The Art Bout Movement

Art brut is known by various names and is affiliated with a number of similar genres of art: outsider art, naive art, intuitive art, visionary art, and folk art. The aforementioned genres all have specific characteristics that differentiate between the others, but they all branch out from the idea of “raw art”, which is the English translation of the French term “art brut.” This term was coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet in the 40’s. The art brut movement focused on recognizing art created by those who they themselves were unaware of creating. Art brut is recognized through the artist rather than the actual medium or style of work. Creators of art brut are seen as “outside” of the professional art world, having no previous knowledge of the techniques and terminology that artists who consciously label themselves as “artists” have.
Although art brut is a thoroughly explored genre in the art world, a majority of its history is primarily focused on certain geographic locations. Other cultures may have the same concept of art but without a known label, or it may be classified under a different name. Such regions include East Asia, specifically Japan, where the history of art brut is unclear.
Presently, there are Japanese “outsider artists”, but did this concept always exist Japan? If so, was it known by a separate name? Is the genre widely recognized in Japan’s art world? Are there explicit artists who were known for producing such works? Did the concept come from a foreign culture or did it develop independently within the confines of the island? If not, what works previously produced by Japanese artists can be classified as “art brut?” To answer all these questions I pose the final question: “What is the history of art brut in