Essay on mutual relations between mental illness, social opression, genius, art and creativity. Contains references to ideas of Hans Prinzhorn, Cesare Lombroso, Michel Foucault and Thomas Szasz, as well as works of Paul Klee, Andre... more
Essay on mutual relations between mental illness, social opression, genius, art and creativity. Contains references to ideas of Hans Prinzhorn, Cesare Lombroso, Michel Foucault and Thomas Szasz, as well as works of Paul Klee, Andre Masson, Adolf Wölfli, Jean Dubuffet and the like.
The paper aims to analyze the work and life of Adolf Wolfli through the philosophical concepts of Friedrich Nietzsche. Adolf Wolfli, one of the first artists to be associated with Art Brut and Outsider art has developed an impressive... more
The paper aims to analyze the work and life of Adolf Wolfli through the philosophical concepts of Friedrich Nietzsche. Adolf Wolfli, one of the first artists to be associated with Art Brut and Outsider art has developed an impressive number of works, writings and musical compositions while incarcerated at the Waldau asylum from 1907 to 1930. In his works, Wolfli's visual language and systems evoke a desire for order, metamorphosis and transcendence of his current condition. The articulation of 'Dionysian' and Apollonian forces, the transvaluation of values, the principle of the 'eternal return' are Nietzschean notions that can be found in Adolf Wolfli's works. The paper suggests that Wolfli utilized his mental illness as a source for creation and in this way, liberated himself from his psychic condition.
