Art Brut Calgary - Photography Terms & Glossary

Glossary Of Art Terms [1]

Art Brut Art Brut, or "raw art" in French, refers to a genre of outsider art created by self-taught or non-traditionally trained artists who operate outside the boundaries of mainstream artistic institutions and conventions. Coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet in the mid-20th century, Art Brut encompasses a diverse array of artistic expressions, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works, characterized by their raw, unfiltered, and uninhibited aesthetic qualities.

Artists associated with Art Brut often have little or no formal artistic training, and their work may be driven by personal visions, inner compulsions, or idiosyncratic narratives that defy conventional artistic norms and expectations. By championing the authenticity, spontaneity, and radical individualism of outsider artists, Art Brut challenges traditional hierarchies of artistic value and celebrates the transformative power of creative expression across diverse cultural contexts and lived experiences.