Art World of Pure and Original Creations

French artist, Jean Dubuffet coined the term Art Brut, which means "Raw Art" or "Rough Art." This was used as a synonym to the term "Outsider Art," coined or rather translated by an art critic, Roger Cardinal in 1972. Outsider art portrays creations beyond the limits of official culture. The art form is raw and pure. It has no influences of training or cultural complexities that are found in the mainstream art forms such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, and any other outdoor creations. People with little or no formal training in art create outsider art and therefore, their creations are not limited to the elemental boundaries of mainstream art.

Outsider art is not restricted only to paintings, but also goes on to include the likes of folk art, primitive art, and tramp art to name just some. This form of art, which is beyond the hierarchical and the historical horizons of mainstream art, is definitely appealing, owing to its simple and intriguing reflection. Outsider art creations are fresh, unexpected, and innovative, as they are unaltered, unmodified, and unmediated, original creative expressions.

Being limitless, a number of questions about outsider art bedevil art connoisseurs and art collectors. They are often intrigued by what makes any kind of work outsider or worthwhile. How much a person must be creatively outside to qualify? So on and so forth. Despite all this debate, outsider art remains beyond the realms of core art world, and is widely practiced. Outside art seems to persevere for commercial reasons, forming a niche of its own in the art market.

There are a number of terms used to describe art, generally implicated as "outside" of the official core art. The other terms used are:

o Art Brut. This stands for the raw art forms that have not been refined, unlike the artworks in galleries and museums. As mentioned earlier, Art Brut and Outsider art are synonymous to each other.
o Neuve Invention. This term describes those artists, who interact with mainstream culture to a certain degree.
o Marginal Art. This refers to the artists on the boundary of art world. Their art works overlap the essence of mainstream art and outsider art.

There are several notable outsider artists, who have made their presence felt and known in the art scene. Some of them include, Adolf Wölfli, a Swiss artist. Adolf was the first well-known outsider artist. Nek Chand, an Indian, attained fame for his sculpture garden, called Rock Garden, Chandigarh. Ferdinand Cheval, a postal worker in Hauterives, was inspired by a dream, and spent 33 years in constructing Palais Ideal.

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