Bruise
Classification and external resources
Bruises from a ladder fall
ICD-10	S00-S90, T14.0
ICD-9	920-924
DiseasesDB	31998
MeSH	D003288

A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue^[1] in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, or bone. A bruise may be named by the length of its diameter as an petechia (less than 3 mm), purpura (3 mm to 1 cm) or ecchymosis (1 to 3 cm), although these terms can also refer to internal bleeding not caused by trauma.

As a type of hematoma, a bruise is always caused by internal bleeding into the interstitial tissues, usually initiated by blunt trauma, which causes damage through physical compression and deceleration forces. Trauma sufficient to cause bruising can occur from a wide variety of situations including accidents, falls, and surgeries. Disease states such as insufficient or malfunctioning platelets, other coagulation deficiencies, or vascular disorders, such as venous blockage associated with severe allergies^[2] can lead to the formation of bruises in situations in which they would not normally occur and with only minimal trauma. If the trauma is sufficient to break the skin and allow blood to escape the interstitial tissues, the injury is not a bruise but instead a different variety of hemorrhage called bleeding, although such injuries may be accompanied by bruising elsewhere.^[3]

Bruises often induce pain, but small bruises are not normally dangerous alone. Sometimes bruises can be serious, leading to other more life-threatening forms of hematoma, such as when associated with serious injuries, including fractures and more severe internal bleeding. The likelihood and severity of bruising depends on many factors, including type and healthiness of affected tissues. Minor bruises may be easily recognized in people with light skin color by characteristic blue or purple appearance (idiomatically described as "black and blue") in the days following the injury.

Mechanism of bruise[link]

Increased distress to tissue causes capillaries to break under the skin, allowing blood to escape and build up. As time progresses, blood seeps into the surrounding tissues, causing the bruise to darken and spread. Nerve endings within the affected tissue detect the increased pressure, which, depending on severity and location, may be perceived as pain or pressure or be asymptomatic. The damaged capillary endothelium releases endothelin, a hormone that causes narrowing of the blood vessel to minimize bleeding. As the endothelium is destroyed, the underlying von Willebrand factor is exposed and initiates coagulation, which creates a temporary clot to plug the wound and eventually leads to restoration of normal tissue.

During this time, larger bruises may change color due to the breakdown of hemoglobin from within escaped red blood cells in the extracellular space. The striking colors of a bruise are caused by the phagocytosis and sequential degradation of hemoglobin to biliverdin to bilirubin to hemosiderin, with hemoglobin itself producing a red-blue color, biliverdin producing a green color, bilirubin producing a yellow color, and hemosiderin producing a golden-brown color.^[3] As these products are cleared from the area, the bruise disappears. Often the underlying tissue damage has been repaired long before this process is complete.

Size and shape of bruises[link]

Bruise shapes may correspond directly to the instrument of injury or be modified by additional factors. Bruises often become more prominent as time lapses, resulting in additional size and swelling. Bruising present in a different location than the site of impact is called ectopic bruising and occurs when the tissue at the site of injury is loose, allowing blood to travel under the skin to another location due to gravity or other forces, such as in a black eye.

General factors modifying size and shape of bruises[link]

Bruise caused by a handrail, typical of extreme sports

• Condition and type of tissue: In soft tissues, a larger area is bruised than would be in firmer tissue due to ease of blood to invade tissue.
• Age: elderly skin and other tissues are often thinner and less elastic and thus more prone to bruising.
• Gender: More bruising occurs in females due to increased subcutaneous fat.
• Color of skin: Although the same size, bruises are more prominent in lighter complexions.
• Diseases: Coagulation, platelet and blood vessel diseases or deficiencies can increase bruising due to more bleeding.
• Location: More extensive vascularity causes more bleeding.
• Forces: Greater striking forces cause greater bruising.
• Genetics: Despite having completely normal coagulation factors, natural redheads have been shown to bruise more, although this may just be due to greater visibility on commonly associated lighter complexion.^[4]

Severity of bruises[link]

Bruises can be scored on a scale from 0-5 to categorize the severity and danger of the injury.^{[citation needed]}

The harm score is determined by the extent and severity of the fractures to the organs and tissues causing the bruising, in turn depending on multiple factors. For example, a contracted muscle will bruise more severely, as will tissues crushed against underlying bone. Capillaries vary in strength, stiffness and toughness, which can also vary by age and medical conditions.

An alternate bruise severity ranking system called the Chien Intensity Scale is slowly growing in popularity in some research circles. Although not widely used, the Chien Intensity Scale is used by institutes including the Ryan Mackey Memorial Research Institute and the Sydney Medical Center.

Light bruises[link]

Low levels of damaging forces produce small bruises and generally cause the individual to feel minor pain straight away. Repeated impacts worsen bruises, increasing the harm level. Normally, light bruises heal nearly completely within two weeks, although duration is affected by variation in severity and individual healing processes;^[5] generally, more severe or deeper bruises take somewhat longer.

Moderate to severe bruises[link]

Severe bruising (harm score 2-3) may be dangerous or cause serious complications. Further bleeding and excess fluid may accumulate causing a hard, fluctuating lump or swelling hematoma. This has the potential to cause compartment syndrome as the swelling cuts off blood flow to the tissues. The trauma that induced the bruise may also have caused other severe and potentially fatal harm to internal organs. For example, impacts to the head can cause traumatic brain injury: bleeding, bruising and massive swelling of the brain with the potential to cause concussion, coma and death. Treatment for brain bruising may involve emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on the brain.

Damage that causes bruising can also cause bones to be broken, tendons or muscles to be strained, ligaments to be sprained, or other tissue to be damaged. The symptoms and signs of these injuries may initially appear to be those of simple bruising. Abdominal bruising or severe injuries that cause difficulty in moving a limb or the feeling of liquid under the skin may indicate life-threatening injury and require the attention of a physician.

Treatment[link]

Treatment for light bruises is minimal and may include RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), painkillers (particularly NSAIDs) and, later in recovery, light stretching exercises. Particularly, immediate application of ice while elevating the area may reduce or completely prevent swelling by restricting blood flow to the area and preventing internal bleeding. Rest and preventing re-injury is essential for rapid recovery. Applying a medicated cream containing mucopolysaccharide polysulfuric acid (e.g., Hirudoid) may also speed the healing process.

Very gentle massage of the area and application of heat may encourage blood flow and relieve pain according to the gate control theory of pain, although causing additional pain may indicate the massage is exacerbating the injury.^[6] As for most injuries, these techniques should not be applied until at least three days following the initial damage to ensure all internal bleeding has stopped, because although increasing blood flow will allow more healing factors into the area and encourage drainage, if the injury is still bleeding this will allow more blood to seep out of the wound and cause the bruise to become worse.

As a medical sign[link]

The presence of bruises may be seen in patients with platelet or coagulation disorders. Unexplained bruising may be a warning sign of child abuse, domestic abuse, or serious medical problems such as leukemia or meningoccocal infection. Unexplained bruising can also indicate internal bleeding or certain types of cancer. Long term glucocorticoid therapy can cause easy bruising. Bruising present around the navel (belly button) with severe abdominal pain suggests acute pancreatitis. Connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome may cause relatively easy or spontaneous bruising depending on the severity.

During an autopsy, bruises accompanying abrasions indicate the abrasions occurred while the individual was alive, as opposed to damage incurred after death.

As a treatment[link]

Folk medicine, including ancient medicine of Egypt, Greek, Celts, Turks, Slavs, Mayans, Aztecs and Chinese, has used bruising as a method of treatment for some types of health problems. The methods vary widely and include cupping, scraping, and slapping. Fire cupping uses suction which causes bruising in patients. Scraping, (Gua Sha), uses a small hand device with a rounded edge to gently scrape the scalp or the skin. Slapping, (Pai-Da Therapy), is performed using two to five fingers or the whole hand mostly against joints such as shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists and ankles. For healthy people these procedures applied to a healthy part of the skin should cause redness which disappears in minutes or hours. For patients with pain, soreness or stiffness, the same procedure will typically cause bruising or blood blisters that lasts days. Each of these methods of treatment is repeated by the health practitioner or the patient himself over a number of days or weeks.

See also[link]

• Blunt trauma
• Black eye
• Blister
• Burn
• Cerebral contusion—a bruise of the brain tissue
• Love-bite
• Myocardial contusion—a bruise of the heart muscle
• Pulmonary contusion—a bruise of the lung tissue
• Ship foot—a bruise underneath the toenail
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage

Notes[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

External links[link]

Look up bruise, contusion, or ecchymosis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• What is a bruise? for kids
• Bruises in sports
• NiceBruise.com - Where bruise sufferers go to show off their bruise

Natasha Bedingfield
Bedingfield at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of The Russian Winter
Background information
Birth name	Natasha Anne Bedingfield
Born	(1981-11-26) 26 November 1981 (age 30) Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop, R&B, pop rock, soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Phonogenic, Epic (US)
Associated acts	Simple Plan, Charice, Rascal Flatts, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Melissa Etheridge, Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis
Website	www.natashabedingfield.com

Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bedingfield recorded rock and gospel songs for the Hillsong London Church, while Daniel went on to enjoy success with hits "Gotta Get Thru This" and "If You're Not the One".

Bedingfield released her first album, Unwritten, in 2004. The album contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music;^[1] it enjoyed international success with more than 2.3 million copies sold worldwide^[2] and she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the title track "Unwritten".^[3] Bedingfield's second album, N.B. (2007), was less successful but yielded the UK top 10 singles "I Wanna Have Your Babies" and "Soulmate". N.B. was not released in North America, but six tracks from it were included with seven new ones and released in 2008 as her third studio album Pocketful of Sunshine, with the singles "Love Like This" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" earning success on the charts. In December 2010, Bedingfield released her third album in North America named Strip Me.

In 2012, VH1 ranked her #66 on the list of 100 Greatest Women in Music.^[4]

Early life[link]

Bedingfield was born in Sussex (later moving to the Lewisham, south London) to New Zealand-born Molly and John Bedingfield who worked in the international charity sector focused on inner-city projects in education, reconciliation, addiction rehab, and longterm community development, alongside local government initiatives and faith-based communities in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Natasha has three siblings: brothers Daniel, Joshua and a younger sister Nikola. Her interest in music was encouraged by her parents and she took guitar and piano lessons when she was younger.^{[5][not in citation given]} When Bedingfield was a teenager, she and her siblings, Daniel and Nikola, formed the dance/electronic group, The DNA Algorithm.^[6] The group provided Bedingfield with the opportunity to explore different musical genres and expand her songwriting abilities.^[7] She provided vocals for the group which primarily performed dance-pop music about independence and empowerment, themes that would later be found in her own solo compositions. At age 14, Natasha sang vocals on Origins Refined Intricacy (Steelyard Records).

Bedingfield attended a year at the University of Greenwich, where she studied psychology,^[5][8] then left to concentrate on singing and songwriting. At first she recorded demos in the garages of friends who had recording studios, which she presented to record companies.^{[9][not in citation given]} Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bedingfield composed and recorded songs for the Hillsong London Church. In 2004, her recordings appeared on the church's live album Shout God's Fame and the children's album Jesus Is My Superhero by Hillsong Music Australia.^[10]

Music career[link]

[edit] 2003–06: Signing to Phonogenic and Unwritten

Bedingfield performing in 2006

Bedingfield was introduced to Phonogenic founder and A&R Paul Lisberg by the artist's manager Gary Wilson.^[11] Lisberg was not convinced by the demo songs presented, which had so far failed to attract any label interest, later telling HitQuarters: "[They] were good but weren’t right for us ... They were a bit like Holly Valance and Shakira, which we felt was too lightweight. She would probably have had hits with them, but I don’t know if she ever would have established herself as a true artist."^[11] Instead, it was when, at a meeting together, Lisberg heard her singing ability and creative vocal ad-libbing first-hand that he became excited by Bedingfield's potential. Label interest was later confirmed when a trial studio session together with writers Steve Kipner and Andrew Frampton produced songs that were in keeping with Lisberg's vision for Phonogenic.^[11] Bedingfield signed a recording contract with BMG UK & Ireland, through its imprint Phonogenic Records, in July 2003.^[11][12]

Her first album Unwritten was released in September 2004 and features collaborations with Steve Kipner, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lachey, James Reilly, Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins, Kara DioGuardi, Guy Chambers, Patrick Leonard and the rapper Bizarre. The album contained uptempo pop rock songs and influences from R&B music.^[1] Bedingfield's lyrics focused on independence, opportunism and female empowerment.^[5] Reviews of the album were generally positive^{[citation needed]} and it was described as a "well-made pop album for the new millennium" by Allmusic.^[1] The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number one and reached the top thirty in the United States.^[13] It sold well, reaching multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom^[14] and Gold status in the US^[15] The first single released from the album was "Single", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.^[16] The song's lyrics, and its accompanying music video, depict Bedingfield's single lifestyle.^[17] "These Words" was released as the album's second single. The song became Bedingfield's first UK number one and US top twenty single.^[18] "Unwritten" was released as the album's third single in 2004, the song reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and it also became the most played song on US radio in 2006.^[19] "I Bruise Easily" was released as the album's fourth single, it did not perform as well as its predecessors but was still a moderate success, reaching number twelve on the UK Singles Chart.

At the 2005 Brit Awards, Bedingfield was nominated for four awards, though did not win any of her nominated categories. She was also nominated for an award at the 2006 Brit Awards, and in 2007 she was nominated for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" at the 2007 Grammy Awards, though was again unsuccessful in winning in any of her nominated categories. Her Song Unwritten is the theme tune of MTV's the hills^[3][20]

[edit] 2007–08: N.B. and Pocketful of Sunshine

Bedingfield performing in Georgia in 2008

Bedingfield's second album N.B. was released in Europe in April 2007. In North America (the US and Canada), the album was released under the title "Pocketful of Sunshine" in January 2008. The album received mixed reviews by critics and peaked at number nine in the UK. "I Wanna Have Your Babies", the album's lead single, was about finding the right man to father her children and was criticised by fans and critics alike.^[21] The song was moderately successful, reaching number seven in the UK, number eight in Ireland and the top fifty in various other markets.^[22] "Soulmate" was released as the album's second single on 2 July 2007 and also peaked at number seven in the UK.^[23] To promote N.B., Bedingfield embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour in May 2007, supporting Justin Timberlake.^{[24][not in citation given]}

The North American version of her second album featured six songs from N.B.. The album was released on 22 January 2008, after the lead single, "Love like This", was released in September 2007 and charted at #11 on the Billboard hot 100.^{[citation needed]} The title track was released as the second single in February 2008. The single peaked at #5 on the Billboard hot 100.^{[citation needed]} On 18 January 2008, Bedingfield's UK tour was cancelled for the second time, one month before it was supposed to start, so she could spend more time promoting her album in the U.S.^[25] In August 2008, Bedingfield and other singers including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Melissa Etheridge, Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, and Mariah Carey recorded the charity single, "Just Stand Up" produced by Babyface and L. A. Reid, to support "Stand Up to Cancer". On 5 September, the singers performed it live on TV.^[26]

[edit] 2009–2011: Strip Me and Strip Me Away

Bedingfield at Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2009

Bedingfield stated on her blog that she would start work on her new album in early 2009.^[27] She was confirmed to be writing for the new album while on holiday in New Zealand; she said "I'm here for a couple of weeks to do a bit of writing. It is such an inspiring place to write music. I love coming here as often as I can, usually once a year to fuel up on ideas for my next album".^[28] She also confirmed she was working with Brian Kennedy, who produced/co wrote Rihanna's hit single "Disturbia" and was writing songs with him while on tour^[29][30] with a view to having the album released by the end of 2009.^[31] Bedingfield also stated that Wyclef Jean, Sam Sparro and Mike Elizondo would be working on the record.^[32]

Bedingfield confirmed that the album would be ready for fall 2010.^[33] In an interview with IN:DEMAND Producer, Ryan Tedder said "I'm gonna try and bring Natasha Bedingfield back here in the UK with some quirky, kinda weird stuff".^[34] On 18 March Natasha stated on her official site that she was in L.A. and she was putting the finishing touches on her album.^[35] "Touch", the lead single from the album, was made available as a digital download 18 May 2010. Bedingfield performed the song on the The Ellen Degeneres Show on 24 May 2010.^[36] "Touch" was officially sent to US radio stations on 29 June 2010.^[37][38] On 15 July Bedingfield announced via Twitter that the title of her new album would be Strip Me. The album was originally scheduled for release on 9 November 2010, but was released on 7 December.^[39] The second single, also titled "Strip Me", was sent to US radio on 30 August 2010 and it became available as a digital download on 21 September 2010.^[40] It was written by Bedingfield, Ryan Tedder and Wayne Wilkins.Bedingfield appeared on rapper Nicki Minaj's debut album Pink Friday on a track called "Last Chance", and on Rascal Flatts' new album Nothing Like This on a track called "Easy", released as the album's third single. On 31 December 2010 / 1 January 2011, Natasha appeared on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

In 2010, Natasha joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices,^[41] Avon’s first ever global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women.

On 6 April 2011, Natasha visited Radio Hamburg and confirmed that the song "Pocketful of Sunshine" (originally the second single from her US album "Pocketful of Sunshine") will be the first European single from the forthcoming European release of Strip Me. The European version of Strip Me will be called Strip Me Away. The lead single "Pocketful of Sunshine" was released on 13 May in Germany. The album "Strip Me Away" will be released in June.^[42]

Bedingfield was featured on Simple Plan's new single from their new album Get Your Heart On!, released on 21 June 2011. The song, "Jet Lag" was released on 26 April 2011 as the band's first single from their fourth album.^[43]

On 5 July, Bedingfield performed her song "Weightless" from her "Strip Me" album on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Filipina singer Charice confirmed that Bedingfield has written a song for her called "Lighthouse", which is included on her second studio album Infinity.^[44]

On 9 November 2011, Bedingfield wowed American audiences when she joined Rascal Flatts to perform "Easy," on the Country Music Awards show on ABC.

Bedingfield has released a Christmas song 'Shake Up Christmas',^[45] which has been confirmed to be on the 2011 Coca-Cola Christmas television advertisements.^[46]

[edit] 2012–present: Upcoming fourth studio album

As of April, 2012, Bedingfield announced that she's working on her fourth studio album, mentioning her plans to release the album worldwide,^[47] not just focusing on America.

Non-musical projects[link]

Bedingfield has donated time and money to organizations such as the Global Angels, an international children's charity founded by her mother, Molly Bedingfield.^[48][49] She became associated with the organization in 2006 and said she hoped to help "people around the world, particularly children, who live in conditions that would horrify us".^[50]

Bedingfield is now an ambassador for Global Angels and in November 2006 she visited India for three weeks in support of the charity. She visited an orphanage in Kolkata and a refugee camp for former child prostitutes in Mumbai to learn more about the situation and the conditions in these areas. Bedingfield later expressed her shock at what she had witnessed.^[51] Video diaries filmed during her trip were posted on her official website in early 2007.^{[52][not in citation given]} She is also an advocate for Stop the Traffik, a global coalition which works to end human trafficking^[48] and a member of the (RED) campaign.^[5] In a 2008 rockumentary, Call+Response, headed by Justin Dillon, Bedingfield performed acoustic versions of "Unwritten" and "Soulmate" in support of the film's cause: a movement against current slavery and human trafficking.^{[53][not in citation given]}

In 2004, Bedingfield showed interest in acting and made her début in the James Bond video game From Russia with Love in November 2005. She voiced the character Elizabeth Stark, the British Prime Minister's daughter who is kidnapped in the opening sequence.^[54] Bedingfield commented that she would like to do more acting, but only if the film "was good enough, and it was a role that [would] fit me."^[54] Bedingfield has yet to be offered any more acting work.

She has made an appearance in the seventh season finale of the hit Canadian television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.^[55] Bedingfield also guest starred on Nickelodeon's mockumentary series The Naked Brothers Band's Christmas Special, alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Leon Thomas III. She has made guest appearances on the NBC series Lipstick Jungle.^[56] More recently, she guest starred on Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP in November 2009. She sang the song "These Words".

In 2012, Bedingfield made an appearance in the fourth season of Web Therapy.^[57]

Personal life[link]

In 2006, the media incorrectly reported that Bedingfield was dating Nick Lachey and Maroon 5 lead singer, Adam Levine. Referring to the media reports, Bedingfield commented that "Adam is lovely but I didn't date him or Nick. As soon as you talk to a famous guy, you're immediately linked with him."^[58] Bedingfield is married to Matt Robinson,^[59] a businessman from California. The couple wed in Malibu on 21 March 2009.^[59]

She lists Audrey Hepburn, Debbie Harry and Brigitte Bardot as her "celebrity style icons".^[60]

Discography[link]

Worldwide releases

• Unwritten (2004)

North American releases

• Pocketful of Sunshine (2008)
• Strip Me (2010)

European releases

• N.B. (2007)
• Strip Me Away (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

Bedingfield's debut album Unwritten contains primarily uptempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music.^[1] It enjoyed international success with over three million copies sold worldwide.^[61] In 2007, she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "Unwritten", the third single from the album of the same name.^[3] Bedingfield's second album N.B. yielded the singles "Soulmate"; "Say It Again"; and "I Wanna Have Your Babies", written and produced by Natasha Bedingfield, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner.^[62] Bedingfield has received four nominations from the BRIT Awards but has won none.^[63] As of July 2008, she has won five awards from eleven nominations.

BRIT Awards[link]

The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. Bedingfield has received four nominations.^[63]

BT Digital Music Awards[link]

The BT Digital Music Awards honour music distributed digitally by methods such as mobile devices, online downloads, and blogging. Bedingfield has won one award.^[64]

Capital FM Awards[link]

The Capital FM Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Capital 95.8, a London radio station owned by GCap Media. Bedingfield has won two awards from two nominations.^[65]

Glamour Awards[link]

The Glamour Awards is an annual awards ceremony hosted by Glamour, a women's magazine. Bedingfield has won one award.^[66]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Bedingfield has received one nomination.^[3][67]

MTV Europe Music Awards[link]

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1994 by MTV Europe. Bedingfield has received one nomination.^[68]

TMF Awards[link]

The TMF Awards is an annual television awards show broadcast live on The Music Factory. Bedingfield has received one award.^[69]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Natasha Bedingfield

	Book: Natasha Bedingfield
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• NatashaBedingfield.com – Natasha Bedingfield official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

Ashley Monroe (born September 10, 1986 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer-songwriter. She has released two solo singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn) reached #43 and #37, respectively. Both singles were intended to be released on Monroe's debut album, Satisfied, in 2007, but the album went unreleased. Soon after, Monroe left Columbia Records' roster in late 2007. Satisfied was finally released on May 19, 2009.

Biography[link]

Monroe was born on September 10, 1986 in Knoxville, Tennessee. At age 11, she won a talent contest singing "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and found steady work at a theater there. While growing up, her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, so her country rock roots started early on. Monroe's father died from cancer in 2000, when she was just 13. While still grieving over their loss, Monroe and her mother continued on with their lives and moved to Nashville so she could pursue her career in music.

[edit] Satisfied

After a year in Nashville, she gained a publishing deal as a songwriter, which then led to her signing to a record contract with Columbia Records Nashville division, where she began to record her debut album, Satisfied. In 2006, the title track to the album was released as the first single to country radio. It failed to make the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart, however, a second single was released shortly after. "I Don't Want To" was released as the second single, which featured Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn. It initially did well on the charts, charting to #37.

Still after two singles, the album still hadn't been released. The label then decided not to release the album until Monroe charted a top 20 single. But, no follow-up singles were ever released. iTunes briefly had the album available in July 2006 but it was removed from the online store by mid-August.

In late 2007, Monroe and Columbia Records parted ways, and Satisfied went without being released. In addition to her own material, she co-wrote Katrina Elam's 2007 single "Flat on the Floor" (which was also recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album Carnival Ride), as well as Jason Aldean's 2009 single, "The Truth", and Miranda Lambert's 2011 single, "Heart Like Mine."

In April 2009, it was announced on Monroe's MySpace page that Satisfied would be released to digital retailers (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) on May 19, 2009.

In early 2012 Amazon.com and Spotify began streaming and selling a MP3 track called "Promised Land" that was originally recorded for, but left off of, the "Satisfied" album and now is listed as a Bonus Track.

[edit] Ashley Monroe EP

In late 2009 Monroe posted on her MySpace page that she was independently releasing a new self-titled EP. It would only be sold at the live shows. While she was touring with the Ten out of Tenn artists she realized she had nothing to sell to the fans who loved her sets and she wanted to give them something. This EP contains the tracks "Has Anybody Ever Told You", "Angeline", "Drink for Two", "And You" along with Trent Dabbs collaboration "Everything I Wanted".

Collaborations[link]

Trent Dabbs[link]

In early 2008 Ashley Monroe began collaborating with singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs and creating several demo tracks that appeared on their individual MySpace pages over the course of several months before the www.myspace.com/ashleymonroetrentdabbs page was created. The end result is an EP that has been digitally released on both iTunes and Amazon.

The demo tracks that were available to streams for the Monroe/Dabbs collaboration sessions have been two versions of "Shine" one with Ashley on lead vocals and one with Trent that was then placed on his most recent release.

Other tracks have included "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low [or I'm Staying Low]", "Now That I Know", "When the Day Is Done", "Everything I Wanted" and "Gone".

The official EP track listing however contains only five of these songs: "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low", "See Right Through" (the only track that never appeared on MySpace), "Now That I Know" and "Gone".

Ashley can also be heard on backing vocals (as well as having writing credits) on Trent Dabbs song "Your Side Now".

The Raconteurs[link]

In late-2008, Monroe collaborated with The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs on The Raconteurs single, "Old Enough", which was released in bluegrass form, and as a music video.

Backing Vocals[link]

Monroe contributed backing vocals on Will Hoge's song "Goodnight/Goodbye" off his 2009 album The Wreckage. The song was released as a soft single in late 2009.

Ashley can also be heard on Cory Morrow's 2007 album Ten Years on the track "More Than Perfect". Andrea Glass's 2008 release Stood Under Stars features her on two tracks "The Price" and "North Wind". Ashley is also featured on the title track of Wade Bowen's If We Ever Make It Home album and most recently on a track she co-wrote with Miranda Lambert called "Me and Your Cigarettes" that can be found on Revolution (by Miranda Lambert) yes she is also on backing vocals. She is also featured in the video for All I Have (Acoustic) starring Mat Kearney and an unreleased version of Fire & Rain (Acoustic) by Mat as well. Ashley is also doing background vocals on the 2011 release of Josh Kelley's "Georgia Clay" album for the track "A Real Good Try". There was also a 2011 video posted on YouTube of Ashley and Michelle Branch singing backing vocals for Chris Isaaks version of "Ring Of Fire" for his upcoming release "Beyond The Sun". Additionally she co-wrote two tracks and provides backing vocals for Vince Gill on "Who Wouldn't Fall In Love With You" and "If I Die".

Ashley is also featured on the 2012 Train album California 37 singing with Patrick Monahan on the track Bruises.

Wanda Jackson[link]

Monroe contributes backing vocals as a member of Jack White's Third Man House Band, which performed with Wanda Jackson on her newest album, The Party Ain't Over, which was released on January 25, 2011. She is featured on the songs "Rum & Coca-Cola", "Dust on the Bible" and "Teach Me Tonight" alongside Karen Elson, dubbing themselves "The Cherry Sisters" in the liner notes. She is also given credits on the Live At Third Man Records album by Wanda Jackson having been on tour with her as part of the "Cherry Sisters".

Pistol Annies[link]

Longtime friends, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and newcomer Angaleena Presley debuted their trio girl band Pistol Annies, with their song "Hell on Heels," on April 22, 2011 on CBS' airing of ACM Girls Night Out. The trio surprised the audience in place of Miranda singing with now husband Blake Shelton. The girls, who all met through working in the industry, have dubbed nicknames for themselves via their band name. Lambert serves as "Lonestar Annie," Monroe "Hippie Annie," and Angaleena as "Holler Annie," as she is from the hills of Kentucky. Per Lambert, whether or not the Annies would release an album will "be up to the fans." The single "Hell on Heels" was released for purchase via the Pistol Annies' website on June 12, 2011. The Pistol Annies' album Hell on Heels was released on August 23, 2011. The trio will also be featured on The Chieftain's upcoming release Voice of Ages on the track "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies".

In an interview with Angaleena Presley via the Keepinitcountry blog we know that the Annies have written, recorded and submitted a track (title unknown) for consideration on the upcoming "The Hunger Games" soundtrack and companion disc of music inspired by the book/film. This track has since been released on the Hunger Games Companion soundtrack "Songs from District 12 & Beyond" and is titled "Run Daddy Run".

The Annies have also announced that they have been writing and will go into the studio in the fall of 2012 to record a sophomore album to be released in the winter of 2012 or more likely early 2013.

Train[link]

Monroe is featured on the fourth song of Train's 2012 album California 37, titled "Bruises".

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Ashley Monroe at Allmusic

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Adolf Wölfli's Irren-Anstalt Band-Hain, 1910

The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut (French: [aʁ bʁyt], "raw art" or "rough art"), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.^[1]

While Dubuffet's term is quite specific, the English term "outsider art" is often applied more broadly, to include certain self-taught or Naïve art makers who were never institutionalized. Typically, those labeled as outsider artists have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds.

Outsider art has emerged as a successful art marketing category (an annual Outsider Art Fair has taken place in New York since 1993). The term is sometimes misapplied as a catch-all marketing label for art created by people outside the mainstream "art world," regardless of their circumstances or the content of their work.

Art of the insane[link]

Interest in the art of insane asylum inmates had begun to grow in the 1920s. In 1921 Dr. Walter Morgenthaler published his book Ein Geisteskranker als Künstler (A Psychiatric Patient as Artist) on Adolf Wölfli, a psychotic mental patient in his care. Wölfli had spontaneously taken up drawing, and this activity seemed to calm him. His most outstanding work is an illustrated epic of 45 volumes in which he narrates his own imaginary life story. With 25,000 pages, 1,600 illustrations, and 1,500 collages, it is a monumental work. He also produced a large number of smaller works, some of which were sold or given as gifts. His work is on display at the Adolf Wölfli Foundation in the Museum of Fine Art, Bern. A defining moment was the publication of Bildnerei der Geisteskranken (Artistry of the mentally ill) in 1922, by Dr Hans Prinzhorn.

People with some artistic training and well-established artists are not immune from mental illness and may also be institutionalised. For example, William Kurelek, later awarded the Order of Canada for his artistic life work, as a young man was admitted to the Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital where he was treated for schizophrenia.^[2] In hospital he painted, producing "The Maze", a dark depiction of his tortured youth.^[3] This 1953 work was used as the cover of the 1981 Van Halen rock album Fair Warning. His experience in the hospital was documented in the LIFE Science Library book The Mind, published in 1965.

[edit] Jean Dubuffet and art brut

French artist Jean Dubuffet was particularly struck by Bildnerei der Geisteskranken and began his own collection of such art, which he called art brut or raw art. In 1948 he formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut along with other artists, including André Breton. The collection he established became known as the Collection de l'art brut. It contains thousands of works and is now permanently housed in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dubuffet characterized art brut as:

"Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere – are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professionals. After a certain familiarity with these flourishings of an exalted feverishness, lived so fully and so intensely by their authors, we cannot avoid the feeling that in relation to these works, cultural art in its entirety appears to be the game of a futile society, a fallacious parade." - Jean Dubuffet. Place à l'incivisme (Make way for Incivism). Art and Text no.27 (December 1987 - February 1988). p.36 Dubuffet's writing on art brut was the subject of a noted program at the Art Club of Chicago in the early 1950s.

Dubuffet argued that 'culture', that is mainstream culture, managed to assimilate every new development in art, and by doing so took away whatever power it might have had. The result was to asphyxiate genuine expression. Art brut was his solution to this problem – only art brut was immune to the influences of culture, immune to being absorbed and assimilated, because the artists themselves were not willing or able to be assimilated.

The cultural context of the outsider art category[link]

The interest in "outsider" practices among twentieth century artists and critics can be seen as part of a larger emphasis on the rejection of established values within the modernist art milieu. The early part of the 20th Century gave rise to cubism and the Dada, Constructivist and Futurist movements in art, all of which involved a dramatic movement away from cultural forms of the past. Dadaist Marcel Duchamp, for example, abandoned "painterly" technique to allow chance operations a role in determining the form of his works, or simply to re-contextualize existing "readymade" objects as art. Mid-century artists, including Pablo Picasso, looked "outside" the traditions of high culture for inspiration, drawing from the artifacts of "primitive" societies, the unschooled artwork of children, and vulgar advertising graphics. Dubuffet's championing of the art brut – of the insane and others at the margins of society – is yet another example of avant-garde art challenging established cultural values.

Vocabulary[link]

Two images of Joe Minter's African Village in America, a half-acre visionary art environment in Birmingham, Alabama. Scenes include African warriors watching their descendants’ struggles in Alabama, tributes to black scientists and military leaders, recreations of the epic civil rights confrontations in Alabama, and biblical scenes.

A number of terms are used to describe art that is loosely understood as "outside" of official culture. Definitions of these terms vary, and there are areas of overlap between them. The editors of Raw Vision, a leading journal in the field, suggest that "Whatever views we have about the value of controversy itself, it is important to sustain creative discussion by way of an agreed vocabulary". Consequently they lament the use of "outsider artist" to refer to almost any untrained artist. "It is not enough to be untrained, clumsy or naïve. Outsider Art is virtually synonymous with Art Brut in both spirit and meaning, to that rarity of art produced by those who do not know its name."

• Art Brut: literally translated from French means "raw art"; 'Raw' in that it has not been through the 'cooking' process: the art world of art schools, galleries, museums. Originally art by psychotic individuals who existed almost completely outside culture and society. Strictly speaking it refers only to the Collection de l'art brut.
• Folk art: Folk art originally suggested crafts and decorative skills associated with peasant communities in Europe – though presumably it could equally apply to any indigenous culture. It has broadened to include any product of practical craftsmanship and decorative skill – everything from chain-saw animals to hub-cap buildings. A key distinction between folk and outsider art is that folk art typically embodies traditional forms and social values, where outsider art stands in some marginal relationship to society's mainstream.
• Intuitive art / Visionary art: Raw Vision Magazine's preferred general terms for outsider art. It describes them as deliberate umbrella terms. However, Visionary Art unlike other definitions here can often refer to the subject matter of the works, which includes images of a spiritual or religious nature. Intuitive art is probably the most general term available. Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art based in Chicago operates a museum dedicated to the study and exhibition of intuitive and outsider art. The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland is dedicated to the collection and display of visionary art.
• Marginal art/Art singulier: Essentially the same as Neue Invention; refers to artists on the margins of the art world.
• Naïve art: Another term commonly applied to untrained artists who aspire to "normal" artistic status, i.e. they have a much more conscious interaction with the mainstream art world than do outsider artists.
• Neuve Invention: Used to describe artists who, although marginal, have some interaction with mainstream culture. They may be doing art part-time for instance. The expression was coined by Dubuffet too; strictly speaking it refers only to a special part of the Collection de l'art brut.
• Visionary environments: Buildings and sculpture parks built by visionary artists - range from decorated houses, to large areas incorporating a large number of individual sculptures with a tightly associated theme. Examples include Watts Towers by Simon Rodia, Buddha Park and Sala Keoku by Bunleua Sulilat, and The Palais Ideal by Ferdinand Cheval.

Notable outsider artists[link]

• Nek Chand (b. 1924) is an Indian artist, famous for building the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, a forty acre (160,000 m²) sculpture garden in the city of Chandigarh, India.
• Ferdinand Cheval (1836–1924) was a country postman in Hauterives, south of Lyon, France. Motivated by a dream, he spent 33 years constructing the Palais Ideal. Half organic building, half massive sculpture, it was constructed from stones collected on his postal round, held together with chicken wire, cement, and lime.
• Felipe Jesus Consalvos (1891–c.1960) was a Cuban-American cigar roller and artist, known for his posthumously-discovered body of art work based on the vernacular tradition of cigar band collage.
• Henry Darger (1892–1973) was a solitary man who was orphaned and institutionalized as a child. In the privacy of his small north side Chicago apartment, he produced over 35,000 pages of text and hundreds of large scale illustrations, including maps, collaged photos, and watercolors that depict the heroic struggles of his child characters, "the Vivian Girls," engaged in activities such as battle scenes combining imagery of the US Civil War with the presence of fanciful monsters.
• Francis E. Dec (1926–1996) was a disbarred U.S. lawyer in 1959 who spent thirty years of his life in isolation mailing increasingly paranoid handwritten rants (which sometimes include drawings) to the media.
• Charles A.A. Dellschau (1830–1923) born in Prussia, Dellschau emigrated to the US and in his 70's secluded himself in an attic and over the course of 20 years created 12 large scale books filled with mixed media watercolors depicting the inventions of the Sonora Aero Club, chronicling the birth of the age of aviation . It is unknown if his subject was factual, a fictionalization or a delusion.
• Madge Gill (1882–1961), was an English mediumistic artist who made thousands of drawings "guided" by a spirit she called "Myrninerest" (my inner rest).
• Paul Gösch (1885–1940), a schizophrenic German artist and architect murdered by the Nazis in their euthanasia campaign.
• James Hampton (1909–1964) was an African-American janitor who secretly built a large assemblage of religious art from scavenged materials.
• Vojislav Jakic (1932–2003), a Serbian artist who spent most of his life in a small town of Despotovac producing drawings up to five meters long evoking the memories of his own life, his obsessions with death, and reflections on art. His works mix abstraction and graphic signs and writings.
• Alexander Lobanov (1924–2003) was a deaf and autistically withdrawn Russian known for detailed and self-aggrandizing self-portraits: paintings, photographs and quilts, which usually include images of large guns.
• Helen Martins (1897–1976) transformed the house she inherited from her parents in Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa, into a fantastical environment decorated with crushed glass and cement sculptures. The house is known as The Owl House.
• Tarcisio Merati (1934–1995), an Italian artist, was confined to a psychiatric hospital for most of his adult life during which time he produced a vast amount of drawings (several dream toys, bird on nest etc.), text and musical composition.
• The Philadelphia Wireman, a creator of wire sculptures. Nothing is known of his (or her) identity and he (or she) is presumed deceased.
• Martín Ramírez (1895–1963), a Mexican outsider artist who spent most of his adult life institutionalized in a California mental hospital (he had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic). He developed an elaborate iconography featuring repeating shapes mixed with images of trains and Mexican folk figures.
• Achilles Rizzoli (1896–1981) was employed as an architectural draftsman. He lived with his mother near San Francisco, California. After his death, a huge collection of elaborate drawings were discovered, many in the form of maps and architectural renderings that described a highly personal fantasy exposition, including portraits of his mother as a neo-baroque building.
• Sam (Simon) Rodia (1875-1965) was an itinerant construction worker and untrained in the arts. Plagued by personal problems, he abandoned his family to ride the rails until he settled in Los Angeles and created the landmark Watts Towers. Abandoning his monumental life's work, he returned to die with his family, among whom he was regarded as a bum, artist, crazy or a genius.
• Judith Scott (1943–2005) was born deaf and with Down Syndrome. After being institutionalized for 35 years she attended Creative Growth Art Center (a center for artists with disabilities in Oakland, CA) and went on to become an internationally-renowned fiber art sculptor.
• Richard Sharpe Shaver (1907-1975) produced photographs, paintings, drawings and writing connected to his unorthodox theories about the history of life on earth. He believed that certain stones were actually image-filled "rock books" created by an ancient superior race, and that sadistic decedents of those ancients live inside the earth, using ancient "ray" machines to torment humankind. His paintings, based on rock slices, often incorporate unusual materials such as soap flakes.
• Miroslav Tichý (1926–2011) was a photographer who took thousands of surreptitious pictures of women in his hometown of Kyjov in the Czech Republic, using homemade cameras constructed of cardboard tubes, tin cans and other at-hand materials.
• Willem van Genk (1927–2005) is the best known Dutch representative of outsider art. He was considered schizophrenic and autistic, and made drawings in view from above of stations and wirings, European cities, busses and trolleys, zeppelins and bombers. He also created 300 intricately decorated rain coats.
• Wesley Willis (1963-2003), a schizophrenic musician and artist from Chicago, known for his prolific (and bizarre) musical recordings as well as his hundreds of colored ink-pen drawings of Chicago land and street-scapes. Many of his drawings appear as covers to his albums. Although Willis was poor and often dependent on the charity of friends for housing, his drawings now sell for thousands of dollars apiece.
• Scotti Wilson (1928–1972) (born Louis Freeman), emigrated from Scotland to Canada and opened a second-hand clothes store, found fame when his casual doodlings were noted for their dream-like character.
• Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930), a Swiss artist, was confined to a psychiatric hospital for most of his adult life during which time he produced a vast amount of drawings, text and musical composition. Wölfli was the first well-known "outsider artist," and he remains closely associated with the label.
• Kiyoshi Yamashita (1922–1971) was a Japanese graphic artist who spent much of his life wandering as a vagabond through Japan. He has been considered an autistic savant.
• Joseph Yoakum (1890–1972), an African-American artist who spent his last years producing a vast quantity of sinuous, surreal landscapes based on both real and imagined travels.

August Natterer's Weltachse mit Haase (Axle of the World, with Rabbit), 1919