A Trip Down BK's Memory Lane Episode 1: Henry Darger and Outsider Art

I was thinking the other day about my pathetic two posts in October (the number, not the quality of the posts, which are very high of course) and decided that I should include some more memories from my past. I think that these types of posts about random memories that stand out for me but are probably unknown to many of my closest friends would be fun to put up.

The first comes from my time doing my Fulbright Research in Madrid. For the first two months, I felt constantly guilty because I had never worked in such an open ended role before. I had no teacher, professor, or boss to tell me what to do. And I struggled greatly with that much autonomy.

"What SHOULD I do today?" I would ask myself. But I never had the "right" answer.

In an effort to feel fully productive, I occupied my time researching interesting things online related mostly to digital music, various artists, writing, and art. I read and listened to a TON of NPR. And I used Skype--which had literally just been released--to talk for hours upon end, at the end of the day and beginning of the day, with Krista and my family. I was ruthlessly homesick.

One NPR article talked about an "outsider artist" named Henry Darger whose art and life had been highlighted in an outsider art museum in Chicago. Below is a picture of Henry, and his art is sprinkled throughout this post.



I was fascinated by the idea of outsider art. As defined by wikipedia:

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 institutions of the mainstream art world; in many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Much Outsider Art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds.

The idea of existing outside the mainstream, but creating great works of art, is an incredibly romantic concept that I loved (and still do).



On top of hundreds of fantastical watercolors depicting transgender fairies battling evil spirits, Darger wrote a 15,145 page novel depicting that same fantasy world.

Just pause for a moment and reflect on a 15,145 page book. The man spent his ENTIRE solitary life (aside from his day job as a janitor) writing the book.



15,145 pages; no recognition, no celebration, no money. Just art for the sake of art.

Here's a trailer for the documentary, which I just discovered and ordered on netflix as a result of this post:



Here's a link to Outsider Art in Wikipedia, Henry Darger's entry in Wikipedia, and the original NPR post.