About this project
What will my donations do?
Your donations will go directly towards the preservation of Jim Conniff's art. I will repair, photograph and archive all of the art pieces, self-publish a book of his work, and create a professionally recorded video interview with this undiscovered Outsider Artist.
What is an Outsider Artist?
Art historians use the term "Outsider Artist" to describe a person creating art while detached from his surrounding society. His estrangement from the world can be a result of involuntary physical separation, an alienating psychosis, or may even be self-imposed. The work he produces, whether 2-D, 3-D, music, literature, or even entire secluded environments, tends to remain hidden with them until discovered by some unsuspecting member of society, often after the artist's death.
Who is Jim Conniff?
Jim Conniff was born in Bronx, NY in 1920. He spent his life working as a writer and professor. He had a wife and six children and worked hard to support them. In his few moments free of responsibilities, Jim filled up pages with geometric doodles, though his artistic ventures as a young man rarely went further than that. After his children grew up and he retired from his professorship, however, his abundance of free time allowed his nascent creativity to blossom. He has spent the past thirty years making hundreds of eccentric mixed media pieces whose subject matter ranges from satirical to personal. Jim's house is full of these artifacts of his creativity. They hang on almost every wall and grace most horizontal surfaces. Jim's inexplicable urge to create has turned him, whether he likes it or not, into an artist.
Why is this project important?
Jim doesn't consider what he does art. He creates solely for his own and his family's enjoyment, and people outside this sphere have rarely seen his work. (As his granddaughter, I am one of the lucky few.) Unfortunately, this means that the art has been largely neglected. The unprotected, uncatalogued pieces have piled up in his home, and, in many cases, they are falling apart. With your donations, I will accomplish the rarely achieved task of documenting and preserving a true Outsider Artist before he is gone.
For more information about Jim Conniff and this project visit my blog at theaccidentalartist.tumblr.com.
To learn more about Outsider Art visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_art or look up authors such as Jean Dubuffet or Colin Rhodes.
Thank you so much for checking out my Kickstarter!
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
119
Backers
$5,048
pledged of $5,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 22.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
A heartfelt thank you for your donation and a blog post dedicated to you at theaccidentalartist.tumblr.com.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
A handmade thank you note and three 5x7 prints of photographs of the artist's pieces.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
A handmade thank you note, three 5x7 prints of photographs of the artist's pieces, and a DVD copy of the finished interview with the artist.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
A handmade thank you note, three 5x7 prints of photographs of the artist's pieces, with one signed by the artist, and a copy of the self-published book.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
A handmade thank you note, a copy of the self-published book, signed by the artist, a DVD of the interview with the artist, and a phone call from me as I work on the project so you can hear how it is going and what problems or revelations I have had.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
All of the above, plus the chance* to have dinner with the artist and me, if you are in the New York City area. *Winner of the dinner will be chosen at random from $250 and over donors. (Jim doesn't really have the stamina to meet groups of new people.) If there are only 2 or 3 donors at this value, and they can all come at the same time, one large dinner will be arranged.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
NEW! All of the above, PLUS an original Jim Conniff piece to the highest bidder!
Project By
Connected as Clare Conniff (275 friends)
Clare is new to the Kickstarter world! She recently graduated from Bard College with a degree in Art History and now resides in New York City. She is currently trying to break into the art conservation world. But, in the mean time, she manages restaurant special events, works with Sinergie, a small art conservation organization in Italy (whose website can be found at http://www.sinergos.net/), and experiments on art pieces that she hopes no one wants. She is on Twitter--@ceconniff.
