Outsider Art – What’s that, anyway?

The Museum im Lagerhaus dedicates its collection and exhibition practice to Art Brut, Outsider Art and Naive Art. But what are these terms actually to be understood?

All these art movements have in common that they were created by lay artists without an academic education in art and are therefore outside the professionalized art system.

Early on, visionary individuals began to take an interest in art creation beyond the academies. Around 1900, for example, collections of works by patients were created at various psychiatric hospitals. This “sculpture of the mentally ill” (Hans Prinzhorn, 1922) or later “state-bound art” (Leo Navratil) was particularly well received in the circles of the artistic avant-garde.

These collections had a great influence on Jean Dubuffet, who coined the term “Art Brut” in the 1940s. This is why Art Brut is repeatedly mistakenly equated with the “art of people with psychiatric experience. ” Basically, however, the term simply means the “uneducated” artistic figures outside an artistic or cultural tradition.

Alois Wey (1894–1985), Panorama, 1977, mixed technology on paper, 56×99,7 cm, © Museum im Lagerhaus

The term “Outsider Art” was coined in 1972 by the British art historian Roger Cardinal. Although intended as a translation, the term was soon taken up more often because, in contrast to Art Brut, which is strongly tied to Dubuffet’s definition, it is less ideological and can be better applied to contemporary art. Like Art Brut or Outsider Art, Naive Art does not describe a style as such, but rather an inner attitude of lay artists towards their environment. With well-known representatives such as Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) or Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) and its proximity to the New Objectivity, Naive Art found, at least temporarily, the strongest connection to the regular art system.

Adolf Dietrich (1877–1957), «Blaumeise vor Seelandschaft», Öl auf Holz, 23,5 x 24 cm, 1932, Museum im Lagerhaus

Adolf Dietrich (1877–1957), ‹Blaumeise vor Seelandschaft›, 1932, oil on wood, 23.5 x 24 cm, Museum im Lagerhaus

All the above terms cannot be clearly distinguished from each other, at many points there are overlaps and individual artists can usually be assigned to several areas. It is also precisely in the nature of this art form that artists do not care about conventions and do not place themselves in a position. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties of these categories, we need them to reflect on the works. They give us the opportunity to emphasise different aspects and to discuss the conditions under which it was created.

For clarification, here are short definitions of how we use the following terms: