Insane, Genius, or Both?

It's been fairly well documented that there's a fine line between creativity and insanity. In a previous post, we saw that there can also be a fine line between art and garbage. Here's an artist that resides at the intersection of all four lines. Meet the Philadelphia Wireman. His (or her) intricate sculptures made from tightly wound wire, old ballpoint pens, straw wrappers, and other common trash items were found in a Philadelphia alley dumpster in 1982. There were 1,200 pieces in all. Today, these sculptures reside in important museums and art galleries (including the Smithsonian). There's no record of the artist. No known motivation. No back-story whatsoever. As a result, the pieces are all the more fascinating. Was the artist insane? A tormented slave to a compulsion? A wildly creative artist? Since we'll never know, it's all in the interpretation. I saw a Philadelphia Wireman exhibit years ago. The pieces are amazing. But are they art? One thing for sure, I haven't been able to forget them.