Startling as it may be it was actually under the influence of Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister for the Nazi party, that the first art exhibition featuring the visual art of people suffering from mental illness was staged. The ‘degenerate art’ exhibition in 1937 was also the first time art created by those suffering from mental illness was exhibited amongst art works created by ‘sane’ avant-garde or modernist artists (Peiry, 2001). Of course Goebbels intention was to reveal the supposed perversity and debauchery of the mentally ill and of artists who created unrealistic artwork, rather than to celebrate the unique pieces of art created by the mind of an outsider.
‘Outsider music’ is a form of ‘outsider art’. The concept of the ‘outsider artist’ goes back to Jean Dubuffet’s creation of the term ‘art brut’ in 1945 to encapsulate the visual artworks created by artists considered ‘mad’ or ‘insane’, spiritually compelled to create, or simply people working completely outside of the mainstream art world (Peiry, 2001). The actual term ‘outsider art’ was first used by Robert Cardinal in 1972 as the English equivalent of ‘art brut’ and opened up the meaning of the term to include all people creating art who exist on the margins of society and on the margins of the art world itself (Cole, 2005 & Peiry, 2001). Outsider musicians exhibit the same qualities to those who create outsider visual art (some outsider musicians also create visual art and visa versa), and are usually people who would be considered social outcasts and people who rarely associate with the music business (either by choice or because they are unaware of their possible place within it). Whilst people like Dubuffet who have written about and collected outsider art, be it visual or aural, deny that mental illness is a prerequisite for being an ‘outsider’ many outsider artists or musicians, including some of the most successful and well known of them, do suffer from mental illness or have conditions which affect them behaviourally or psychologically (Morris, 2004).
Prolific artists such as Syd Barrett, who founded Pink Floyd and died earlier this year and Brain Wilson of the Beach Boys who performed at this years Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay, have been considered outsider musicians. Despite their fame, successes in the mainstream music industry and the adoration of fans both have experienced time where they have withdrawn from the public eye, become reclusive and suffered from mental illness. Sadly sometimes people seem to be more interested in the mental health problems of the outsider artist than what they are creating. It seems that sometimes it is the mental illness itself which attracts the audience, which is not at all what Dubuffet envisaged when he initially started seeking outsider art. He believed that the mental condition of the artist was incidental, secondary or even insignificant to the art itself (Peiry 2001). And whilst it is hard to deny that the psychological condition of the artist or musician does lend itself to the creation of the myth surrounding the individual, it is unfortunate when the mental illness overshadows the music or art the person is creating.
The question of wether the mental illness overshadows the quality of the music was addressed recently in the documentary “The Devil & Daniel Johnston” which profiled the life and music of outsider musician and artist Daniel Johnston. Whilst he is considered by some, including respected musicians such as Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth, to be a genuinely brilliant and unique performer, others believe him to be more of a curiosity whose psychological condition has enabled his music to reach a level of fame that it would not have enjoyed without his bizarre behaviour and live performances which stem from his bipolar disorder (The Devil & Daniel Johnston, 2005).
The value of the art of the outsider musician or artist classified as mentally ill is a point of contention. Is the art or music legitimately brilliant? Is it of less value because of the compulsive nature of its creation? Or is it only considered worthy because of the mental illness the musician or artist experiences. Either way the art or the music does not seem to be able to stand alone, for the audience it will be linked to or defined by the mental illness of the artist or musician. This reflects how mental illness is seen in society at large, like how the work of the outsider who suffers from mental illness tends to be defined by the illness itself so other people in society tend to be defined by the mental illnesses they may suffer from. The stigma of the term ‘mental illness’ needs to be overcome, when you consider that in Australia one in five people will suffer from a mental illness (Lavelle, 2005) during their lifetime it is surprising that people are still unable to conceive of mental illnesses like they would any other disease, as an ailment a person may suffer from, but not as a definer of identity. Surely the identity of a person can stand alone from the mental illness and the art and music of an outsider artist or musician able to stand alone as a thing of value, irrespective of any possible psychological or behavioural problems they may have.
Reference List:
Cole, D.J. 2005, ‘They’re colouring outside the lines’, US News & World Report, Vol. 138 Issue 2, pD2-D3
Lavelle, P. 2005, Mental State of The Nation, ABC: Health Matters, viewed: 6th October 2006, <
http://abc.net.au/health/features/mentalstate/ >
Morris, G 2004, ‘Outside In’, Bright Lights Film Journal, Issue 44, May 2004, viewed: 7th October 2006, <
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/44/out.htm >
Peiry, L. 2001, Art brut: The Origins of Outsider Art, 1st Edition, Paris: Flammarion
The Devil & Daniel Johnston, 2005, documentary film, Complex Corporations, San Francisco
