The other day I wrote about outsider art, and mentioned this:
At the Guggenheim, I once saw an intricate, highly ornamental coat made by an institutionalized man who thought he would wear it to meet God. I think it was part of the Brazil: Body & Soul exhibition, but I'm not certain of that fact.
Someone inquired, and so I did a little further reading made easy by the fact that I bought the exhibition catalogue at the show, which is nicely summed up here.
The artist in question is Arthur Bispo do Rosario, and a nice overview of his life and art is provided, including photos of the aforementioned piece, "Presentation Mantle:"
Bispo do Rosario was in the town of Japaratuba in the northern state of Sergipe in 1911. He held a variety of jobs in his early years, then entered the navy, where he became a championship boxer. After leaving the military in 1933, he went to Rio de Janeiro, where he worked as a security guard and a housekeeper, among other occupations. In 1938, Bispo do Rosario was arrested and committed to a series of mental asylums, finally being transferred to the institution where he spent the rest of his life, the Colonia Juliano Moreira in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after his arrival there, he began to create embroideries featuring intensely worked patterns of words and iconic symbols. Some of these embroideries refer to sports, others to ecstatic religious experiences. He also created a series of sashes for participants in imaginary beauty pageants.
That last part is the kicker, naturally. They have very intensely lettered titles on them, and tassles. Sort of monochromatic, though, albeit festive in their own imaginary way.
A good sample of his work can be seen here, including the jacket, but no pageantry seems in evidence.
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