Adolf Wölfli

Posted on | February 24, 2008 | Comments Off

Wölfli is the poster child of the Outsider Art movement. This guy had it all a troubled childhood, a history of abuse, and broken homes. He was institutionalized in 1895 to the Waldau Clinic in Berne, Switzerland, for a third count of attempted child molestation. He was very disturbed and sometimes violent leading to him being kept in isolation for his early time at hospital. In isolation he began to have intense hallucinations shortly after this he began to draw.

With limited supplies using only pencils and notebooks, Wölfli created hundreds of drawings. His work is dominated by a patterning that covers every inch of the paper. The intensity of his work is complex and eccentric. “His images also incorporated an idiosyncratic musical notation. This notation seemed to start as a purely decorative affair but later developed into real composition which Wölfli would play on a paper trumpet.”

Later work that is show here is part of series called “Bread Art: Single-Sheet Drawing (1916-1930).” This group includes drawings he does for others in exchange for plain or colored-pencils, paper tobacco, and so on…” To check out more of his work and learn more about Wölfli’s life, adolfwoelfli.ch. I would also highly suggest picking up the book, The Art of Adolf Wölfli, St. Adolf-Giant-Creation, American Folk Art Museum, 2003, amazon.com.

Category: artist

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