Outside Looking Outside

My father used to say I would buy any art that looked like a little kid drew it. I
had to laugh at his heartfelt truthfulness. What he didn’t know was why I liked it. I
have always loved the honesty of untrained art. When I look at children’s art, I see
the essence of what is important in their lives, mom and dad, the sun, the moon,
a house with windows and doors, dogs, and cats. The pureness of their art always
brings joy to my eyes.
The artistic language of outsider artists feeds my appreciation of reductive
symbolism; their images speak to me loud and clear and drive my appreciation of
their sophistication. What fascinates me is that “Outsiders” are outside looking
outside. They see what is missed and pull away the overburden of a subject to
expose the essence of symbol. Their ability to connect what is important in their
lives with us through simple images melts away the superfluous. It gives us
unobstructed access to the symbolic content of their art in a comfortable way,
satisfying our human longing to be part of something, a feeling of comradery.

Benjamin Fuentes