ICA Visit

Currently at ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) in the Miami Design District are exhibitions displaying Ida Applebroog and Susan Te Kahurangi King's works. The two exhibits are on display parallel to each other both in terms of layout in the museum and in their position as outsider artists. Even though both artists' pieces collectively are outsider works, I did notice with Te Kahurangi King's work that she did to some extent display the propriety of a trained and educated artist. Whether intentional or not, she never rid her pieces of the thick, heavy graphite lines and playful nature which makes them so iconic. Her work did become more structured and refined in time though, initially beginning as very erratic and spontaneous. On the other hand, Ida Applebroog's work was always apparently pretty unstructured and spontaneous, and remains so today, though to a somewhat lesser extent in her larger works. She does show knowledge of making making India ink bleed via watercolor, though, and it's beautiful.
  There were some pieces by both artists which were seemingly lazier than others. This is okay, as being human is largely made up of wanting to do sometimes and not wanting to do at other times. Though there were some which are very good and display so much passion, skill, and meaning altogether. With both artists there were some pieces which displayed their emotional vexation. This was apparent in most of Applebroog's works, though Te Kahurangi King's works seem to become more playful as she progressed.