In the past few decades, making art has been used in special education classrooms as a way of offering psychic freedom, if not bodily freedom, by providing a partial antidote to the social problems generated in an impoverished environment. The art that has emerged has redeemed the inevitable isolation and loss and become its driving force. Wexler argues that the arts are most effective when they are in service of social growth, critical to identity formation. This book balances theory with practical knowledge and offers critical research that challenges the biases regarding the nature of art and education. It includes case studies, examples of the author's strategies with children and art students, as well as a chapter devoted to lesson plans.

This unique book presents works that until now have only rarely been seen, even in private collections. Paintings, drawings and sculptures by well known outsider artists and new discoveries, all of which express deeply personal interpretations of sexual desire and activity. With texts by the world's leading academic experts in this field, Raw Erotica presents an essential element in the rich and varied world of outsider and self-taught art. With texts and contributions from: * Colin Rhodes, Univ of Sydney, author of Outsider Art: Spontanious Alternatives * Roger Cardinal, author of the original book Outsider Art * Jenifer Borum, New York based authority on self-taught art * Michale Bonesteel, Chicago based writer and author of Henry Darger * Thomas Roske, Curator, The Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg * Laurent Danchin, Paris author and French authority on Art Brut * Francois Monin, editor of Artension magazine, France.

In the past few decades, making art has been used in special education classrooms as a way of offering psychic freedom, if not bodily freedom, by providing a partial antidote to the social problems generated in an impoverished environment. The art that has emerged has redeemed the inevitable isolation and loss and become its driving force. Wexler argues that the arts are most effective when they are in service of social growth, critical to identity formation. This book balances theory with practical knowledge and offers critical research that challenges the biases regarding the nature of art and education. It includes case studies, examples of the author's strategies with children and art students, as well as a chapter devoted to lesson plans.