Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art
In conjunction with the international conference Contemporary Outsider art: the global context, presented by the Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne and Art Projects Australia and held from 23 - 26 October at the University of Melbourne.
Exhibition dates: 1 October 2014 - 18 January 2015
Venue: The Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne
"An exhibition of Australian and New Zealand 'Outsider' artists which challenges a key existing interpretation of the genre will be presented at the Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne. The term 'Outsider art' was coined by British art historian Roger Cardinal in 1972 expanding on the 1940s French concept of art brut - predominantly artworks made by the institutionalised mentally ill - to include artworks made by folk artists and those who are self-taught, disabled, or on the edges of society. The work of Outsider artists is often interpreted as expressing a unique inner vision unsullied by social or cultural influences. Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art counters this view by presenting contemporary Outsider artists whose works reveal their proactive engagement with the everyday world through artworks that focus on day-to-day experiences.
Curator, Joanna Bosse, says the exhibition questions a key interpretive bias of Outsider art that is a legacy of its origins in art brut. "The association with an interior psychological reality that is unsullied by social or cultural influences remains deeply embedded within the interpretations of Outsider art today, and can lead audiences to misinterpret the agency and intention of the artist. Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art questions this key interpretive bias, and presents the work of Australian and New Zealander outsider artists that demonstrate a clear and proactive engagement with the world. The work of artists Andrew Blythe, Kellie Greaves, Julian Martin, Jack Napthine, Lisa Reid, Martin Thompson and Terry Williams reveals their blatant interest in the here and now," Ms Bosse said.
Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art is held in conjunction with the international conference Contemporary Outsider art: the global context, presented by the Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne and Art Projects Australia and held between 23rd - 26th October at The University of Melbourne. The conference proposes an inter-disciplinary exploration of the field, drawing on the experience and knowledge of Australian and international artists, collectors, curators and scholars."
Press release from the Ian Potter Museum of Art
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Related conference and exhibitions
- 23 - 26 October 2014 Contemporary Outsider art: the global context conference, presented the Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne and Art Projects Australia
- 11 October - 29 November 2014 Now the heart is filled with gold as if it were a purse exhibition, Arts Project Australia
- 23 October 2014 - 23 January 2015 Raw Emotion: selected works from the Cunningham Dax Collection exhibition The Dax Centre