Specialisterne: leveraging the unique skills of Autistics at competitive market terms

[Visionary7903]

I have already mentioned Savant Syndrome in a number of posts including this one. Some 10% of autistic people are known to have a ‘splinter’ savant skill–some area of competence which is in contrast to their overall disability. When these ‘splinter’ skills are more organized and coherent, it is appropriate to call the people who possess them ‘talented savants’. Thousands of ‘talented savants’ are alive in the world today.

One ‘talented savant’ with Autism is Gregory Blackstock. Now in his mid 60s, the multi-talented Blackstock utilises his unique brain to create something fresh and special out of common things…

…The drawings are the result of a genuine curiosity, excitement, and wit. You can see it in the lettering (most collections are given a font-like header to match the subject), the anecdotes, the energy and care with which the lines are drawn, and the poise and posture of the objects. Each drawing is full of movement and personality. Blackstock seems to be having fun; this is largely what makes the collections so enjoyable.

…I’d rather take his drawings at face value than provide a ‘reason’ for why Blackstock collects the way he does. But it feels inappropriate to ignore his Savant Syndrome …He draws entirely from memory (it took him only two trips to Home Depot to gather all of the ‘data’ for The Saws). He has made roughly 175 ‘collections,’ one at a time, since 1986, while working as a dishwasher in Seattle–his steady job for over 25 years. His first solo exhibition, at age 58, was in 2004 at Garde Rail Gallery in Seattle. Now retired, Blackstock will have his third show at Garde Rail later this year.

…Why does Blackstock collect? I draw things to make them my own, to point them out, to link them and suggest meaning. I believe Blackstock does the same. But he also equalizes the world. And by doing so, he diversifies, exploding the minute and the seemingly banal into the purely magnificent…

Some more of Gregory Blackstock’s drawings can be viewed here:
Garde Rail Gallery - Self-Taught Art - Folk Art - Outsider Art
The Astonishing Visual Lists of Autistic Savant Gregory Blackstock - Maria Popova - Entertainment - The Atlantic

gregory-blackstock on Tumblr

(source: BOMB Magazine: Gregory Blackstock by Leah Beeferman)