#Outsider art

[drchucktingle]

sometimes buds ask’ what is it like to be a neurodivergent artist?’ and this is great summary: the charts can look like this, and at same time people will be endlessly posting on how you are ‘not real’ or ‘a bit’. you can hold bestsellers in slot 1 to 4 and still not be 'serious'

i am ultimately ok with this. i love my trot and would not have it any other way, but i think it is worth investigation. when irony poisoning has seeped into everything, how many times does a neurodivergent person have to say ‘actually this is NOT so bad its good. its just good’

when you are autistic, or queer, or both, how much proof do you need to be considered good art? or good business? what do the charts have to look like for me to be a ‘real’ author? or allowed my face mask at a library association conference? or one person not a group of writers?

im coming up on a decade of writing tinglers soon, and people are still talkin about my ‘serious’ works vs my ‘joke books’ and at every turn, as kindly as i can, i shout from the rooftops: THEY ARE ALL SERIOUS BOOKS. THIS IS NOT A BIT.

but its hard when buds have had ‘the correct way to be a writer. the correct way to be an artist. the COOL way to react to a book that is TOO weird’ pounded into their heads by internet culture. 'kill it with fire' they say. 'i need eye bleach' they say without thinking. a line.

heres the thing, the tide IS turning. theres buckaroos jumping in and saying, ‘I want to be a part of this’ and for that they are being rewarded. the publisher who took me seriously is lookin pretty dang good right now with these charts and these sales. i am honored and moved

over time there will be more buds who shed that irony mask. the tide of sincerity is powerful, and the tide of love is inevitable. it is difficult to stand strong in our uniqueness but it also pays off, and I hope to be a shining example. eventually THE TIMELINE BENDS TO YOU

so this is not a thread to complain. i have been trotting long enough that these things do not really bother me. being made fun of and disparaged as ‘not legit art’ while also being objectively successful at the things im made fun of about is kind of the ocean that i swim in.

no. my point of this is to say THANK YOU to those of you who have been trotting by my side over these years. THANK YOU for proving love to me. im so honored by your support, and you should know that YOU have seen beyond the irony poisoned veil that stops many others. YOU get it.

and to those with their own unique perspective on creation: look what you can do. yes there will likely be a lot of resistance to something different, but there is also a LOT of reward. YOU can trot a new path. YOU can prove love is real, not in MY way, but IN YOUR OWN WAY

anyway thank you for reading buckaroos. thank you for your support. LUCKY DAY comes out next summer and it is probably as FAR OUT and existential as the tingleverse has ever gone. you can preorder it here

[engelart]

“the yellow nude”, 1984 by Norman Engel

[skf-fineart]

Very rare green and black painted wooden double-sided numerical snake motif gameboard. New England, Mid-19th Century. 12.5 x 12.5 in.

[zytes]

angels

[nobrashfestivity]

Martin Ramirez 1950s

[jareckiworld]

Ursula Schultze-Bluhm (1921-1999) — She Has Many Desires [oil on canvas, 1960]

[pwlanier]

[agirlnamedbone]

traffic sign art by Stanley Marsh 3 in Amarillo, TX

[longreads]

Ron’s Place

“Although the flat is cold and musty, it’s a dreamlike place where time slips away. The experience is all-encompassing and leaves me feeling disoriented.”

A man's death reveals the bizarre secrets of his home. The battle to save it then questions how we define what is art. Read this fascinating Longreads story here.  

[nicethingsthose]

The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion (1913-38) - Henry Darger

[stealreserve211]

[engelart]

“Bluegill”, 2019 by Norman Engel

[skf-fineart]

Antique Checkers Game Board, New England, c. 1875–1900

Pine, paint; 13 ¼ by 14 ¼ inches

[diana-andraste]

Drinking Man with Dog, Bill Traylor, 1939

He so drunk he step right over the dog - inscribed by Charles Shannon on reverse, fall '39

[nobrashfestivity]

Henry Darger, Clouds, mid-20th century

[jareckiworld]

Henryk Płóciennik (1933-2020) — Honeymoon [oil on canvas, 1975]