C95 Article

Part of the paradox of Outsider Art is that it is both hidden and celebrated. Here Simon Cocking reports on a recent conference in Edinburgh that celebrated the phenomenon.

From November 23 to 26 in Edinburgh an important conference on Outsider Art took place presented by the Art Extraordinary Trust. Speakers came from all over Europe and the Americas as well as Britain and Ireland. Hosted by the Edinburgh College of Art the event was a great success, greatly aid by the fact that the list of attending delegates was very much a who's who of the Outsider Art world including Roger Cardinal, who popularised the term 'Outsider Art' in 1972, Colin Rhodes, who wrote the recent Thames & Hudson guide to Outsider Art, John MacGregor, author of many books on Outsider Artists, Monica Kinley, director of the Musgrove/Kinley Outsider Art Collection currently on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, as well as Phyliss Kind and Arnulf Rainer amongst others. Notable moments included Cardinal's exhortation to stay open to what is on the margins and to those things we normally ignore or dismiss. Patrick Eyres presented the example of Gladwyn Bush, a Caribbean 'Outsider Artist' now celebrated simply as a talented Caymanese artist - a reminder of the blind alleys over-zealous labelling can lead to. John MacGregor presented a breath-taking tour through the world of 'Architecture and Madness' and some of the beautiful visionary environments created around the world. Irish presentations included this writer's talk on the Irish experience of community development through community-arts projects and the associated benefits to society and individuals. Catherine Marshall discussed the IMMA exhibition policy of not distinguishing between Outsider and so-called mainstream artists. Great interest and support was expressed for these Irish initiatives.

Two exhibitions were also run concurrently with the conference to highlight some striking examples of Scottish Outsider Art. The first, From the Wild Unconscious, was drawn from the Scottish Art Extraordinary collection - a collection currently seeking a permanent home. In this show there were examples from several decades ago such as Angus MacPhee's wonderful secretive grass weavings hidden around the grounds of the asylum in which he lived. Younger Outsider artists were also represented with Gordon Holmes's beautiful, delicate sculptural creations from scrap newspaper and David Grossart's birds similarly fashioned from discarded string, twine and other materials.

The second exhibition, held at the Nexus Galleries, was of 'Visionary, Intuitive and Grassroots Art' from the Artesian group. Artesian "is an artist led venture that reaches out to artists with no formal training, celebrating the huge number of nontraditional, grassroots artists with wonderful imaginations and remarkable skill from all sorts of backgrounds." The exhibition had some great pieces, including Judith McNicol's birds, made from assorted pieces of plastic junk found on the streets, and David McCormick and Colin McKenzie's bright, colourful, intricate drawings. Perhaps the most well known artist was the Russian Eduard Bersudsky, creator of the Millennium Clock Tower at the Nation Museum of Scotland. His wonderful kinetic bird sculptures, made of found metal, chimed every time a new visitor entered the gallery. A new magazine of the same name [Artesian] has also been launched along with an outreach programme and creative-activity sessions, and future workshops are planned.

There was a great sense of energy and optimism in Edinburgh and I left hoping for similar projects in the future in Ireland. Both the exhibitions and the conference were a vital re-affirmation that, in the words of Dr. Hans Prinzhorn, creativity is a basic human need, and we are poorer for not encouraging such activities. Exhibitions such as these are a refreshing positive step in the battle to make art and artistic appreciation part of all of our lives.

Outsider Art Conference and Exhibitions in Edinburgh, November 2000

Simon Cocking

The author wishes to acknowledge the support of the Cultural Relations Committee and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.