Outsiders Are In!

Earlier in the week I was at London's fashionable Wallace Collection for a panel discussion and a peek at the current Grayson Perry exhibition.

The eminent art guru C has already reviewed the exhibition over at her place, and if it had not been for that review I would not have found out about the panel discussion. So many thanks C.

The discussion was titled 'Visions and Voices: Madge Gill and Outsider Art'. I am a big fan of the East London artist Madge Gill, as is Mr Perry it seems as he has included a few of her works in his exhibition, and that was the main attraction for me. 

After an unpromising introduction by the moderator that was full of art jargon like 'intersectional' and 'liminal' it turned into an interesting chat. As well as talking about Madge Gill's life and work - both extraordinary - there was a discussion about whether there is such a thing as 'outsider art'.

The general view of the panel was that it is an outdated and unhelpful term. As one of the panellists said, the artists who get labelled that way are all genuinely unique so trying to pigeonhole them and define them as one single group makes no sense. There is also a distinct whiff of 'not one of us' about it on the part of the establishment.

It reminded me of the dreadful phrase 'world music' which fortunately seems to have fallen out of favour. The idea that all the amazing and varied music made outside Europe and North America could be bundled together and treated as one genre always seemed misguided and - even if well-intended - slightly racist to me.

Enough of my right on rantings. Here are some outsiders and some art.

"The Outsider" - Shooter Jennings

"Outsiders (Remix)" - The Strange Parcels

"Do You Feel Alright" - The Outsiders

"Sealand" - Art Brut

"Public Art" - The Reds, Pinks & Purples

"Exit For The Artist Exists" - The Ugly Creatures