Eye Candy #179 - "In the Realms of the Unreal"

In the Realms of the Unreal: A documentary about “outsider artist” Henry Darger, a hermit who, while working menial jobs living in Chicago during the 20th century, created a 15,000-plus page novel about a child slave rebellion and war, along with hundred of drawings and dozens of paintings, none of which was discovered until shortly before Darger’s death at the age of 81. Th3 novel, an account of the “Glandeco-Angelinnian War” and seven Vivian girls who fought in it, was written over the course of 60 years. He also has a semi-biographical work totaling over 4000 pages and another fictional work starring the Vivian Girls which is in the 10,000 page range. This is all single spaced work, hand-written and typed. Darger grew up an improverished ward of the state for most of his life, and was a self-taught artist. He had few friends and no family connections, and worked custodial and dishwasher jobs up until his forced retirement. From the character of his work, he appears to have been somewhat emotionally immature (identifying more readily with children than adults), sexually ignorant (in his artwork he assigns the same genitals to both boys and girls), but possessed of great creativity and imagination. I would even go so far to say that he had some form of the autism spectrum (Asperger’s or the like). He is like Van Gogh…but with both ears and without the women trouble and suicide. Quite a bit of his artwork is showcased in the film, as it traces his life and the development of his titular work through an examination of the work itself and interviews with his neighbors who were the only real consistent human contact he had in his life. While I found the documentary interesting, I don’t think it is for all tastes. Those with an interest in art or famous Chicagoans might find it entertaining. Woodchuck sez, “Thought-provoking.”