Photography and Outsider Art: From Tichý to Sarah N.
In the August-September-October 2013 issue of artpress2 n°30, the concept of 'raw photography' is explored through the lens of Jean Dubuffet's definition of art brut. The focus is on outsider photographers including Miroslav Tichý (1926-2011), Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910-1983), Albert Moser (b. 1928), Alexandre Lobanov (1924-2002), and Sarah N. Tichý. Tichý, who was recognized by Harald Szeemann at the 2004 Seville Biennale, crafted cameras from salvaged materials to take hazy images of women in Kyjov, Czechoslovakia. Von Bruenchenhein, a baker, captured pin-up style photographs of his wife. Moser, who has autism, created urban photographic collages, first displayed at Galerie Christian Berst in 2012. Lobanov posed with oversized weapons in self-portraits, while 18-year-old Sarah N. showcased provocative self-portraits in Paris. The article posits that these artists offer genuine perspectives.
Key facts
- Article published in artpress2 n°30 'Les mondes de l'art brut' (August-September-October 2013).
- Examines whether raw photography can exist within Dubuffet's definition of art brut.
- Focuses on Miroslav Tichý, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Albert Moser, Alexandre Lobanov, and Sarah N.
- Tichý was discovered by Harald Szeemann at the 2004 Seville Biennale and exhibited at Centre Pompidou in 2008.
- Tichý built cameras from found materials and photographed women in Kyjov, Czechoslovakia.
- Von Bruenchenhein photographed his wife Marie in pin-up style, using double exposures.
- Moser created panoramic collages of American urban landscapes; first shown at Galerie Christian Berst in 2012.
- Lobanov staged self-portraits with weapons and Soviet symbols.
- Sarah N. exhibited at Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris; uses photography to communicate.
- Sarah N.'s work includes radical self-portraits, such as an interior view of her mouth.
Entities
Artists
- Jean Dubuffet
- Miroslav Tichý
- Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
- Albert Moser
- Alexandre Lobanov
- Sarah N.
- Henry Darger
- Adolf Wölfli
- Harald Szeemann
- Marc Lenot
- André Breton
- Claude Cahun
- Valérie Belin
- David Hockney
- André Rouillé
- Alain Fleischer
- Gilles Deleuze
Institutions
- Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
- Biennale de Séville
- Centre Pompidou
- Galerie Christian Berst
- Maison européenne de la photographie
- France Inter
Locations
- San Francisco
- United States
- Seville
- Spain
- Paris
- France
- Kyjov
- Czechoslovakia
- Atlantic City
- Lexington
Sources
- artpress —