yucolo.com :: Museum Würth - Künzelsau, Stuttgart, Schwäbisch Hall, Tübingen

19 June 2008 – 2 November 2008

Noses smell tulips

Art created by special people in the context of the Würth Collection

At the beginning of the 20th century, the avant-garde of fine arts was on the lookout for new sources of inspiration and, by the same token, for new creative forms of expression. They found what they were searching for in the art of outsiders and also in the art created by people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities. The French artist Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) coined the term ‘Art Brut’ for the works of art crafted by these groups, which seemed to bear no resemblance to the mainstream artistic activities and followed only their own laws. He understood those oeuvres to be unprettified, unacademic, unadulterated, unmitigated and uninhibited art. Born of this tradition and thanks to its international reception and metamorphosis into ‘Outsider Art,’ an independent artistic scene encompassing artists with intellectual disabilities has been forming since the 1970s. Numerous ‘assisted ateliers’ which have evolved in Europe in the meantime now enable the artists to explore and craft their own creative language and reach their potential as freelance artists as behooves their talent and abilities. While their activities are commanding ever more respect among the initiated, the public perception continues to be marginal at best.
For the collecting couple Mrs. Carmen and Mr. Reinhold Würth, who have been championing the social integration of people with a disability for years, this was all the more reason to engage in the dialog between Outsider and Insider Art and offer it a platform at the Museum Würth. Their commitment is evidenced by the Würth Collection, which not only boasts approximately 11,000 works of art, but also comprises a collection focus on art created by people with intellectual disabilities. For the first time, a selection of approximately 70 works of art showcasing this aspect is to be presented in conjunction with an also hand-picked selection of creations by "established artists" from the Würth Collection including Jean Dubuffet, Arnulf Rainer, Peter Pongratz and others.

Würth’s own works are complemented by a selection of works of art which stood out in a competition initiated by Bundesvereinigung Lebenshilfe e.V., the German branch of an association supporting people with intellectual disabilities in several countries. In addition, the exhibition will be enriched by works created by artists of the Frankfurt Atelier Goldstein, namely Hans-Jörg Georgi, Christa Sauer and Birgit Ziegert, underpinning the high quality of art now contributed by this scene.
The message the organizers would like the exhibition to emphasize is that adopting an open attitude to Outsider Art is not only long overdue for social reasons, but is stimulating also from an artistic point of view. Ultimately, the intention is to do away once and for all with a thought which unfortunately continues to hold wide currency: ‘that fate has predestined but few people to have an inner world worth being expressed’ (Lucienne Peiry).

Noses smell tulips

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