Raw Creation: Outsider Art & Beyond (Hardcover)

by John Maizels (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Primitive, folk, naive, self-taught, outsider--branding art made outside of the conventional art world has become a tender task. What defines it? Who are its creators? No matter what you call it, there's no denying the visceral appeal of raw creativity unbound by rules, class, or education. Long-overdue attention is finally being awarded to self-taught artists--so often marginalized by race, economics, and social structure--allowing them to carve a solid place for themselves and their work in the world of high art. Maizel's book examines the history, study, and appreciation of this century's self-taught art, from the maniacal drawings of asylum inmates to found-object sculptures made by street people to homes surrounded by monoliths or covered in mosaic. The book bills itself as an introduction to the topic, but it is in fact quite a comprehensive study. It is divided into three sections: part one explores early studies of the work of the insane, Dubuffet and Art Brut; part two chronicles folk art and self-taught artists around the world; and part three delves into the world of visionary environments. The contemporary busyness of the design-small type, footnotes printed perpendicular to text, and seemingly random increases in font size can be frustrating, but plow through--the content is informative and inspirational.

From Library Journal
Maizels, editor of Raw Vision, the international magazine on outsider and self-taught art, details the history of this art and its still developing recognition. He also discusses the theories and definitions that have grown up around the works of visionaries, the insane, and other extraordinary artists. He further examines art expressed in mediums outside of the conventional art world and devotes a final section to large-scale visionary environments throughout the world. This work complements other recently published titles on outsider art (Pictured in My Mind, LJ 5/15/96; Contemporary American Folk Art, LJ 8/15/96) as it presents the discoveries and influential theories on this contemporary art with a broad international view. For specialized collections and larger contemporary collections.?Judith Yankeilun Lind, Roseland Free P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (November 7, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714831492
• ISBN-13: 978-0714831497
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 10.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,357,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compilation Beyond the Ordinary, November 24, 2000

By	Steven G Swanson (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raw Creation: Outsider Art & Beyond (Paperback)

Maizel has collected more than just the art of the emotionally disturbed and has illustrated, implicitly, the links between modernism and primitivism, folk art and creative genius. Both disturbing and provocative, his selections force one to confront and view these creations with a fresh perspective. Of particular interest is his writing on French artist Jean Dubuffet, who was among the first to recognize such works as real art with something worth exploring and accepting, on par with "formal" art. This book though is not overly intellectual and is primarily a collection of illustrations and prints, sometimes light on the text. I like the way the footnotes are treated on each page and would suspect that these footnotes could serve as a source for further explorations.