Henry Darger: In the Realm of the Unreal

Just watched the documentary 'In the Realms of the Unreal' about the artist Henry Darger, which I found amazingly well done (and VERY disturbing). Though the animation of his artworks was supposedly a controversial choice, I think it would have pleased him immensely had he been able to see it before his death....something perhaps finally soothed in his soul. I've always admired the color sense and nostalgic and complex fantasy in his works...and now that I know a bit more about the story/life behind them....er, um...phew.


Darger's Desk

From the website:
"This innovative feature length documentary, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jessica YU and produced by Susan WEST, explores the parallel lives of legendary outsider artist Henry Darger. Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, Darger’s 15,000 page novel details the exploits of the Vivian Girls, seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against godless, child-enslaving men." This is in addition to 12 ft long paintings and drawings, with images on both sides, a comparative (nearly hourly) journal of the weather for 10 years, series of obsessive lists, etc...



"..Darger lived a virtually friendless existence, but his imaginary life was as exciting and colorful as his real life was tedious. By day, he scrubbed floors, attended Mass, rummaged through garbage cans. By night, he ruled a world in which the forces of innocence and good fought a bloody battle against the forces of treachery and evil. By juxtaposing Henry Darger’s parallel but opposite universes, the film shows how he forged magic out of the bleakest of lives, leaving a legacy that has inspired other artists around the world."


watch trailer here