November 01, 2001
I've come across some interesting sites about Henry Darger, one of the most fascinating and bizarre figures in 20th century art. Darger lived his life almost completely alone, working as a janitor for most of it, having no family, friends, or money to speak of. There would seem to be nothing to distinguish Darger from any one of millions of people who pass through this world without a trace, except, unbeknownst to everyone around him, Darger spent the bulk of his life creating a massive work of literature and art.
The work was a 15,000-page epic entitled "The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as caused by the Child Slave Rebellion." Darger also created hundreds of watercolor paintings to illustrate the story. It was a massive undertaking, one for which Darger was the sole intended audience, a work only discovered after his death.
The story (mystery, really) goes far deeper than the brief sketch above. Suffice it to say that he is the reason I sometimes look twice at people I pass on the street, wondering what secret worlds reside in their minds.
The work was a 15,000-page epic entitled "The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as caused by the Child Slave Rebellion." Darger also created hundreds of watercolor paintings to illustrate the story. It was a massive undertaking, one for which Darger was the sole intended audience, a work only discovered after his death.
The story (mystery, really) goes far deeper than the brief sketch above. Suffice it to say that he is the reason I sometimes look twice at people I pass on the street, wondering what secret worlds reside in their minds.
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