Creative Impulse: Readings - Jerry Saltz on the Outsider Art Fair

Readings: “Jerry Saltz on the Outsider Art Fair — and Why There’s No Such Thing As ‘Outsider’ Art”

   In this article Jerry Saltz talks about how so called “outsider artists” should be viewed at the same level as an artist who went to an institution. He goes on to say that just because an artist is professionally trained, it doesn’t mean that they are any better or more worthy of being in a museum than an artist who has not been professionally trained.

   I completely agree wit Saltz’s thoughts and I believe that just because someone went to school doesn’t mean that they are going to be better than someone who hasn’t. Some people are just naturally gifted with the skill of creating amazing art and I don’t think there should be such a division between insider and outsider art. This restrictive idea that outsider art is less than insider art is keeping us from being able to discover and be exposed to different types of art and artists from people who don’t have the chance to be exhibited in big museums, which is sad because there could be some truly amazing artists that aren’t getting any exposure just because they didn’t or couldn’t attend an institution.