this week in outsider art: the woman in pink and standing man, stunning handmade african flags, adam and eve + more
plus, a little more context on a henry darger artwork and must-watch documentaries
THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART
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OH WORD?
Earlier this week, I posted this artwork by Henry Darger to Instagram. I removed it after a few hours because I felt I did an injustice to the artwork by forgetting something important when posting it: context.
It is hard to provide more context about each individual work, but luckily the story of Henry Darger can be told, to the extent any recluse living and working with little to no human contact can be told.
This artwork is just one of Darger’s 300 illustrations that are a part of a much larger 15,000 page manuscript titled “The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion”, found in his small apartment when he passed in 1973.
It's quite jarring to see the work while scrolling through Instagram and sipping your coffee before work. A little more about the man:
Henry Darger was born on April 12, 1892 in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of four his mother passed and he lived with his father until he was eight years old when his father was hospitalized. At this point, Darger was enrolled in public school but after behavior was relocated to the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children in Lincoln, Illinois with the diagnois that "little Henry's hear is not in the right place."
Darger himself felt that much of his problem was being able to see through adult lies and becoming a "smart-aleck" as a result, which often led to his being punished by teachers and ganged up on by classmates. He also felt compelled to make unusual noises. The Lincoln asylum's practices included forced child labor and severe punishments, which Darger would later seemingly incorporate into his writing.
Darger later said that, to be fair, there were also "good times" at the asylum, he enjoyed some of the work, and he had friends and enemies, according to Wikipedia.
Now, what about those girls that are being choked and drowned? Per Edward Gomez, an expert on Outsider Art, for an article in Hyperallergic -- “The Vivian Girls are the seven valiant sisters at the heart of the complex story that has become known, for short, as “In the Realms of the Unreal.” In it, the girls are princesses of Abbieannia, a Christian land; they take part in a revolt against the child slavery imposed on their world by sinister forces, including monsters. In various episodes of the story, children fight with weapons to defend themselves against their foes.”
While I am not a writer, journalist, or great person of grammar, I have enjoyed being on Substack to spend more time explaining, sharing, and diving into topics that are a bit more nuanced and easier to digest in long form as opposed to Instagram.
If you want to learn more about Henry Darger, check out this great documentary on his life, free to watch on YouTube.
MUST-WATCH
Happy holiday weekend! Like me, I hope you enjoy a nice long weekend full of family, friends, relaxation, and some outsider art. I would also hazard a guess that, like me, you would love to squeeze a nice little documentary about non-conforming artists into your weekend as well.
You’re in luck.
I present the greatest list of all-time of just a few of the must-watch docs, in no particular order, that I’ve seen on Outsider Art and Non-Conforming artists over the past few years.
From Bill Traylor to Hilma af Klint, Judith Scott to Wesley Willis, an investigation into fake Norval Morrisseau works and a trip to the desert to Possum Trot.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Reneesha Mccoy Brings You The “Consequences of Life and Nature”, Dozens of New Works Available
New Works Available by Esteban Whiteside in the FolkArtwork Collective Shop
WATCH: ‘Folk Art Found Me’ a Documentary on Folk Artists from Nova Scotia
Limited Edition Fine Art Prints by Sarah Lee in the FolkArtwork Collective Shop
The Greatest List of All-Time for Must-Watch Documentaries on Outsider Artists
Art Environments in the Midwest: Photos, Videos, Info, and more!
Change Makers: Stories that Inspire: Life & Work with Adam Oestreich
FROM THE COLLECTIVE
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