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Untitled by Adolf Wolfli
In an earlier post, I wrote about Martin Rameriz, an artist who painted from his room in a California mental hospital. Now consider the art of Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930). Born in Switzerland, he was orphaned before his 10th birthday and spent most of his youth in a succession of foster homes or on the streets.
In 1890, he was sentenced to two years in prison for the attempted molestation of two young girls, and in 1895, after a third incident of alleged molestation of a 3 1/2 year-old girl, was committed to the Waldau Psychiatric Clinic in Bern, where he remained until his death in 1930. He spent most of his time at the mental hospital in isolation and by 1910 was writing and drawing. His early works were restless, symmetrical drawings on newspapers.
In 1908, Wolfli commenced his epic autobiography and it would consume the remaining 22 years of his life. The text, interspersed with poetry, musical compositions, and 3000 illustrations, totaled more than 25,000 pages. The epic was hand-bound by Wolfli and stacked in his cell. Consisting of 45 volumes, his autobiography eventually reached a height of more than six feet. The fascinating illustrations (see above) of the narrative are labyrinthine creations of densely combined text and idiosyncratic motifs.
A few days before his death, Wolfli lamented that he would be unable to complete the final section of the autobiography, a grandiose finale of nearly 3000 more songs, which he titled, "Funeral March." His works have been shown throughout Europe and the United States.
Just paint it!
In 1890, he was sentenced to two years in prison for the attempted molestation of two young girls, and in 1895, after a third incident of alleged molestation of a 3 1/2 year-old girl, was committed to the Waldau Psychiatric Clinic in Bern, where he remained until his death in 1930. He spent most of his time at the mental hospital in isolation and by 1910 was writing and drawing. His early works were restless, symmetrical drawings on newspapers.
In 1908, Wolfli commenced his epic autobiography and it would consume the remaining 22 years of his life. The text, interspersed with poetry, musical compositions, and 3000 illustrations, totaled more than 25,000 pages. The epic was hand-bound by Wolfli and stacked in his cell. Consisting of 45 volumes, his autobiography eventually reached a height of more than six feet. The fascinating illustrations (see above) of the narrative are labyrinthine creations of densely combined text and idiosyncratic motifs.
A few days before his death, Wolfli lamented that he would be unable to complete the final section of the autobiography, a grandiose finale of nearly 3000 more songs, which he titled, "Funeral March." His works have been shown throughout Europe and the United States.
Just paint it!
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