Outsider Art

From the Margins to the Marketplace

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Folk Art
Cover of the book Outsider Art by David Maclagan, Reaktion Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Maclagan ISBN: 9781861897176
Publisher: Reaktion Books Publication: January 15, 2010
Imprint: Reaktion Books Language: English
Author: David Maclagan
ISBN: 9781861897176
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Publication: January 15, 2010
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Language: English

The term outsider art has been used to describe work produced exterior to the mainstream of modern art by certain self-taught visionaries, spiritualists, eccentrics, recluses, psychiatric patients, criminals, and others beyond the perceived margins of society. Yet the idea of such a raw, untaught creativity remains a contentious and much-debated issue in the art world. Is this creative instinct a natural, innate phenomenon, requiring only the right circumstances—such as isolation or alienation—in order for it to be cultivated? Or is it an idealistic notion projected onto the art and artists by critics and buyers?

David Maclagan argues that behind the critical and commercial hype lies a cluster of assumptions about creative drives, the expression of inner worlds, originality, and artistic eccentricity. Although outsider art is often presented as a recent discovery, these ideas, Maclagan reveals, belong to a tradition that goes back to the Renaissance, when the modern image of the artist began to take shape. In Outsider Art, Maclagan challenges many of the current opinions about this increasingly popular field of art and explores what happens to outsider artists and their work when they are brought within the very world from which they have excluded themselves.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The term outsider art has been used to describe work produced exterior to the mainstream of modern art by certain self-taught visionaries, spiritualists, eccentrics, recluses, psychiatric patients, criminals, and others beyond the perceived margins of society. Yet the idea of such a raw, untaught creativity remains a contentious and much-debated issue in the art world. Is this creative instinct a natural, innate phenomenon, requiring only the right circumstances—such as isolation or alienation—in order for it to be cultivated? Or is it an idealistic notion projected onto the art and artists by critics and buyers?

David Maclagan argues that behind the critical and commercial hype lies a cluster of assumptions about creative drives, the expression of inner worlds, originality, and artistic eccentricity. Although outsider art is often presented as a recent discovery, these ideas, Maclagan reveals, belong to a tradition that goes back to the Renaissance, when the modern image of the artist began to take shape. In Outsider Art, Maclagan challenges many of the current opinions about this increasingly popular field of art and explores what happens to outsider artists and their work when they are brought within the very world from which they have excluded themselves.

More books from Reaktion Books

Cover of the book Game by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Animal by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Turkish Cinema by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Smuggling by David Maclagan
Cover of the book The Triumph of Modernism by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Sugar by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Portrayal and the Search for Identity by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Beef by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Fairies by David Maclagan
Cover of the book The Road to Independence? by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Line Let Loose by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Teatimes by David Maclagan
Cover of the book The Breakfast Book by David Maclagan
Cover of the book Spices by David Maclagan
Cover of the book The Story of Soy by David Maclagan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy