The development of the awareness of forms of creative expression that exist outside accepted cultural norms, or the realm of "fine art", began with the researches of psychiatrists early in the century.

The work of Dr Morganthaler documented his patient Adolf Wolfli, a genius who produced countless thousands of works from a small cell in his Swiss asylum. Dr Hans Prinzhorn collected thousands of works by psychiatric patients and his book "Bildernerei der Geisteskranken" (Artistry of the Mentally Ill), published in 1922 became an influential work amongst Surrealist and other artists of the time.

One artist who was particularly affected by the works Prinzhorn presented was Jean Dubuffet. Together with others, including Andre Breton, he formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut in 1948 and strove to seek out and collect works of extreme individuality and inventiveness by creators who were not only untrained artists but often had little concept of an art gallery or even any other forms of art other than their own.

Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut, or Raw Art, was of works that were in their "raw" state, uncooked by cultural and artistic influences. He built up a vast collection of thousands of works, works which bore no relation to developments in contemporary art and yet were the innovative and powerful expressions of a wide range individuals from a variety of backgrounds.

Dubuffet's great collection was eventually granted a permanent home by the city of Lausanne and the Collection de l'Art Brut is now one of the most powerful and overwhelming art museums to be found anywhere in the world.

A parallel development to the awareness of paintings, drawings and sculptures which fell into the sphere of Art Brut, was the discovery of environmental creations by a similar range of people. One of the most famous of these, the Palais Ideal, built by the postman Cheval, received much attention from the Surrealists who admired his ability to realise his dream in this incredible structure, the product of thirty years of devoted toil.

In Los Angeles, the extraordinary Watts Towers, the product of a similar commitment by an Italian immigrant worker, Simon Rodia, became the first step in the realisation of a vast number of environments to be found right across North America.

Today the increased awareness of all these forms of expression has led to a network of small organisations in both Europe and the United States devoted to the preservation of such works and the support of their creators. Similar collections to the one in Lausanne have been established in many countries and exhibitions of different aspects of the phenonema are a regular occurence. The diverse influence of all these forms is now apparent in the work of an increasing number of "trained " artists who have turned their back on changing trends and fashions to try and form a truly singular reality for themselves.

Michel Thevoz, Curator of the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne has written the following:

"Art Brut", or "outsider art", consists of works produced by people who for various reasons have not been culturally indocrinated or socially conditioned. They are all kinds of dwellers on the fringes ofsociety. Working outside fine art "system" (schools, galleries, museums and so on), these people have produced, from the depths of their own personalities and for themselves and no one else, works of outstanding originality in concept, subject and techniques. They are works which owe nothing to tradition or fashion.

A firm distinction should be made between "art brut" and what is known as "naif art". The naif or primitive painters remain within the mainstream of painting proper, even if they fail ingenuously to practise its style. However, they accept its subjects, technique (generally oils) and even its values, because they hope for public, if not official recognition. "Art brut" artists, on the other hand, make up their own techniques, often with new means and materials and they create their works for their own use, as a kind of private theatre. They choose subjects which are often enigmatic and they do not care about the good opinion of others, even keeping their work secret.

NEUVE INVENTION
Dubuffet realised that there existed many creators whose work was of comparable power and inventiveness to Art Brut, but their greater contact with normal society and the awareness they had of their art works precluded their inclusion within the strict Art Brut category. These creators were often humble workers who created in their spare time, or eccentric and untrained artists trying to make a living from their work - some of whom had dealings with commercial galleries. As an acknowledgement to them he formed his "Annex Collection"; in 1982 this became the "Neuve Invention" section of the Collection de l'Art Brut.

(examples: Gaston Chaissac, Mario Chichorro, Rosemarie Koczy, Gerard Lattier, Albert Louden, Frederich Schroder-Sonnenstern).

ART BRUT
Jean Dubuffet's original 1945 term for the works that he collected and revered; later adopted by the Collection de l'Art Brut at Lausanne. Art Brut means 'Raw Art'. Raw because it is 'uncooked' or 'unadulterated' by culture. Raw because it is creation in its most direct and uninhibited form. Not only were the works unique and original but their creators were seen to exist outside established culture and society. The purest of Art Brut creators would not consider themselves artists, nor would they even feel that they were producing art at all.

Art Brut is visual creation at its purest - a spontaneous psychic flow from brain to paper. No works of Art Brut are allowed to be exhibited away from the Collection at Lausanne. Equally, the name 'Art Brut' is not permitted to be used except as a description of the works in the Collection. Similarly, the Collection de l'Art Brut insists that it alone can officially designate any newly discovered works as Art Brut.

(examples: Aloise, Carlo, Henry Darger, Madge Gill, Johann Hauser, Raphael Lonne, Laure Pigeon, Martin Ramirez, Adolf Wolfli).

OUTSIDER ART
The term 'Outsider Art' was originally intended to act as an exact English equivalent to Dubuffet's term, although Outsider Art has developed to encompass not only Art Brut but also works that the Lausanne Collection would not strictly designate as such (eg. some of the works in the Neuve Invention category). Outsider Art has not had the benefit of the unique protection surrounding Art Brut and the definition has undoubtedly become obscured by chronic mis-use since its introduction in 1972.

Sadly we find today that many use the term in the loosest way, to refer to almost any untrained artist. It is simply not enough to be untrained, clumsy or naive. Outsider Art is virtually synonomous with Art Brut in both spirit and meaning, to that rarity of art produced by those who do not know its name.

(examples: Wolfli, Hauser, Chomo, Traylor, Schroder-Sonnenstern, Cheval, Rodia).

FOLK ART/ CONTEMPORARY FOLK ART
A simple and direct term that has become much used - and over-used - especially in North America. Originally pertaining to the indigenous crafts and decorative skills of peasant communities in Europe, the term was later appllied to the simply made practical objects of colonial days - a combination of charm and practical craftmanship. In contemporary terms, Folk Art can cover anything from chain-saw animals to hub-cap buildings. The crossover with Outsider Art is undeniable, but most Folk Art has its own traditions and is often very different from the psychic flow of Art Brut.

(examples: Thornton Dial, Sam Doyle, William Hawkins, Clyde Jones, Joseph Sleep, Mose Tolliver).

MARGINAL ART, ART SINGULIER
The works of artists, usually, but not exclusively, self-taught, that are close to Art Brut and Outsider artists, both in appearance and directness of expression. These are the artists 'on the margins', that grey area of definition that lies between Outsider Art and normal mainstream art, very similar to Dubuffet's Neuve Invention category. Art Singulier encompasses French marginal artists.

(examples: Chomo, Danielle Jacqui, Marcel Landreau, Gerard Lattier, Raymond Reynaud). [Danielle Jacqui photograph by Ann Oppenhimer, The Folk Art Society.]

(examples: Kox, Coleman).

(examples: James Crane, Grandma Moses, Ivan Generalic, Joseph Pickett, Douanier Rousseau, Germain Tessier).

(examples: Simon Rodia's Watts Towers, SP Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden, Ferdinand Cheval's Palais Ideal, Nek Chand's Rock Garden).