Outsider Art - CL

To: Curator

From: MOMA Librarian Colleen

Subject: Source suggestions for your exhibition

Dear Curator Author:

I am happy to report that I have gathered 10 current awareness websites that I believe will be of tremendous help in prepping for your exhibition. The topic of outsider art is a fascinating topic, and we at the MOMA look forward to the completion of your project. We hope to contribute in any way possible to your success with this event. 

Below are resources I hope will interest you, and ones you have not already used in your studies. 

Please let me know if you need more assistance, or have any questions about the links I have provided. I am more than happy to help. 

1) Outsiderartfair.com

Details:  The “Outsider Art Fair” was founded in New York in 1992 based on the concept of this style of art birthed in 1972 by Roger Cardinal. Outsider art, as I’m sure you know, is an expanded vision of Art Brut, and so the fair aims to “affirm

the vitality of a parallel art scene” -- naming patterns of self-taught creation and obsession as signature topics, the fair joined with the Halle Saint-Pierre to showcase outsider artworks from all over the globe in 38 different galleries. The fair happens several times a year every year, and while this is not a journal per say, it is an event I believe could be exceptionally helpful to your work, as all the current outsider artists and curators and collectors et. al. are a part of this scene and attend these showings or get involved somehow. Their website is also a helpful resource in its own right, as it publishes articles in its News section nearly once a week about the artists in the current or upcoming collections and shows,  and other information I think you’d be interested in checking out. 

2) Rawvision.com

Details: Published originally in 1989, Raw Vision describes its “raw vision” as being “the express purpose of bringing the phenomena of Outsider Art to a wide public.” It’s first edition presented very underground works, known to just a handful of people across the globe, and as the recognition and interest in outsider art has grown from then to now, so has “the world’s only international journal of the art of the ‘unknown geniuses’.” The magazine is a discovery tool of sorts, describing itself as the place to go for an introduction into the world of outsider art, but looking through it Raw Vision could be extremely helpful to more than just novices. It is a quarterly publication, features artists from all over the world, and its news pages keep you abreast of Outsider Art happenings globally, which not all resources do. 

3) Stoarc.com

Details: Stoarc comes out with a journal entitled “The International Journal of Self-Taught and Outsider Art” known as “Elsewhere.” The journal publishes timely essays on all aspects of art that fall into this category, highlighting both history, contexts, and debates in the field. This is a much more scholarly resource than the rest I have found, and I hope it is as useful to you as I see it being. Online, the journal “provides a forum for serious, sustained writing” on Outsider Art, including its other manifestations that I’m sure you are familiar with and might mention in your work, like Art Brut, Self-Taught Art, Art Signulier, etc. The best part of this resource is it takes a “trans-disciplinary standpoint,” which results in contributions from scholars in various areas such as yourself -- the humanities, arts, social sciences, even medicine. 

4) Out-of-art.nl

Details: Out of Art is a Dutch and English art magazine about current Outsider Art, but determined to stretch the meaning of the term into the broadest sense--the journal dedicates each issue on one particular theme in this wide realm, and inside it has articles on artists and collectors, locations to inspire outsider art, and other publications and exhibitions that are current to the times, both reviewed and listed in the “agenda.” Another interesting note is number of different columns scribed by varying authors, and they found important to note that “there is often a poem on the back cover.” 

5) Avam.org

Details: The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) calls itself America’s “official national museum and education center for original, self-taught, intuitive artistry.” These are all synonyms for Outsider Art, as I’m sure you know. The museum opened in 1995 and works to promote current artists in this realm, like an “essential living piece of treasured human legacy.” Located in the Baltimore Inn Harbor, not only is the collection itself worth checking out for your writing, but the website is another thing entirely. I would suggest going on the site just for the design! (You’ll see what I mean). Honestly though, their News and Events section is a fantastic, current and lively offering of what is actively going on in the Outsider Art community, and promotes talks and exhibitions, et al. While this website does not offer as much as the others in terms of exhibits and happenings all over the world, it is worth checking out because as an insular institution, whatever is going on there or around there is likely a big part of the current scene, which could tell you a lot. 

6) Artbrut.ch

Details: Offered in both French and English, the Art Brut Collection In Lausanne website features a robust calendar of events hosted at the museum itself, but more importantly they feature a section under their News heading called “Around Art Brut.” This section offers articles that reach beyond just this institution, to keep visitors aground of what’s going on in Outsider Art. “Heir to a unique collection of international reputation , the Collection de l' Art Brut work intensely for the discovery, study and preservation of this art Outside the standards,” it states. The collection and organization’s mission are focused on national and international collaborations, which I think would be ideal considering the scope of your book. What’s more, the museum has an active publishing cycle, having published numerous books and come out with several documentaries that are widely-known by those in the Outsider Art community. I think this would be a great place to further your research. 

7) Gugging.org/en/galerie_ausstellungen/exhibitions

Details: The Gugging Galerie was founded in 1994 with only the express purpose of presenting and selling the works of artists of one specific mental hospital. The Maria Gugging Psychiatric Clinic, known as Gugging, is a psychiatric institution located on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria. Several of its patients became known for their Outsider Art, and were referred to as the Gugging Artists. The GG’s website is offered in both Dutch and English. Many galleries, museums and collectors worldwide are tapped into the Gugging Galerie and its current publications, and so they are definitely movers and shakers in the Outsider Art world, not to be missed. The site does mention also that it is “a place that has always been visited by contemporary artists as a source of inspiration” as well, so the gallery continues to be relevant to unknown artists. I believe this would be a great place to gather stories and make connections, even more than just gaining the information from their website. 

8) Riccomaresca.com

Details: “Ricco/Maresca strives to serve as a channel of information in order to improve general education within the art world.” The site includes a newsletter, an online magazine, a press section and numerous videos, all in the name of opening a window to the Outsider Art (which they term vernacular art) experience today. As far as books, Ricco Maresca has produced plenty on the subject, boasting that “over a period of 35 years” they have worked with many established publishers including Knopf, Little Brown and Company, and Bulfinch Press. The website is a must-see for you because of this catalog of books, as well as its current exhibition, which is stunning if I do say so myself. Ricco Maresca is a standard for Outsider Art research, and I encourage you to check out its impressive site. There are many things you could find on there just peeking around. 

9) Creativegrowth.org/category/news

Details: Creative Growth Art Center serves adult artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities, providing a professional studio environment for artistic development, gallery exhibition and representation and a social atmosphere among peers. Their news section, while not updated very frequently (monthly) is helpful, and even more, this organization seems to be very active on social media (specifically Facebook), which could help gain perspective on how an Outsider Art center works today with mentally disabled and other struggling people. This would be helpful also in defining the difference between Outsider Art and Art Therapy, which I know you mentioned in a previous email was something you were interested in pursuing. 

10) Soulsgrowndeep.org

Details: The Souls Grown Deep Foundation is a must for your research, as it is the only non-profit organization dedicated to “documenting, researching preserving, and exhibiting” the work of African American Outsider Artists. The organization claims its goal is “to bring this vital and quintessentially American art form to a wider audience” and “to see its inclusion in the ‘real’ American art dialogue.” Without knowing about Souls Grown Deep, an author cannot really say they are knowledgable of the vast Outsider Art scene, as this is one huge part of it. The website is helpful in both News and Events (though less frequently updated, they have exquisite posts on exhibitions that are must sees and what they feel really matters), and especially in its Publications section. This is where the website showcases the foundations’ printed works, mostly in book form, and just scrolling through you will find a lot of names of current artists in the scene, and much, much more. 

-----------------------------------

--MOMA Librarian Colleen

--Phone Number

--Email