An undiscovered artist.

[Outdated]

This is just a story about an interesting artist who I suspect was probably autistic. He was very reclusive and no one knew he was an artist until after his death.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-21/robert-martiensen-7000-secret-artworks/102969272

 

[MildredHubble]

This is just a story about an interesting artist who I suspect was probably autistic. He was very reclusive and no one knew he was an artist until after his death.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-21/robert-martiensen-7000-secret-artworks/102969272

Wow! Just wow! I can't believe his family thought his work was just rubbish??! It's shocking that all his work could have ended up in landfill or dotted about randomly. Why do some people have to have real beauty pointed out to them?

 

[Outdated]

I was also amazed by the sheer volume of work, and yet know one knew about it even though he did have an active social life. It was like his art was his dark and dirty secret that he kept from everyone.

 

[MildredHubble]

I was also amazed by the sheer volume of work, and yet know one knew about it even though he did have an active social life. It was like his art was his dark and dirty secret that he kept from everyone.

Maybe he felt like his work wasn't good enough to show people? He didn't feel confident about it perhaps. So he just kept producing and refining and evolving. Maybe that's why everything was so meticulously dated and serialised?

 

[Outdated]

I love the wooden boxes he made too, before he started painting. He was obviously a man of many talents.

 

[MildredHubble]

I love the wooden boxes he made too, before he started painting. He was obviously a man of many talents.

I'm glad that he just did his own thing. I hate when people destroy the potential of a talented person by attempting to "tame" their inspiration. Just imagine the loss if some art teacher got ahold of the reigns! All of that work would have been turned into several mundane life studies before he gave up and lost his passion.

 

[Tom]

Amazing. I have only done realism so I don't know abstract painting art, but what I see impresses me for some reason. The boxes are fantastic and I can appreciate them more as I can more imagine the design and craftsmanship that went into them.

It's sad he didn't get to see the positive reception, but at least he does seem to have had some degree of family and friendships. And they didn't end up in a landfill.

On the spectrum? Yeah, I'd guess about 90% likely.

 

[MildredHubble]

It's one hell of a legacy he's left! I'm so glad it wasn't lost. Great find/post @Outdated

 

[TBRS1]

I'm pretty sure this will be my story, too, except...

...nobody will ever know.

This kind of discovery happens often enough that I bet most beautiful art ends up undiscovered and trashed.

I don't even bother telling or showing people any more.

 

[Sherlock77]

There are lots of stories like that around, one of my favourite stories from music is Blaze Foley... Not entirely an un-discovered artist, but not far off... I heard about Blaze through interviews with Gurf Morlix, a few musicians knew his work and wanted the world to know and not forget, Gurf in particular...

https://www.blazefoley.com/

 

[AndyFBlues]

Maybe he felt like his work wasn't good enough to show people? He didn't feel confident about it perhaps. So he just kept producing and refining and evolving. Maybe that's why everything was so meticulously dated and serialised?

That would be my guess as well. Some artistic people are always striving for a perfection that is unattainable.

Perhaps he might have showed them to a few people who didn't get it. Artists can be extra sensitive and a few rejections can be crushing. They often times turn inward to avoid any additional rejection. I certainly hope creating art brought him joy. The fact that he saved them suggests that he loved what he made.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

When a person is rejected, all their production is rejected too. When a rejected person production (art, work, thougths...) are way superior to those of the people who reject them... There is some kind of envy-disgust-anger reaction on people that ends in aggresion or ignore.

This man art was ignored, his talent was ignored, his feelings, needs and dreams were ignored. He was the living proof that others were not good enought.

And that cant be tolerated by any human group. Rejected people CANT stand above LEADERS.

Im glad that his production has been found and that part of his soul has been preserved and can be apreciated by other people.

Thanks for the topic @Outdated , its sad and beauty in its own way.

 

[TBRS1]

That would be my guess as well. Some artistic people are always striving for a perfection that is unattainable.

Perhaps he might have showed them to a few people who didn't get it. Artists can be extra sensitive and a few rejections can be crushing. They often times turn inward to avoid any additional rejection. I certainly hope creating art brought him joy. The fact that he saved them suggests that he loved what he made.

Here's how this all goes down:

As an artist, the time I spend before I "seem" to be doing anything can range from hours to decades. I begin in 1983, think, feel, experience, integrate knowledge, remove error, define and continuously refine technique, design, scratch out, restart, practice, practice, practice, self evaluate, self criticize, rethink, reevaluate, restart....

Produce a material object in 2023.

Show that thing to a person who looks at it for 30 seconds, says "That's nice," then checks their phone.

Yeah. That's discouraging.

 

[Misery]

I'm glad that he just did his own thing. I hate when people destroy the potential of a talented person by attempting to "tame" their inspiration. Just imagine the loss if some art teacher got ahold of the reigns! All of that work would have been turned into several mundane life studies before he gave up and lost his passion.

Honestly, I bet this happens way more than people realize.

I dont remember where I read this, it was in some random conversation or other, I saved it for some reason, but it's basically this:

"You have to watch the art online for 10+ years to notice that middle-skilled artist have almost disappeared from web and products, and so did most artists with unique styles and quirks. It's either amateur art or almost perfect rendition of a common style."

And when I think about it, this is completely true. Like, even just on DeviantArt (and everywhere else I look), almost everything I see on there is like, general anime art style, or something more like a style that Disney movies used to use, and sometimes very cartoony characters. But within those categories, it's... just the same thing over and over again. It's like when someone hits what would be considered an expert level of skill, they somehow just produce things that look like everything else. The characters can look different of course, but the same styles are there, and it's very rare to see something that feels unique. Or, something that was the artist just entirely being themselves, instead of just following a common art trend because they were told it was "how to get better". And every tutorial and guide and whatnot is all aiming directly at some super-common style, something like that.

I'd actually gotten quite frustrated with it myself, as so many tutorials and guides and how-tos just make me feel like I'm painting by numbers, and then I get bored and lose interest. And I'm betting that professional courses and classes would have the same effect.

As it is, pretty much all of the artists & creators that I find inspiring, all the ones that made me want to make stuff myself, all have styles that are just totally "out there", where it's clear that they just sorta went "heck with it" and did it their way. But these are very rare. Or at least they seem to be... probably, there are plenty out there, but the vast majority of them either keep it to themselves, because they fear they'll be told off for it, or they just get really discouraged because what is "good" to everyone else isnt what they want to make, so they feel nobody will like their creations. I mean, heck, even I do that, most things I make get wedged into my supply stacks where nobody else is going to find them.


Well, that's sorta what that article made me think of anyway. Someone making really creative stuff, but hiding it, thinking others might hate it, not seeing that in reality it was pretty great. I mean just look at those wood things... those are amazing. The amount of time and effort that must go into each one, I cant even imagine. And then they all get hidden away.

That's just my own thoughts on it though.

 

[Mary Terry]

I think it is not uncommon for talented artists and their valuable works of art to be discovered late in their lives or after their deaths. Look at the folk art of Grandma Moses from Alabama and the paintings and wood block cuts of Walter Anderson from Mississippi. Anderson quite likely was autistic.

Maybe the reason why these people never disclose or share their works is because it is an intensively private and purely personal exploration for them. They may not care what anyone else thinks of their work. They find joy in just doing it.

Thanks for posting, @Outdated.

 

[Sherlock77]

I think it is not uncommon for talented artists and their valuable works of art to be discovered late in their lives or after their deaths. Look at the folk art of Grandma Moses from Alabama and the paintings and wood block cuts of Walter Anderson from Mississippi. Anderson quite likely was autistic.

Maybe the reason why these people never disclose or share their works is because it is an intensively private and purely personal exploration for them. They may not care what anyone else thinks of their work. They find joy in just doing it.

Thanks for posting, @Outdated.

Agreed... And there are some talented artists who don't choose pursuing their art as a vocation (ie. their full time job), and choose to do that in their spare time between all of life...

 

[AndyFBlues]

Honestly, I bet this happens way more than people realize.

I dont remember where I read this, it was in some random conversation or other, I saved it for some reason, but it's basically this:

"You have to watch the art online for 10+ years to notice that middle-skilled artist have almost disappeared from web and products, and so did most artists with unique styles and quirks. It's either amateur art or almost perfect rendition of a common style."

And when I think about it, this is completely true. Like, even just on DeviantArt (and everywhere else I look), almost everything I see on there is like, general anime art style, or something more like a style that Disney movies used to use, and sometimes very cartoony characters. But within those categories, it's... just the same thing over and over again. It's like when someone hits what would be considered an expert level of skill, they somehow just produce things that look like everything else. The characters can look different of course, but the same styles are there, and it's very rare to see something that feels unique. Or, something that was the artist just entirely being themselves, instead of just following a common art trend because they were told it was "how to get better". And every tutorial and guide and whatnot is all aiming directly at some super-common style, something like that.

I'd actually gotten quite frustrated with it myself, as so many tutorials and guides and how-tos just make me feel like I'm painting by numbers, and then I get bored and lose interest. And I'm betting that professional courses and classes would have the same effect.

As it is, pretty much all of the artists & creators that I find inspiring, all the ones that made me want to make stuff myself, all have styles that are just totally "out there", where it's clear that they just sorta went "heck with it" and did it their way. But these are very rare. Or at least they seem to be... probably, there are plenty out there, but the vast majority of them either keep it to themselves, because they fear they'll be told off for it, or they just get really discouraged because what is "good" to everyone else isnt what they want to make, so they feel nobody will like their creations. I mean, heck, even I do that, most things I make get wedged into my supply stacks where nobody else is going to find them.


Well, that's sorta what that article made me think of anyway. Someone making really creative stuff, but hiding it, thinking others might hate it, not seeing that in reality it was pretty great. I mean just look at those wood things... those are amazing. The amount of time and effort that must go into each one, I cant even imagine. And then they all get hidden away.

That's just my own thoughts on it though.

Sometimes the business side of the artistic world discourages people from taking chances. It's often times easier to get ahead by doing the same old thing well rather than doing something completely fresh. That's why it all looks the same. People are rewarded when they fit in and punished when they don't.

In some cases, people can be slow recognize when something is special and is exploring new territory. As Arthur Schopenhauer said: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."

 

[Sherlock77]

Sometimes the business side of the artistic world discourages people from taking chances. It's often times easier to get ahead by doing the same old thing well rather than doing something completely fresh. That's why it all looks the same. People are rewarded when they fit in and punished when they don't.

In some cases, people can be slow recognize when something is special and is exploring new territory. As Arthur Schopenhauer said: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."

I heard the story of one artist, a sculptor based in Arizona, who started out with western artist (the typical stuff we've seen before)

But he got restless with that so started melding more urban/modern styles with western styles in his sculpting and basically hit a wall, both sides of the art world didn't know what to think, eventually his art caught on more universally, I forget his name, it was from a blog I read a few years ago

But he never gave up...

 

[MC1Rcat]

Maybe the reason why these people never disclose or share their works is because it is an intensively private and purely personal exploration for them

I agree with this. I used to show/ sell my paintings in a couple of galleries in NYC and New Orleans and always hated having to be present for openings and be under the spotlight, answering questions about my work. What it means, etc. It was horribly invasive and put a lot of pressure on me that ruined the creative process for me. I used to tell people that each painting, collage or mobile was a being unto itself and that each person has their own impression or interpretation based on what they personally come to the situation with....so the meaning is different for everyone. A lot of them did not want to hear that and would press me for answers. They wanted a little piece of my soul...which I felt like I was already exposing through the painting, etc. So I stopped showing my work, because, in addition to openings being a trial for me, I felt like I was thinking of what other people were going to think of my work too much. It was influencing my creative process too much...making me too self-conscious...giving me artists' block and making me not want to paint anymore. This does not happen if I intend for no one to see what I am working on.

When drawing or painting, I always start with an initial idea/ inspiration (usually an image from a dream or meditation) or I pick out imaginary lines on the page or canvas (like a face you see in the clouds or a pattern), and as the process goes along, things change a bit. If I don't fight this and stay "in the flow," letting the piece come into being on its own...I always like what I make. It is a very "stream of consciousness" sort of process, that allows me to turn off my brain and gives me a break from thinking all of the time. It is very therapeutic for me. If I try to stick to a preconceived idea for a painting, and don't accept the little things that just happen, I end up fighting the process and I always don't like the work as much in the end, and sometimes even hate it. Having an audience in the back of my mind, looking over my shoulder, always makes me overthink what I am doing and ruins the flow and also the relaxation/ fun that I have painting. So, I have taken it back to just being something that I do as a form of self expression/ exploration....and maybe, years later, I sometimes decide to share or sell pieces occasionally.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Echoing others here, but it's pretty crazy to consider just how many people this likely happens to -- inventors, artists, electronics hobbyists, musicians, mathematicians, etc.

The internet has just put a lot of recluses (myself included) into the eyes of others in similar disciplines thanks to all of the great communities that exist online, but in pre-internetting times it was probably a lot like this guy. I definitely know the feeling of wanting to create and not even wanting to show people IRL what you've made.

One day, maybe they will discover thousands of amazing youtube videos that someone left behind. Things can go completely obscure on there, too, and not everything that people upload (even publicly) is really meant to be seen by the masses, as it can just double as a free safekeeping medium.