The Wasted Pleasures Insta page is eye-popping, to say the least. Frame-by-frame is electrifying, bubble-gum pink backgrounds punctuated with black line-art drawings.
Outsider art is often used to categorize artists, working in ways that contradict the mainstream, disconnected and sometimes unaware of the so-called high art world. But for artists like John van Orsouw, “outsider” means something entirely different—Art Brut. The French translation means raw art—uncooked and unadulterated by culture. Raw because it’s creation embodies its most direct and uninhibited form. Not only is the art unique and original, but the artists themselves exist outside the social parameters—just like John van Orsouw.
I had a few misgivings ahead of time. Number one is, why wouldn’t you just use a pillow to do what the Liberator does? I learned immediately upon receiving the Wedge that it’s not that simple, since the Liberator is made of this heavy duty foam material that’s way sturdier than a pillow but just pliant enough to be comfortable. Welcome to sex in the 21st Century! None of my fluffy pillows could possibly compete with this firm foam.