14178 (_The shell was emergency and torment …_) 1931

John Elsas pieced together this work on paper with collage. It’s raw and direct, in a way that feels incredibly fresh. The way Elsas handles the materials is so straightforward. He doesn’t try to hide the cut edges or blend the colors. It’s all about the immediacy of the gesture, like a kid making a picture. The pink face and the blue shirt, these strong blocks of color create an emotional experience. The way they sit together is a bit jarring, a bit off, which adds to the intensity of the piece. Look at the mouth, just a simple red triangle. It’s almost cartoonish, but it's also deeply expressive. It’s like Elsas is stripping away all the pretense and getting right to the heart of the matter. Elsas reminds me of outsider artists like Henry Darger, folks who just had to make art, no matter what. It’s this kind of unfiltered expression that really gets me going.