The Art of Adolf Wolfli : St. Adolf-Giant-Creation

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In his day (1864-1930) and after, the Swiss mental patient and self-taught artist Adolf Wolfli inspired some heavy-hitter patrons: Andre Breton, Jean Dubuffet, Meret Oppenheim, Jonathan Borovsky. But most esthetes encountering him today will do so with the later, now more-famous outsider artist Henry Darger in mind. Like Darger, Wolfli sought to tame his pedophilic madness by organizing it into an incredibly elaborate art exploring what Darger called "the realms of the unreal," where a mind incapable of coping with the real world could construct and rigidly control a world of infinite beauty and sights denied all ordinary mortals. Wolfli was technically superior to Darger, though his collages clipped from magazines (often the Illustrated London News) were not so central to his imagination as the clip-and-trace fantasy battles of little girls that obsessed Darger. In fact, Wolfli was strikingly diverse in his imagery, echoing by turns San Francisco psychedelia, Northwest Coast native-American art, folk art from all over the planet, Bauhaus or Constructivist typographical experiments, and William Blake visions. What windstorms were to Darger, waterfalls were to Wolfli: symbols of the uncontrollable passions that drove through him. Wolfli conceived of himself as a multimedia artist in a way only a schizophrenic could imagine: his drawings were also musical compositions, images and letters imbued with sounds, and time reconceived as a unit of space. I find Wolfli's imagination less vast than Darger's, and less numbingly repetitive. His narratives are slightly more intelligible: it's all about a Wolfli character's epic journey from poverty and brutal oppression (no fantasy) to apotheosis in the "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation," a realm so immense he ran out of numbers to describe it and was forced to invent 23 new numerals beyond quadrillion, ending with the biggest number of all, Zorn (German for "rage"). This eye-opening book could make Wolfli all the rage, but it can't hope to contain his imagination. --Tim Appelo

Roberta Smith, The New York Times
Wölfli's creations treat the eye to a roller-coaster ride . . . a dizzying multi-cultural universe.

Sue Taylor, Art in America
"In the catalog to the Folk Art Museum's Wolfli exhibition, we have an excellent account of his art and life."

Library Journal
Wolfli's lyrical, evocative compositions of his well-ordered, elegantly constructed universe explore the relationship between mental illness and art.

Lyle Rexer, Graphis
"Call it the madman's revenge: from his asylum, Wolfli conquered the world".

Review
An excellent account of [Wölfli's] art and life.

Book Description
Despite being institutionalized for schizophrenia at age thirty-one, Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930) achieved artistic greatness in his cell at Waldau Mental Asylum near his native Bern, Switzerland. He has had a profound influence on modern art ever since; André Breton described his work as "one of the three or four most important oeuvres of the twentieth century." The Art of Adolf Wölfli offers a fresh vantage point on the artist's remarkably intricate drawings and astonishing collages, as well as his newly translated writings, which are justly celebrated for their dizzying blend of mythology and humor. Also included are illuminating essays by leading specialists on his art and life. Wölfli's youth was one of deprivation. His alcoholic father ran off when Wölfli was five, and his mother died soon after. Despite these travails, he managed to complete his education, acquiring the sophisticated literacy so evident in his later work. However, beginning at age twenty-six, his repeated attempts to molest young girls landed him first in jail and, in 1894, in the asylum. Though violent at first, by 1899 he calmed down--and began to draw. Working primarily in pencil on newsprint, Wölfli created a dense, stunningly detailed medley of wildly imaginative prose texts interwoven with poems, musical compositions, color illustrations, and collages. His five-part magnum opus, "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation," comprises 45 large volumes and 16 notebooks--25,000 pages in all--containing 1,620 drawings and 1,640 collages. Sure to be the authoritative resource for this remarkable oeuvre, this striking book represents compelling testimony that great torment does not preclude great art. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE American Folk Art Museum, New York February 25 - May 18, 2003 Milwaukee Art Museum September 18 - December 12, 2004

From the Inside Flap
"The three essays in this volume make a real contribution to the field. The piece by Elka Spoerri, who was the grande dame of Wölfli studies, is wonderfully accessible and reflects groundbreaking scholarship. It will reach a wide audience and will make a great text for any art history class. Bauman's well-written essay stands as the definitive contextualization of Wölfli's place within twentieth-century art history. Gomez's innovative and compelling exploration of whether Wölfli as a mentally ill artist intended to accomplish what he did complements the other, more straightforward historical essays."--Jenifer Borum

About the Author
Elka Spoerri (1924-2002), founding curator of the Adolf Wölfli Foundation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, wrote many publications on Wölfli's art and was the editor of his literary oeuvre. Daniel Baumann, an art historian, has served as curator of the Adolf Wölfli Foundation since 1996. Edward M. Gomez writes about the visual arts for the "New York Times" and numerous other publications, and is also a graphic designer. Gerard C. Wertkin is Director of the American Folk Art Museum and an adjunct associate professor of art and art education at New York University.


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Documenting Wolfli's (1864-1930) work and an exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, which will travel next year to the Milwaukee Art Museum, this book serves as a "comprehensive retrospective of the artist's drawings." W lfli's lyrical, evocative compositions of his well-ordered, elegantly constructed universe explore the relationship between mental illness and art. Mandala-like pieces highlight the artist's high-quality draftsmanship and artistic vision, which merge with traditions of Swiss vernacular culture in creating a dense yet remarkable style. Several perceptive essays alternate with translated excerpts of the artist's accompanying narrative, taken from his 25,000-page, five-part opus, "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation." The introductory essay by Elka Spoerri, the curator of the W lfli Foundation in Berne and editor of Adolf Wolfli: Draftsman, Writer, Poet, Composer, provides an excellent overview of the artist's life within a Swiss mental asylum and the extraordinary drawings and collages of transformation and rebirth that he produced until his death in 1930. Exquisite color plates, a checklist of the exhibition, and a selected bibliography complete the book. Andr Breton's endorsement of W lfli's work as "one of the three or four most important oeuvres of the 20th century" should recommend the book for all collections of modern art.-Rebecca Tolley-Stokes, East Tennessee State Univ., Johnson City Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


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