Professor Morgan LeFay
Avalon Museum of Modern Art
Magdalene Street
Avalon
BA6 9EL
Good Afternoon Dr. LeFay,
Thank you for reaching out to me. I am happy to assist you in gathering resources for your planned exhibition on Outsider Art. To begin you in your research, I have gathered ten resources, most of which are accessible online, that represent current research and news related to Outsider Art. Of course, these resources may also cover Art Brut, Folk Art, Visionary Art, Contemporary Art, Self-Taught Artists, and other such categories, given the fact that Outsider Art is difficult to pin down and can often encompass multiple genres. The resources listed below are included based on the scholastic quality of the content, how current the content is, and how frequently it is updated. Some outliers do appear, but the reason for their inclusion is noted.
- Perhaps one of the most well known resources on Outsider Art, Raw Vision has been in publication since 1989. The front page of the website covers latest news (which can also be found in a list format here (Raw Vision News), and a link to its latest issue. Each issue has its own page on the website, which includes links to previews of the articles within and a digital preview of the entire issue. It is published every three months, coming out in March, June, September, and December.
- Out of Art is a publication based in The Netherlands that focuses on, in their words, “current Outsider Art in the broadest sense of the term.” As of May 2014, the content of the publication is translated into English with English summaries provided for previous issues. Digital previews of all of the issues are linked on their website. It is published on a biannual basis, coming out in August and May.
- KD Outsider Art Blog is maintained by the founder and editor, Kate Davey, but also includes guests posts. Although the website claims that the “Golden Age” of Outsider Art occurred from 1880 to 1930, it also covers contemporary artists. On a monthly basis, the blog highlights an artist who is associated with Outsider Art, including images of work by the artist and an interview. The blog also covers relevant exhibitions of Outsider Art as well as news, research, and studies pertaining to non-traditional artists. Blog posts are published at least once a month if not more.
- Elsewhere: The International Journal of Self-Taught and Outsider Art is a recent publication, having only been started in 2013. The aim of the Australian-based journal is to cover “serious, sustained” articles on Outsider Art and the other associated genres such as Art Brut, Self-Taught Art, etc. Thus far, its two publications are available to read freely on the website in PDF format. Although its newness means that there is relatively little content as of yet, it is worth mentioning as a publication to keep one’s eye on. It is published on an annual basis.
- The Outsider Art Fair, originally based in New York City, maintains a Tumblr account that acts as something of an aggregate, linking news and articles relevant to Outsider Art from various websites. Thanks to Tumblr’s tagging system, it is easy to filter the content, which is divided between Articles and Exhibitions. There is no specific posting schedule, but it is updated frequently and is worth revisiting on a regular basis.
- Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments (SPACES or SPACES Archives) specifically focuses on built environments created by Outsider Artists. The organization maintains a blog on its website, which includes news on artists, their built environments, preservation issues related to these unique structures, and on the organization itself. Also included are links to relevant articles and embedded videos found elsewhere on the Internet. A perk to this blog is that one can subscribe to it via RSS. There is no specific publishing schedule for this blog, but it is updated frequently, at least on a monthly basis.
- Fluence is an online magazine maintained by Ricco/Maresca, a New York City gallery dedicated to Outsider and Self-Taught Artists. The magazine itself covers not only the Outsider Art genre, but also Crossover and Contemporary Art. Most of its articles focus on artists and their work, but also include some thematic features, such as the place of erotica and tattooing in the art world. All articles are free to read online, including those from archived issues, and the magazine is published on a quarterly basis.
- The Journal of the Folk Art Society of America has been in publication since 1988. Its contents include articles on artists, their work, and relevant exhibitions as well as book reviews, news, and events. Although not strictly focusing on Outsider Art, it still maintains a focus on Self-Taught Artists, most of whom can be aligned with the Outsider Art genre. It is published twice a year, coming out on a seasonal basis (e.g. Spring/Summer, Winter, Summer/Fall, etc).
- Art from the margins is slightly different from the other resources detailed in this list. It is a personal WordPress blog maintained by Jennifer Gilbert, the manager of Outside In, an English institution that focuses on helping Outsider Artists in the art world. Content includes writing on exhibitions, artists, and reposts from other blogs about Outsider Art and Artists, all of which are mostly based in the UK or Europe. The provided blogroll is also worth perusing. The blog began in May 2009 and is still updated on a regular basis.
- The Souls Grown Deep Foundation specifically focuses on African American artists, and maintains a news and events feed. This institution’s scope is slightly different, emphasizing art created from the late 60s (the time of Martin Luther King Jr’s death) up until the end of the 20th century. Also, it is worth noting that the foundation sees terms such as “folk,” “outsider,” and “visionary” as being “exclusionary labels.” The news feed is not maintained as regularly as the above resources, but this institution is still worth consideration, as it focuses on a group of people too often marginalized in mainstream culture and in the art world.
Other options worth noting include searching for terms such as “outsider art,” “self-taught artists,” “visionary art,” (with the quotation marks) in mainstream publications such as Artforum and Art in America Magazine. If you need further help on which terms to search, please let me know and I will draw up a list for you. I would also like to note that it may be worth looking into what’s happening at current counterculture art events, such as Burning Man or Figment.
If you require further assistance with the above resources, please let me know. If you have a specific artist, region, or time period that you would like to highlight and look further into, I will be happy to assist you in gathering additional resources. Also, if you so desire, I can draw up a list of the publications that we currently hold in our museum’s library and in the libraries from which we can obtain materials through interlibrary loan.
Finally, if you require assistance with anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Nikki Chiampa
Assistant Librarian
AvaMoMA
nchiampa[at]avamoma[dot]org
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