From attorney culture to art brut, an un-us approach

The nature of the artist's self-existence lies in his/her ability to create an oppositional personality and a space where he/she can oppose. In this universe based on opposites, it is known that new ideas emerge from the conflict environment. The artist (intellectual) seeks to create (make) new systems of thought and alternative art movements against the known, favourite thought and art movements of the period in which he/she lives, or chooses the option of invention. The artist is also aware of the fact that taking a stance against established and stereotyped perceptions and re-existing himself depends on the existence of the ideas he opposes. In taking this stance, they sometimes deliberately and intentionally produce works that are provocative or touch nerve endings. These works aim to create an environment of criticism and discussion while aiming to shake people's sensitive, forbidden areas by targeting the taboos of society that are forbidden to be touched and criticised. They want to bring down the "halo", which they assume to be at the head of all kinds of objects and persons that society considers sacred. They usually combine their art with a political or social message and present it that way. French artist and writer Jean Dubuffet took on this provocative role while confronting "culture" (in his own words, "surrogate culture" or "official culture") as a field of conflict. From a young age, Jean Dubuffet was an artist who challenged traditional cultural values, structures and norms or criticised the cultural order of his time. By challenging the norms of society, Dubuffet aims to question ordinary or accepted ideas. It assumes that the source of norms is the sovereign power and that the sovereign power creates the norm according to its own standards. It is the "Western Culture" that he shows as the source of the norms he opposes. In his book "Stifling Culture"(Boğucu Kültür), Jean Dubuffet tried to explain how the artificially created "surrogate culture" influenced and shaped art. According to him, it is the creative artistic production of a system guided by culture and objects that are a reflection of the misleading ideas of conditioned cultural men. Because he tells us that it is very difficult for a creative and destructive work to reach us. Dubuffet states that behaving as society expects suppresses the originality of individuals and destroys the free expression of art. He believes that extraordinary and marginalised individuals who are excluded by society or who prefer to remain outside of society can build real creativity by moving away from these expectations of society. He started to look for the answer to the question he had been searching for a long time in these outsider, marginalised individuals and their works. He states that "Art Brut", which refers to works of art that are not influenced by traditional art education, have not passed through the academic prosedure, are not bound by rules and do not comply with social norms, is a unique expression of the imagination of private individuals outside society and that they reach true creative art by staying away from the limiting effects of society. Keywords: Art Brut, Jean Dubuffet, Culture, Culture Industry