Insensitive Comments Come Back to Haunt Me

I'm a fan of outsider art or art brut. I am also jealous of the attention the outsiders get. Years ago I belonged to a Co-Op gallery. The outsider shows drew more people and sold more work than the rest of us conventional slobs. Real collectors came down out of castles to brave the ghetto and buy up all the work. I said something in the meetings that erked people. One of the handicap outsiders applied for membership. I asked, insensitively, "Does he smell?" A local paper did a story on one of the artists belonging to the same community of handicaps and that stupid statement came up. You can read about it here and the apologist here.

Anyway, something about the art gets people all excited. I have a theory. It's just my opinion, but the work is novelty. Let's cut the polite bulls#it bleeding heart teeth chattering and call a spade a spade. It's a freak show. The outsider has tapped into something the rest of us can only dream of. BUT they don't go any further. They are hindered by whatever handicap ails them. Each piece is carbon copy of each other. Normal people wrestle with self-doubt, hopefully fight through. They struggle with the pressures associated with normal life. Those that succeed, I applaud. The fight is a difficult battle. Your peers, parents, lovers, society, yourself; you were beat-down but you continued on. There is no monetary value that you can place on growth. I love you 'the common artist'. You are my hero.

I wonder about the work of some outsiders. They don't use artist materials. I too want to buy into the freak show and purchase art. But will the work last? They are mostly on non-archival paper, using children's art supplies (crayola markers, etc.). Take a look at outsider Daniel Johnston's work. I want to buy some of it. The prices went up due to exposure from the good documentary The Devil and Danel Johnston. In the film, there's a scene in this gallery where his work sells off as he's hanging 'em. Collectors know he's in poor health and the value will certainly increase when he passes. It all comes down to $$$.