Outsider Art: Naïve Or Self Taught Artists

Outsider Art

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Outsider Art

Outsider art is art that is made by naïve or self-taught artists. Those artists who make outsider art have little contact with the art institutions or the mainstream world. The term outsider art was first used in 1972 by Roger Cardinal to represent raw art, art that was created outside the limitations of conventional culture. With time, many outsider artists have been appreciated, and outsider art has become known. The art and their makers have increasingly come into focus in the broader art world. However, over time the field of outsider art has become broad that it is impossible to find any recognizable shared features except the fact that the art appears as extraordinary in the choice of tools used to make them, its basis and the contents of the art pieces (Duncan, 2018). Several artists in the outsider art world have made their way into the limelight by making amazing drawings that have caught the eyes of many people worldwide. With the modern society having and judging everyone’s identity, painters base most of their work on it, having a sense of belonging or having something one can be identified with. Some of these artists include Audrey Pongracz, John Dunkley, and Alfred Neumayr, among others. Most of these artists use art as a way of expressing their thoughts on the society, religion, politics, and cultural values, among others.

Audrey Pongracz

Audrey Pongracz, an outsider artist, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1979. She was, however, raised in the Mexican town area of the Southwest Detroit. The self-trained artist argued that art should be something that every person can achieve both visually and psychologically. Her work focuses on the human situation while demonstrating the struggles between light and darkness. The basis of her drawings makes it easy for most people to relate to, which then fulfills her statement art should be a viewing experience. According to Audrey, looking at a painting should give a person access to it in awe of its presentation or just the sensation of it. Her visual art work illustrates emotions and surreal human forms. The artist in her art wave after wave 2018 oil and bronze on linen illustrates the present existence of human beings as material vessels and their position in the daily earthly challenges they face (Arts). The female figure lying down in a boat in the painting looks so peaceful despite the waves in the sea that would result from a storm. Somehow, the situation clearly expresses how in a world and life of struggles and downfalls illustrated by the waves, human beings find a way to have peace amongst all the storms in life. In addition, the drawing portrays the artists’ thoughts on religion and values. The painting, in a way resonates with the biblical story of Jesus calming the storm which restored peace when his disciples were terrified. The value of being grateful is evident in the painting; finding peace in the midst of the storms in life is something that cannot be taken lightly. The calm face of her figure in the painting can also be considered as taking a pause in life to find direction and be introspective as you work towards finding inspiration.

Most of the paintings by Audrey express her emotions and portray the human unconscious mind. In her painting If I only could oil on linen, the figure in black has a blackbird picking something from her hand. The figure’s face is painted with emotion; she looks sorry and somehow sad as she places her hand on her heart as she passes something like a paper to the bird. Observing the drawing seems to be expressing the normalcy in the current world where people need assistance, but we are not in a position to offer it however willing we may be. The painting is also based on human forms of being subject to error and how different situations tie individuals down in ways out of their control. The painting also, in some way, shows how people take time to care for themselves and only take up other people’s problems when the challenges are somehow their responsibility. The work is surreal in that it shows a situation of a weird and complicated life, how one would be willing to offer assistance and not be in a position to when it is asked of them.

Alfred Neumayr

Alfred Neumayr, an Austrian artist, was born in 1958 in Tullin where he went through school and who, after his high school became an apprentice in printing. For the largest part of his life, the painter worked in his profession. In 2005 Neumayr left his job due to exhaustion, both physically and emotionally, and in that year, he produced his first painting. With him being out of work, the artist was oriented, which led the artist into attending an open studio program that offered a platform for self-taught artists. With time the importance of drawing grew, which meant more accura...