Adolf Wölfli: Draftsman, Writer, Poet, Composer

by Adolf Wolfli (Editor), Elka Spoerri (Editor)

The enormous pictorial, literary, and musical work of Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930), the classic master of Art Brut, came into being exclusively during his thirty-five-year internment in a mental asylum. Diagnosed, perhaps wrongly, as a paranoid schizophrenic, Wolfli organized his work into an increasingly grand narrative structure that exerts a profound and lasting impact on readers and viewers with its intense visionary imagery. This is the first book to encompass all of Wolfli's work, including his writings and musical compositions. The authors approach the phenomenon Wolfli from a variety of perspectives that delineate and clarify the structure of the artist's work and assess its connections to modern art. The chronology and composition of his work are presented in the context of art history. Text analyses bring new understanding to his writing. His cosmic experiences and the elaboration of his number systems are seen in relation to philosophical concepts. Beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated, this volume traces the path of Wolfli's art on its long road from the asylum to the museum.

Genres: Art

252 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regardless of outsider, brut, insane, or otherwise artist status, Adolf Wolfli is one of my favorite visual artists of all time. The better part of this book is reproductions of works from his various "periods", which is why I was interested to begin with. But there's some choice translations of some of his texts (PLEASE God, if You truly exist, compel someone to translate all of Wolfli's writings into English), and essays about his life and work. It's amazing stuff. I feel for his pain, Wolfli had as terrible a young life and anyone could have. It's sad that he had to be institutionalized for the better part of his life (not just for his safety, but for others). And those experiences don't make him a compelling artist. But the art he created is compelling, urgent, detailed, amazing. I know others have done the same, but if I was to ever write an opera, my first choice of subject would be Wolfli's writings and drawings.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

this tremendous tome arrived at my desk this morning. i browsed most of it and am happy to have found it. one online retailer has some used copies for as much as $210, yet this one was found for under $20.

wolfli's drawings interest me more than his writing, however both are included in this volume. the focus is mainly on his drawings though there are some snippets of his strange writings and math equations.

modern art wishes it could be this authentic.

[Jamie Felton · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Wolfli's art, you want to see the detail. That's where the magic is. And, unfortunately, while this book has color plates, there are not very many details.