Art Brut : the origins of Outside Art
/ Lucienne Peiry
- Switzerland : Flammarion , c1996
- 319 p. : illus. ; 22 cm
Preface, The other and the elsewhere, The first art brut venture New York and Vence, The rebirth of the compagnie de l'art brut, An antimuseum, Affinities and Influences, Conclusion
In the first half of the twentieth century, avant-garde artists in Europe began looking beyond the accepted canons of Western art in a search for new sources of inspiration. Primitive art, drawings by children, theart of the insane, automatism, and graffiti all opened up new avenues of experimentation. At the end of World War II, leading French artist Jean Dubuffet became interested in the works being produced by patients in psychiatric hospitals and by other social outcasts. In 1948, he founded the Compagnie de l'Art Brut in order to extend and document the collections he had recently begun, and in 1976, after various adventures, the Collection de l'Art Brut moved to its permanent home in Lausanne.This book traces the history of the concept of Art Brut.