Raw Vision Weekly #166, May 28th, 2020
This new downloadable PDF version of the Environments section of the renowned Outsider Art Sourcebook features key texts, timeline and bibliography on Outsider Art as well as listings for galleries, studios, websites & organizations. It is available to purchase now for $10 | £7 | €10
Michel Nedjar: Work in lockdown
Michel Nedjar was born in 1947 near Paris, at Soisy-sous-Montmorency (Val d’Oise). His father ran a tailor’s shop and Nedjar was expected to continue the business. Nedjar learnt to sew, and even earned a Certificate of Professional Competence. However, his work went in another direction from that of a traditional tailor – he is one of the world’s leading self-taught artists, creating several series of dolls from rags, ropes, feathers, found materials. His work has continued while in lockdown.
I know from experience that here's no better remedy for anxiety than being under the spell of creation. So when I heard about the lockdown, I readied myself in order to make very good use of my time.
I first of all dragged out a big shopping bag stuffed with dolls and toys acquired either from friends or at the Saint-Ouen flea market. I then rummaged through my mess of accumulated found objects, setting aside all sorts of cardboard and paper, old photos, clothing and small domestic items. With everything now at hand, I was ready to work.
For some years now I've taken up the tailor’s trade once again. I now make use of a needle for my coudrages and coudreés (words of mine derived from the French verb coudre which means to sew). I also make use of the needle for my dolls made of stitched together pieces of fabric. These are filled with my objets arrêtés (arrested objects), seemingly meant to gradually contain my entire studio.
It should not come as a surprise to learn that an essential visit to my haberdasher for thread was my first outing when the lockdown was finally lifted. And henceforth, this prolific creativity continues to fill my days.
Michel Nedjar was featured in Raw Vision 94 (read online here).
Evelyne Postic: Upcoming shows
Evelyne Postic (born Mazaloubaud) was born in Lyon, France in 1951. She is a self-taught artist who often works with a lot of colour, which is more of an instinctive than a symbolic choice.
Postic's work will be featured at Arts Factory, Paris, June 27, 2020, as part of the exhibition "Les Crocs Electriques" comprising work from 150 artists. Her work will also appear at the International Museum of Modest Arts in Sète, France, in the exhibition "Mondo Dernier Cri: Une internationale serigraphie".
You can also see her unique designs for masks to protect yourself from COVID-19 at Pandora Art's online gallery.
Masque Coron'art, Postic, design for fabric face mask, 2020
Postic has always been passionate about science, especially biology and the metamorphosis of living beings into the process of evolution of species. Just as nature creates a multitude of forms, Postic creates her various forms inspired by her dreams and pain.
La naissance du papillon 1, encre sur papier bambou, 80x62, 2018
She also devotes herself to sculpture that she will develop all her life by experimenting with the variety of materials like papier mâché, carved black wood, polystyrene, paper, glue, iron, concrete and seashells.
Bondieuseries 2, encre sur image religieuse, 26x21cm, 2020
Evelyne Postic was featured in Raw Vision 98 (read online here). Learn more about Positc on her website and on her Facebook page.
Obituary for Gallo, by Hervé Couton
Cuban artist Hector Pascual Gallo Portieles (known as Gallo) born in 1924, died on May 24, 2020 in the Alamar district of Havana. This revolutionary activist, a former barber, was appointed by Castro as a diplomatic spy (in 1961 he uncovered the landing site for the invasion of the counter-revolutionary forces in the Bay of Pigs), and spent 31 years of his life in 27 different countries.
Hector Pascual Gallo Portieles
In 1990, in retirement, the Cuban economic crisis forced him to leave Havana for Alamar with his family. Impoverished and depressed, he found the strength to live thanks to the sociability of his neighbors and the creation of a spectacular art environment.
Gallo's "garden of affections"
Over the next thirty years he fabricated a garden of sculptures and installations from recycled objects, and called it “the garden of affections”; he also lined the walls of his apartment with various found and fabricated pieces, and this he called “the gallery of affections”.
His ashes will rest at the foot of a tree close to his home, on which he wrote: “Faith, Love, Peace and Respect”.
European Outsider Art Association meeting
The EOA will hold the 2020 annual general assembly via ZOOM on Thursday 4th June. In this meeting they will elect a chairman, representatives of the board and an auditor. They will also discuss their yearly budget and the balance from the previous financial year.
If you would like to become a member, get in touch: anna.noe.bovin@randers.dk
Short film: Leroy Alman, by Jeffrey Wolf
Director, producer and editor Jeffrey Wolf has made several short films about beloved outsider artists, including Leroy Alman (featured in the Raw Vision Outsider Art Sourcebook), who was known for his unique known for his woodcarvings and paintings.
Wolf also made the acclaimed documentaries "James Castle: Portrait of an Artist" (2008), portraying Castle’s life and creative process, and "Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts" (2018), which was featured as part of the exhibition "Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Learn more about Wolf's films on IMDb.
Raw Vision 105 Out Now
