FROM WIKIPEDIA: "The term Outsider Art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for Art Brut (IPA: /aʁ bʁyt/; meaning "raw art" or "rough art"), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.

While Dubuffet's term is quite specific, the English term "Outsider Art" is often applied more broadly, to include certain self-taught or Naïve art makers who were never institutionalized. Typically, those labeled as Outsider Artists have little or no contact with the institutions of the mainstream art world; in many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Much Outsider Art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds."

For more info check out this great article on Wikipedia: [link]

Outsider Art and the work of art savants has interested me for the last few years and was a focus of my studies when I was at art school. Recently, this area of art has begun to interest me more and more, and also to excite and inspire me.

I have had many debates and discussions with "learned" artists who hold qualifications in various areas of art who believe they are able to judge and critique with no holds barred because they have more knowledge than others. So I began to wonder, what makes an artist an artist anyway? Do you need a piece of paper to tell the world you are an incredible image maker? Or does art come from somewhere else?

I believe art comes from the soul, from the gut. There is a difference between the art of the educated and the art of the free. Having a degree in fine art does not make one person better than someone who has never been to school and doesn't know a single art term or defined technique. In my experience, I have often found that the people who leave scalding critique are the learned artists, and their remarks usually come as an attack on technique or term, rather than the subject matter itself. They ignore the Punctum and attack the way the art is made. For more info on Punctum please read my previous journal here: [link]

In my opinion, which is nothing but that, an opinion - true art, the sacred and pure lifeblood of art, comes from that deep pit of your stomach where the most uncomfortable thoughts lurk. Or from the heart where your most pure energy lies. True art, the one that hits you in the stomach and makes your eyes water, is the art that comes from an open vein. Outsider Art, or art made by the untrained - I find is unafraid, haunting, sometimes happy, sometimes heartbroken and heartbreaking.

But now to ponder the eternal question, the one that drives my own work and also drives me to consume as many images as I can: what is Art? An article on Wikipedia describes it;

"Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. Generally, art is made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions."

Here is another interesting article on the purposes of art: [link]

I have collected some images by artists who may be "unlearned" and know nothing of art terms or be technically adept, but their work has inspired and affected me more than many works done by contemporary art masters. Please enjoy, and leave the artists some love.

Jessika Cannibal Cameron ~mistress-macabre
My featured artists for this article is Mistress Macabre, aka Jess. I have watched Jess' work for a while now, and have watched her experimental photography progress and evolve as she has become braver and more in tune with herself. Through emotion, experience, memory and trauma, Jess has illustrated her life through images that are raw with power. I admire her not only as an artist but as a woman; and enjoy seeing every image she creates. The other great thing about her is she is a fellow New Zealander, and not the only Kiwi I am featuring today







And here are some other wonderful images I have found. Some of these have been previously featured.






Thanks for looking

In Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology, the Anima and Animus are symbolic of one's "true self". The Animus represents the masculine side of a female's unconscious mind.

Jung believed that we each have within us both male and female qualities, which together comprise the totality of who we are. The Animus is the archetype in a woman that represents her male alter ego. It is the personification of the masculine qualities in a woman's psyche. These qualities may include rationality, authority, objectivity, initiative, courage, conviction, action, aggression, and brutality. The Animus has been described as producing opinions, in contrast with the Anima, which produces moods.

For me, I find that I personally identify with men who have a quality or qualities that feel more feminine to me - these can be things like grace, beauty, soft feminine features, vulnerability and other traits that are unlikely, or contrast the stereotypical idea of masculinity. Although the theories of the Animus speak mostly of masculine qualities, my personal take on it is that the Animus is the masculine spirit I identify with as a woman.

In art, I find images of men who show feminine qualities or vulnerability to be beautiful, and it's often what attracts me to men. I have found some images here on DA that embody these qualities (for me personally). Enjoy












You will notice I have featured a lot of work by =crossfading. This artist has an incredible way of depicting emotion; loneliness, vulnerability and beauty in a way that is understandable. I am very empathetic of his work. Some of his images are dark and terrible, and some are light and beautiful.

For more information on the Anima/Animus, check out this great Wikipedia article: [link]

"we often look away when confronted with imagery of the sick, the deformed, the dead and dying. To the extent that we worry about the exploitation of bodies which do not conform to the norm or suffer from some affliction, our reticence is humane; but to the extent that we refuse to confront the human condition, it is pathological."
- Wililam A. Ewing, "The Body: Photoworks of the Human Form."

Images of death, decay and the un-beautiful are generally thought of to be unnerving, disgusting and taboo. I have found some incredible images on DA that portray death, ugliness and the deformed in it's silent and disquieting beauty - the following artists have done an amazing job of re-creating this aesthetic in visual poetry.

Most of these images have been found by browsing new images, as I wanted to include some photos that were done by artists with low recognition. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.










And now the featured artists for this topic is ~matildamonroe who has done a breathtaking photographic series on scars. Her views about it are wonderful; and for once do not condone or focus on self-mutilation as either a really bad thing or a really positive thing. Scars are a part of us, we collect them on our journey and they tell the story of our lives. Please take a look at some of her incredible work. It's been a long time since someone's artwork has excited me like hers has.




Thanks for looking

Ok, I know this is a sensitive subject, and I am one of those people who has gone through it and feels very strongly about rape - but looking around the internet and particularly on DA, I see so many images about rape that are really cliche and void of emotion - almost like the artist thought;

"Oh hmm, what is like, the worst possible thing I could use as a concept for an image?...Rape?!"

I am not saying this to those people who genuinely feel very strong about this issue - but it seems to me that this has become a "popular" theme in photography today; particularly in badly shot self-portraits. The majority of them being named "Real Men Don't Rape" - hey, women are capable of this kind of abuse too you know; and maybe that needs to be addressed.

People are going to misunderstand this post and call me a cunt; but what I mean is... if you are making an image about rape or any kind of abuse for that matter - don't do it for shock factor or to try and get people to drop their jaws in shock-horror. Do it because it's something you are compelled to do out of completely sensitivity and empathy for those who have been through it, or because you yourself have been through it and you need to express it.

Ok, as an example:



Her description: "Beauty can be fatal."
What the fuck is that supposed to mean? That women who are beautiful are more likely to be raped than a woman who is not considered beautiful? That is a steaming pile of shit. If you are going to make a statement about something as serious as rape, read your FUCKING statistics first.

- end rant-

On a side note - Vitamin Water is fantastic - but then I found out it was made by Coke and now I don't think I trust it anymore. Hmmm.