University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 25, March 27



            Exhibition gives inside look at 'outsider art'
     
     Slowly driving past homes with massive displays of
lights at Christmas time, many Americans may not realize
they are viewing a new form of art. But at least one of
those displays in Bear, Del., and a Houston, Texas, house
made out of beer cans and a lawn ornament "museum" in
Bethlehem, Pa., fall into the category of "outsider art," or
art outside the bounds of what many would consider art, a
genre to be examined in a day-long seminar at the
University.
     "Look Out! Perspectives on Outsider Art in America" is
the theme of UD's biennial Symposium on American Art,
sponsored by the Department of Art History. The event will
begin at 8:30 a.m., Friday, April 11, in Clayton Hall.
     The Department of Art's website
(http://Seurat.art.udel.edu) contains images of such art,
including the examples mentioned and homes with folk art
murals on the walls, folk art statues and paintings.
     Outsider art is an emerging genre within the field of
contemporary art. The term "outsider" was coined in 1972 to
describe art produced by people outside the mainstream of
American culture.
     Outsider art challenges traditional notions of
aesthetic and monetary value and has produced intense and
sometimes heated debate within academic circles and the
public at large. The symposium will explore how this art is
produced, interpreted, bought and sold and exhibited.
     Six nationally recognized speakers, chosen for their
involvement in recent exhibitions, scholarship and public
debate will deliver slide presentations and participate in a
moderated round-table discussion. The speakers have diverse
backgrounds and will address issues ranging from their
personal experiences to the cultural impact of their works.
     * Bonnie Grossman, director of the Ames Gallery in
Berkeley, Calif., will give the perspective of a gallery
owner and art dealer. Her talk will examine the
ramifications of marketing and art's status as a commodity
or investment.
     * Robert Hobbs recently curated "Souls Grown Deep," a
multisite exhibition of African-American vernacular art
since the 1950s, which coincided with the Summer Olympics in
Atlanta. He will speak on Thornton Dial, a contemporary
African-American artist.
     * Roger Manley is a photographer and folklorist who
curated the "Tree of Life" opening exhibition for the
American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore in 1995. He will
discuss self-taught artists, their search for meaning in
their art and how understanding the artists' purpose
increases the potential of learning.
     * Speaking on the relationship between outsider art in
America and art in post-colonial countries will be Thomas
McEvilley, author of Art and Otherness; Crisis in Cultural
Identity and The Exile's Return: Toward a Redefinition of
Painting for the Postmodern Era.
     * Eugene Metcalf, professor of interdisciplinary
studies at Miami University of Ohio, will explore the
history of the concept of the outsider artist and its
sometimes contentious relationship to folk art and the study
of folk culture.
     *  Wendy Steiner, professor of English at the
University of Pennsylvania, will speak on "Sam Doyle and
Jean-Michael Basquiat." Steiner has published articles on
pop culture, much of it focusing on the intersection of
intellectual and popular culture.
     Barbara Luck, curator of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Folk Art Center in Williamsburg, will moderate an afternoon
panel discussion.
     Participants from UD include President David P.
Roselle, who will deliver welcoming remarks; Damie Stillman,
art history, who will deliver introductions; and Bernie
Herman, art history, who will deliver concluding remarks.
     Cost of the symposium is $40 for the public and $20 for
students. Registration deadline is April 1, and a $5 late
fee will be charged for registrations after that date.
     For registration information, call 831-2214. For
program information, call 831-8415.
     The Delaware Symposium on American Art is the oldest
permanent forum for the presentation of new research in the
history of the art of the United States. Since its
establishment in 1972, the symposium has provided a meeting
place for professors, students, museum professionals,
collectors and dealers.
     The program is funded in part by the Delaware
Humanities Forum. Other UD departments supporting the
program include the College of Arts and Science, the Faculty
Senate, the Visiting Women Scholars Fund and the Winterthur
Program in Early American Culture.
                                                -Beth Thomas