LOS ANGELES -
May 13, 2016 -
PRLog -- "
Outside of What?" is an exhibition which seeks to challenge and question the usual distinctions made about disabled artists, and especially the "outsider artist" label. The term "outsider artist" has historically served as a means to
other, to control, and in some cases devalue the work of people who have not been perceived as having a voice. Art critic Roger Cardinal coined the term "Outsider Art," an English translation of Jean Dubuffet's "Art Brut," which most literally means, "Raw Art" or "Rough Art." Dubuffet amassed a significant collection of art by psychiatric patients (many of whom were likely developmentally disabled, not mentally ill), children, and other individuals he described as "uncooked" by mainstream culture. Willfully naïve, Dubuffet believed that these artists worked in a vacuum. The notion of an "uncooked" artist is a fantastic and uncritical categorization reminiscent of the Romantic "noble savage." Dubuffet's label is ultimately erroneous in so many ways, especially today, as the borders and boundaries of the art world continue to dissolve and overlap. Now there are non-disabled artists who self-identify with "outsider" as a brand, and conversely, so-called "outsiders" with gallery representation and in the collections of major museums.
The central aims of this show are to incite new ways of looking at and thinking about art, to encourage the viewer to trust their experience, and to discard prescribed narratives altogether. By exhibiting the works of this diverse group of artists within the cultural milieu of Los Angeles, this exhibition seeks to subvert the "outsider" designation and reimagine how we can look at art without inherited and antiquated labels.
Curated by Sam Phillips
Exhibiting artists: Seth Bogart, Tiffiny Boyd, Don Gibbs, Heidi Dong, Juan Pierri, Sam Phillips, Lenny Salazar, Jesse Spears, Kyle Thomas, Luke Thomas, Willie Walls
Exhibition will run May 23 - June 30, 2016
Opening reception: May 28, 6-8PM
DAC GALLERY431 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013 - tel: 213.627.7374
www.dacgallery.com - info@dacgallery.com
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