Alternative and Progressive International Art

WARNING! / Before you even think of replying, I will make it clear that I am using the word disabled in the sense that Paul Collier was using it not so long ago. “Disabled” means restricted by society, government and the so-called ”lack of funding” (used so often to justify inefficiency, greed, laziness and mismanagement). I’ve been told recently that disabled people resent to be called Outsiders because of the negative connotation of the term. I firmly believe that not enough effort has been put into communicating the fact that this is a completely wrong interpretation of the term first used by Cardinal to describe people who create without being constraint by rules, red tape, conventions, lack of wheel-chair access, etc. It is largely my fault, I admit, as I did not imagine that by choosing this term (which, by the way, is being widely used by “insiders” – the main reason why I chose it), it will cause resistance from people who should, in fact, be proud to be called outsiders. Outsider means freedom – freedom from having to produce the same landscape, just to please your buyers. Outsider means the freedom to express your feelings, emotions, thoughts, passions, which is what art is all about. Outsider means being a true artist – but sadly the term artist is relatively compromised – so I will stick to the term Outsider.