Terry Castle on Outside Art
Oh my was this 07.28.11 essay in the LRB on outsider art, collecting it, and trying to answer the ambiguity of its commoditization or commoditization of its ambiguity a fantastic read. Unfortunately, it’s subscriber-only (but if you ask nicely…)
I had never heard of Henry Darger, Martín Ramírez, Adolf Wölfli, et al, but damn am I glad I did, and Castle raises enough questions about contemporary art, the nature of meaning, and intentionality vis-a-vis a hypothetical audience to keep one busy for months.
