Dear Dr. Berger,
Thank you for reaching out to the McHenry Library of UC Santa Cruz for assistance with your research. I have personally handled your reference request for current information on outsider art. Listed below are several resources for you to browse, each with a brief description as to their relevancy to your topic. I have also included selected screenshots of a few resources to pique your visual interest.
- Raw Vision is an international journal dedicated exclusively to “bringing the phenomena of Outsider Art to a wide public.” Published on a quarterly basis, Raw Vision is the premier scholarly source for your topic, presenting all of the latest news of exhibitions and publications within the field.
- Inaugurated in 1976, the Collection de L’Art Brut Lausanne is the preeminent museum of outsider art, or art brut, located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The museum publishes works on the topic, and the website is an invaluable reference in terms of existing works and resources.
- Out of Art is a biannual publication, available in both English and Dutch, of current Outsider Art in “the broadest sense of the term.” Issues are thematic, and contain articles on current artists, collectors, publications, and exhibitions. Current events within the field are also noted.
- Folk Art Society of America’s The Folk Art Messenger is a members-only publication, issued three times each calendar year. With no advertising to its name, the award-winning journal commonly features articles about self-taught artists, exhibition and book reviews, news, and an international calendar of events.
- The Outsider Art Fair is an annual gathering of artists, galleries, and those interested in outsider art sponsored by Wide Open Arts. While the 2015 Fair has already passed, the 2016 Fair will be held in New York from January 21-24th, and promises to be an excellent one. The site contains a link to the Outsider Art Fair’s frequently updated blog, as well as articles and reviews of the past.
- Umbrella Arts Gallery in NYC has several current and past exhibitions on outsider art. Curator Margaret Bodell particularly focuses on artists with disabilities, and has several projects of note available listed on her page on the gallery’s site.
- The Ames Gallery is a gallery of note a bit closer to home in Berkeley, CA. Director and Founder Bonnie Grossman is active in the field, and is also involved in the Outsider Art Fair. While the site newsletter has not been updated since last year, the Gallery is one of the only of note in the California area.
- A very current source on outsider art is Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine, based out of San Francisco. Issued monthly, this magazine features the most up to date news on the very current outsider art community. While it is not necessarily scholarly content, your students will appreciate the cultural relevancy of the magazine, and it is an excellent on-the-ground source of updates and news.
- For a change of pace and a more informally written source, Flavorwire, an online publication covering international culture has put out a few articles on your topic. Especially of interest for your research is their 2014 article titled “10 Female Outsider Artists You Should Know.” If you are interested, they have a few older articles on the topic, available by searching for the term “outsider art” on their website.
- And finally, I would be remiss if I did not note our own resources at the University Library. Our librarians have compiled a History of Art & Visual Culture Research Guide that the students find quite useful. It lists all of the Library’s available resources and databases, including Art Source, JSTOR, and Artstor. In your independent searches, it may be helpful to expand your search to include not only “outsider art,” but also “art brut,” “visionary art,” and “folk art.” Please contact me or any of our wonderful reference librarians should you encounter any issues with access or your searches.
I do hope you find the above information useful in your current research endeavors. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me should you have questions regarding the above resources or any further research needs.
Sincerely,
Anna Boutin
University Librarian
McHenry Library
University of California Santa Cruz
No comments:
Post a Comment