Re-envisioning Outsider Art: An Inquiry into Hans Prinzhorn’s Pioneering Research
This article considers whether re-focusing on Hans Prinzhorn’s text “Artistry of the Mentally Ill” (1922) could improve the inconsistencies within the Outsider Art genre. This article is a historical analysis of Prinzhorn’s research and discusses five reoccurring categories that emerge during the production of pictorial configuration. This study has two aims: to consider the relevance of Prinzhorn’s research in categorizing and understanding reoccurring themes and styles that emerge spontaneously during the production of pictorial configuration, and to establish whether mental illness or marginalization is necessary for the authentic style promoted by the Outsider Art genre. This historical analysis is considered alongside analytical psychology with fine art examples from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Citation: Hester, Lisa. 2021. “Re-envisioning Outsider Art: An Inquiry into Hans Prinzhorn’s Pioneering Research.” The International Journal of Arts Theory and History 16 (2): 1-15. doi:10.18848/2326-9952/CGP/v16i02/1-15.
The Visionary Art of C.G. Jung: An Exploration of Liber Novus using Neumann’s Understanding of Great Art
This article considers how visionary art expresses itself within paintings and pictorial configuration by using Neumann’s work to expand on Jung’s notion of the ‘visionary mode of creativity.’ The first part is a comparative study of Neumann’s ‘fours stages of psychological development’ discussed in ‘The Origins and History of Consciousness’ (1949) and his ‘four stages of art in relation to its epoch’ discussed in his essay ‘Art and Time’ (1959). This comparison aims to establish a selection of categories that considers the role of art on the micro-level (the individual) and the macro-level (society). Additionally, it is suggested that these four categories offer an interesting framework for identifying and understanding visionary artworks. Subsequently, the second part uses Neumann’s framework to examine a selection of paintings from ‘Liber Novus’ (2009).
Citation: Accepted but awaiting publication in The International Journal of Jungian Studies