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Tom and Kathy Lind collect hundreds of pieces of outsider art at their home on Swiss: Chris Arrant

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Tom and Kathy Lind: Chris Arrant

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Have you ever looked at a piece of art and thought, “I don’t get it,” or, “My 7-year-old could’ve made that”? You know the stuff we’re talking about: the kind of art that’s often distinguishable by almost-alien creatures with disproportionate body parts and/or deranged facial features. If you’ve ever thought one of those two phrases, there’s a pretty good chance the piece in question, whether it be a painting or a sculpture or something in between, could be categorized as “outsider art.” Outsider art is raw and emotional, and often possess a childlike quality, which is exactly what people like Kathy and Tom Lind on Swiss Avenue enjoy about it. “When you buy something, it’s because you see it and it means something to you; you connect to it. It feels good for you to buy it, to have it and see it every day,” Kathy Lind says. Outsider art exists in a domain outside of mainstream art. It exists because the artists who create it can’t not create it, because they have some sort of emotional, psychological, physical or spiritual turmoil they must express. But outsider art does more than just exist; it embodies sometimes-subtle, sometimes-powerful messages of emotional vulnerability. “Outsider art is artists who haven’t had formal training — for the most part,” Kathy explains. “They feel called upon by some higher being to express themselves through their art.” When you look at outsider art, there’s a sense that you’re peeking into someone’s journal, like the artist is sharing something very private with you that they desperately need to share but can’t express with words.

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Tom and Kathy Lind collect hundreds of pieces of outsider art at their home on Swiss: Chris Arrant

A lot of art is powerful, but there’s a unique kind of power in outsider art because of the raw and, at times, intensely emotional images. Outside art collector Julie Webb, who owns a gallery in Waxahachie with her husband, Bruce, says “power” is a word often associated with outsider art. “These artists are not trained artists who are creating art for art’s sake. They’re driven to create because, in some cases, the art is what gives them the power to survive in whatever circumstance they’re living — whether they be disabled or handicapped or economically struggling or whatever,” she says. The Linds’ house is full of outsider art — some of which people identify with, and some of which leaves people scratching their heads, but that’s the nature of the genre. “They couldn’t really care less about what the public is thinking or feeling or saying about their art,” Kathy says. “They do it for themselves; they don’t do it to sell art.” The Linds began collecting outsider art about 20 years ago. Their first piece, which hangs above their bed, is a collage of faces inside a sort-of patchwork quilt of colors. “We bought it because it spoke to us,” Kathy says, looking the piece over. “We bought it and didn’t really know what outsider art was, but we thought maybe it was something we’d like to start collecting.” Over the years the Linds have accumulated hundreds of paintings and sculptures from all across the globe, and they’re always on the lookout for their next favorite piece. “Anytime you bring something into your house, like a piece of art, you’re introducing something that is outside of your own perspective,” she says. “It’s powerful because it’s someone else’s energy.”