Acrylic on board painting that has the words "DARN- 4 Letter Word." Green and orange border around the words.

Outsider, self-taught, folk, raw, naïve are all ways to describe art made by self-taught artists, or those artists who have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. The phrase “outsider art” was first coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut, a French phrase for "raw art" or "rough art,” a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Ericc “Etok” Tascote is a local Grand Rapids outsider artist. He works heavily with found materials like cardboard, hubcaps, furniture, paper and household items to create colorful paintings and sculptures. He pulls from a wide variety of inspirations such as language and slang, as well as traditional Australian Aboriginal dot painting and pop culture. He often writes playful messages on the fronts and backs of his artwork.