Emily Olek Receives the Outstanding Thesis Award

Congratulations to MA graduate Emily Olek who won the Outstanding Thesis Award from the Graduate College with her thesis titled So-Called “Outsiders”: A Case Against the Moniker. (Art History, May 2022) - Advisor: Lisa Yun Lee

Summary

Within the scope of art historical practice, “Outsider” artists have become bound to the stereotypes and misconceptions of the moniker's earliest uses. Originally coined in the late 20th century, to denote non-academic artists who existed separately from society, unaware of their own artistic capabilities and the presence of the art market itself, this term became a tool of limitation, often applied to individuals whose work simply did not conform to the cultural norms of the period. This inequity in the terms use has stripped many artists of their own identities, forging their true biography and artistic agency to instead group these individuals passed on a shared “otherness.” While this prejudicial motivation in categorization in no way originated with the “Outsider” moniker, the term’s continued application in contemporary art historical practice has perpetuated systems of discrimination within the field.

The research conducted for this thesis is significant for its historical analysis of the “Outsider” moniker, contextualizing its genesis during the rise of academic art history and tracking its evolution into its modern-day misapplication. This approach has been left largely unexplored in contemporary scholarship, much of which favors redefining the term rather than retiring it from use. By presenting this research in a manner that reveals the “Outsider” titles irrefutable ties to other prejudicially born terminology, including “primitive,” this work is able to confront many of the systemic issues facing art historical practice today.