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Modern Art, Prehistory and the Search for a Universal Human Language
With an Analysis of Art Brut
Abstract As different and culturally specific as artistic expressions may be throughout human history, there are overarching universals in art. The hand negatives in rock art, which are widespread across all times and continents, are a good example of this. It is no coincidence that modern and contemporary artists have explored the content of prehistoric art in search of a universal human language. In Germany, the Stuttgart painter Willi Baumeister is the most important representative of modern art inspired by prehistory. Subsequently, without wishing to make simple analogies, we have looked at the art of outsiders working in isolation, which generally goes by the name of art brut. We were investigating in what content these people are interested in their seclusion without the influence of the art world.
Keywords prehistoric art, modern art, human universals, art brut
