew up he too continued the family chain of molestation and unlike Henry attended a psychiatric ward after a short time in prison. He suffered from hallucinations and was often violent, so he was kept in isolation at the ward. There he began his art. Adolf's style of art is what's called Horror Vacui, an intricate design with no white spaces. He, like Henry, had no real connections with people, other then the workers. Adolf was determined and would use his pencils until they were stubs. Often he would use only stray pieces of lead to do his work, at Christmas the staff would present him with a box of pencil crayons which were said to last him 3 weeks at best. Wolfli created 45 volumes of a semi- autobiography of 25,000 pages, accompanied by 1,600 illustrations.

The stories of these men's lives may sound like a horror movie to you but can you image living alone in isolation for years and years with a distorted , disconnected view of society? It would be a confusing, dreadful ordeal (and no I'm not condoling his molestation or violent acts because he had mental illness but I'm sure constant isolation and darkness didn't help his condition). At least he was productive, I mean back in his time people probably thought the man was incapable of thought. I think that for outsider artists art was a way to show people what their perception of the world was. Maybe even a cry for help in Henry's cases, as no one ever really knew him or paid attention to him whilst he was a free man. He wouldn't show anyone his work when he was alive, and at his death the people cleaning his apartment found his writing, and drawings. They asked him why he didn't show anyone but he just acknowledged that too late at that point. After his death he was remembered by his art and today is a wonderful example of the distortion mental illness causes.

There are a few other outsider artists but none that I seem to be very interested in. A lot of the people considered to be 'outsider artists' these days (in my eyes) aren't, I don't think you can have a true outsider artist with out the person being in isolation in his or her home or in an institution. I think outsider artists are rare to find these days because more people reach out to those with mental illness today and we don't have the same polices as we did in the early 1900's. I would however still consider an artist who confines their self to their home while suffering from mental illness to fit the category of an outsider artist. Maybe I'm wrong with my interpretation but that's just how I see it. Anyway outsider art is worth sacrificing if it means that more mental illness is being treated and more people cared for.

Other outsider artists include Martin Ramirez and Judith Scott

who has Down Syndrome, is deaf, and does not does not speak. Judith makes mostly body sculptures out of yarn.

Honestly my fascination with this type of art is not so much for the art but for the idea of the artist's minds.
Could what those diagnosed with mental illnesses see be something that we, the general public, are blind to? :o