Past Exhibitions
OUTSIDER Art from INSIDE
February 12 – March 27, 2009
Luis Suave Gonzalez
Opening reception: Thursday, February 12; 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Thursday, March 26; 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center at the Thomas Eakins House
1727-29 Mount Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Tel: 215-685-0750
info@muralarts.org
Gallery Hours: Weekdays from 9AM-5PM and by appointment
Outsider Art: A Definition
Outsider Art has become a catch-all phrase for art created by people outside the mainstream. It was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for Art Brut, meaning "raw art" or "rough art," a term first used by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. The term "Outsider" was originally associated with Albert Camus' novel The Outsider, which is the diary of a deeply alienated man.
Charles Harrison (2006)
OUTSIDER Art from INSIDE will feature work by men in the Mural Arts Program at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Graterford; work from Mural Arts' programs within the Philadelphia Prison System located at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, House of Correction, and Riverside Correctional Facility; and work by adjudicated youth in Mural Arts' programs at the City of Philadelphia Youth Study Center, St. Gabriel's Hall and VisionQuest. Also highlighted will be Behold the Open Door, the first outdoor mural created by Jon Laidacker, with assistance from Philadelphia Prison System inmates and former inmates enrolled in MAP's innovative re-entry program.
Michael Lee FordPrison Guard
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is pleased to include two artists who are currently serving sentences in other states—Texas inmate Michael Lee Ford, who has been featured in Juxtapoz Magazine for his paper pulp sculptures and in the recently published The Isolated Art of Michael Lee Ford by Mike Drake for his pen and ink drawings, and Billy Gene McLimore, who is serving the final year of a 17-year sentence at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex. McLimore's three-dimensional vignettes and sculptures, crafted from Popsicle™ sticks and other found objects, are provided courtesy of the Snyderman-Works Gallery, which represents him.
Proceeds from the sale of artwork will directly benefit the artists, the Pennsylvania Inmate Welfare Fund and the Mural Arts Restorative Justice Program art supply fund. For more information, please contact Robyn Buseman, Mural Arts Restorative Justice Program Manager at 215-685-0756 or robyn.buseman@muralarts.org.
