Outsider (painting)

Outsider is a painting dated from 1988 by post-modern indigenous Australian artist Gordon Bennett. The painting focuses on issues of the increasing isolation Indigenous Australians feel in their own country, with the date the painting was painted in (1988) being the bicentennial anniversary of white settlement in Australia. It has been suggested that the painting if of a culturally marginal figure who exists outside of the social contexts of the mainstream art world. The painting is 290 × 180 cm, and was painted on canvas using oil and acrylic.

Outsider

"Outsider" was painted while Bennett was in art school. Bennett appropriates famous works Van Gogh, including "Vincent's Bedroom in Arles" and "The Starry Night", and uses the paintings to represent his own life.

Description

The painting is charged with feelings of frustration and confusion of Indigenous Australians. This is as depicted in the artwork with the body of an Indigenous Australian in the centre as a primary focus.

Background

'Outsider' is considered an example of Outsider Art [1] and Indigenous Australian Art. Bennett practices Outsider art to represent his experiences as a bi-cultural Australian of both Aboriginal and English descent. [2] His painting confronts the idea of cultural identity within his artwork where he has stated that his feelings of alienation are through his Australian education system and the representation of Inidigenous Australians in Western culture.

References
  1. Wojcik, Daniel (2008). "Outsider Art, Vernacular Traditions, Trauma, and Creativity". Western Folklore. 67 (2/3): 179–198. ISSN 0043-373X.
  2. Bennett, Gordon; McLean, Ian (1998). "Mirror Me Mirror You". Grand Street (63): 84. doi:10.2307/25008259.


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