top of page
The Outsiders: Graffiti as Folk Art
Folk Art vs Outsider Art - How "Outsider Art" Demeans the Folk
Modernist painter Jean Dubuffet defined "outsider art", or "art brut," in 1949 as works created by people devoid of artistic training, "untouched" by culture, and existing outside of or against cultural norms. When considering outsider art from a folklore perspective, folklorist Daniel Wojcik argues in "Outsider Art, Vernacular Traditions, Trauma, and Creativity" that viewing artists creating these works through Dubuffet's lens robs them of their humanity, by either vilifying artists as deviants or romanticizing them as eccentrics - solely because the social/cultural influences on their work do not closely align with "traditional" culture (Wojcik, 179-180).
u/CloudOpposite627, Chicago, Cermak rd
u/Frankthetank8, So many sick tags, st paul mn
u/Norangedroptini, Speed- Houston
Wojcik contrasts "folk art" from "outsider art" by defining "folk art" as "possessing community traditions and collective aesthetics" (Wojcik, 179). Similarly, folklorists Martha Sims and Martine Smith identify folklore, encompassing folk art, as "informally learned, unofficial knowledge about the world, ourselves, our communities, our beliefs, our cultures,
and our traditions that is expressed creatively" (Sims and Smith, 2011).
Both working definitions neatly apply to graffiti and graffiti artists. Graffiti style and aesthetics can vary wildly from artist to artist and place to place, but there are general forms and practices with seemingly universal understanding among artists - ex. bubble-style "throw-ups," classic alpha/numeric traditional "tags", and larger works known as "pieces" (Nomeikaite, 6). This shared tradition and colloquial aesthetic that has been present in graffiti art for decades cements it as a folk practice, rich in shared culture. Classifying graffiti artists as "outsiders" de-legitimatizes this shared vernacular and cultural understanding as less than "normalized" culture.
u/oPeesky, Keis
bottom of page