The outsiders

By Laura Bond Catalyst

Send comments to: catalyst@wildcat.arizona.edu

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Gilbert Ramirez begins to put the face on his papier-mch; mask at the Eastside Learning Center.

Consider for a moment just what contemporary art might look like if those creating it had no awareness of art criticism or current art movements. Artists with no pretensions or inflated egos, just a desire for self-expression, or a simple, innocent enjoyment of the process of creation.

Such is the case for the 22 developmentally-disabled artists behind "Invisible/Visible," the current exhibit at Dinnerware Gallery downtown. Most of the work on display - which includes paintings, drawing, ceramics and punch-hooked rugs - was created in the classrooms of Project RAISE, a program of Pima Country Adult Education which provides basic education and independent living skills to adults with developmental disabilities. Beyond learning to read, master language arts, manage money and operate computers, Project RAISE students are learning how to be artists.

"Everyone is inherently creative," said Sheila Chambers, who teaches a punch-rug course for Project RAISE and is herself an active member of the Tucson arts community. "When anyone starts to tap into their creativity, it empowers them."

Channeling a creative energy into a positive project with a tangible result, such as a rug or a painting, has a positive effect on both the behavior and personality of many Project RAISE students. Students who entered her class with a lot of anger have become more temperate, learning to trust and work with others in a classroom setting, Chambers said.

"This is a safe place," she said. "There's a lot of trust here. We see improvements in self-esteem, socialization. The students learn to support each other."

Students like Pam, 48, and Dirk, a happy twentysomething with a knack for coordinating colors for rug projects. In addition to holding down regular jobs and attending Project RAISE classes, Pam and Dirk have both been elevated to the status of "exhibited artist," a much coveted title within the professional art world.

Like the colorful, patterned rug which Pam and Dirk display proudly during one of Chambers' classes, much of the work included in "Invisible/Visible" falls outside of contemporary definitions of just what "good art" is. The subject matter is simple. The artist's hand untrained. Sometimes, the colors run outside of the lines. But there is a freshness to the work, an innocence which transcends the clicheacute; art jargon one hears around the wine table at trendy Gallery openings. Or does it?

The concept of "outsider art" has recently become somewhat chic, as artists and critics sing the praises of "naive," or untrained, artists from Grandma Moses to the late Rev. Howard Finster, who began painting compulsively after receiving a message from God instructing him to do so. (The message, incidentally, appeared as an image on Finster's thumbnail.)

Chicago imagist Suellen Rocca is one such artist who appreciates the honesty and aesthetic of the naive artist. A founding member of the Hairy Who, a contemporary art movement influenced by the work of self-taught artists, Rocca's work is also included in "Invisible/Visible," to both encourage the efforts of the RAISE students and provide an example of impact of outsider art on the "regular" art world - or "insider art," as it may someday be known.

Rocca will join Irene Ward Brydon, director of the Creative Growth Art Center of Oakland, Calif., and Project RAISE Arts Program founder Cynthia Meier in "Self Taught and Outsider Art," a panel discussion and slide presentation at Dinnerware Gallery Saturday, Oct. 3. "Invisible/Visible" closes Sunday, Oct. 4 with a reception from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dinnerware Gallery is located at 135 E. Congress St. Regular hours are Tuesday - Saturday, noon - 5 p.m.; Thursday, noon - 7 p.m. Phone 792-4503 for more information.