(i) What do you understand by the terms `outsider art’ and `art brut’ or `raw art’?

(ii) Who was the “untutored genius who created a paradise” and what is the nature of his contribution to art?

(i) The term `outsider art’ was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for `art brut’ or `raw art’, a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet. It refers to art created outside the boundaries of culture. It is an art by the untutored geniuses who have received no formal training and have no right to be called artists. These artists are never institutionalised because of their unconventional ideas. They illustrate elaborate fantasy worlds.

 

(ii) The “untutored genius” who created “paradise” was Nek Chand, an 80- year old creator-director who made the world famous rock garden at Chandigarh. His was an ‘outsider art’ in which he sculpted with stone and recycled materials. He used anything and everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car to form an artistic piece. One of his famous creations are ‘Women by the Waterfall’.

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