Primitivism art

Primitivism movement ushered in a new way of looking at art and played a large role in radically changing the direction of European painting.

Outsider art, sometimes referred to as Art Brut/Naive/Primitive, in general, refers to artist who are not mainstream. In reality, it references art created by the mentally ill/challenged, or those who lack artistic training. However, many trained artists work in this "style". Outsider art tends to be quite intricate, beautifully detailed, coherent work. The artists work with "accepted" mediums, or anything that helps them give form to their vision, which is refreshingly unique.

'The Cave of Hands' in Argentina. These Prehistoric rock paintings of human hands were created around 9,000 to 13,000 years ago.

In recent decades, a tale unfolding within the larger story of contemporary art has been our gradually learning more about, and our trying to place, outsider artists. Problems begin at once, with the label.

Framing other cultures as ‘primitive’ ultimately suggests the need for external aid and guidance, and thus helps to justify Western colonial practices.

Part of the "Frida in Dialogue" Lecture Series offered in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition, Frida Kahlo and Arte Popular at the Museum of Fine Arts. Rick Lopez, Professor of History, Amherst College "Nationalism, Folk Aesthetics, and Radical Politics in the Art and Self-Presentation of Fri

Salman Toor (Pakistani, b. 1983), Green Bar, 2018. Oil on panel, 18 x 12 in. via vitosordinationsong

Christopher Wood Angelfish, London Aquarium 1930 oil on cardboard Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums " . . . not trying to see things and paint them through the eyes and experience of a man of forty or fifty or whatever they may be, but rather through the eyes of the smallest child who sees nothing except those things which would strike him as being the most important . . ." – Christopher Wood in a 1922 letter to his mother Christopher Wood Battersea Park, London before 1930 oil on canvas Dorset…