Outdated outsider art! : On visual art produced at 20th century Swedish mental institutions

This thesis deals with the art created at Swedish mental institutions during the 20th century, a medium which generally is found synonymous with outsider art in previous scholarship. The overarching aim is to categorize visual art created under the circumstances of such institutions, exclusively based on its visual expression. Following Wölfflin’s five principles of objective classification, formal analysis is employed. To accomplish the thesis’ aim, differences between recognized outsider artists and institutionalized producers of art are investigated, which in turn sheds light on the definition of outsider art. Focus is put on the actual paintings, and not on the identities of the creators of the works, nor their history as patients at the different institutions. Primary data consist of photographed paintings from the archives of Säter Mental Health Care Museum in Dalarna, Sweden, while additional historical accounts describing 20th century art movements are implemented to justify each painting’s categorical belonging. The results support that a biographical difference, between the two strands of art, is explanative for the current misunderstanding of what outsider art actually is. This fosters further engagements with what variables ought to determine a work of art’s categorization.