TATE’s definition of outsider art is: outsider art is “Outsider art is used to describe art that has a naïve quality, often produced by people who have not trained as artists or worked within the conventional structures of art production.”
Outsider artists create art for themselves, document their life experiences, and record historical events. Many outsider artists create art because they believe they have received a message from God or some other spiritual or intellectual source. These artists have a strong inner vision and feel compelled to create their art. Often, this art is driven by impulse, obsession or religious inspiration.
The term “outsider art” actually refers to the result of a process. The process of making it, then, is the way to create outsider art.
Henry Darger is a famous outsider artist, but can Joseph Beuys be called an outsider artist?
Although Joseph Beuys entered Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1947. And through his artist training he gradually developed his own relatively complete philosophy and artistic system in terms of style and thought. Putting himself within his works of art, Beuys enhanced the anthropological power of art as a whole. He wrapped himself in stories of Tatar tribes (true or false for now) to create a fascination with impulse, obsession, religion, and inspiration. The presence of this “motivation” makes me define him as an outsider artist in my paper.
