By Nina Winiger

The french artist Jean Dubuffet was fascinated by the arts made by autodidact solitary or outcast persons. Considering that they were very little influenced by artistic culture and standards, thus being able to create raw art pieces. He collected such throughout his life, hence initiated the Collection de l’Art Brut, which he donated to the city of Lausanne in 1971.

As animators the Collection is a Must Go while passing through Lausanne. What you will find there, is a dense variety of pieces going from drawings, to clothes, to sculptures, all created in a kind of animistic urge to fill objects with soul. Childish in some regards, they are playing with uncommon textures and transporting a pleasure for materiality, as if creating was sometimes more about the handcrafting experience of the artist than about achieving a preconceived result.

Recognizing and giving a human face or character to our surroundings, is one of the most common things people share on this planet. This becomes more than obvious in the Collection: Mask-like sculptures made out of seashells, little characters painted on milk cartons, drawings with a faces-inception effect, puppets out of recollected materials, dresses and gloves manufactured with patience… the human figure and experience is a common thread between most of the pieces. Isn’t it what it’s also about in animation ?

Those characters are often ill-shaped and clumsy, but Oh lord what tenderness and charisma they transmit ! During my visit I felt it was a marvellous source of inspiration and I can only encourage you to see this unique Collection with your own eyes.

As the exhibition space was quite dark, it was difficult to shoot nice pictures. But just have a look at the official instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/cablausanne/

And for further informations about arrival, entrance fee etc. you can visit the official webpage: https://www.artbrut.ch/en_GB