Henry Darger

I looked up outsider art and it said that most artists were self taught and was not common in mainstream art. Then it also said "The schizophrenic, the developmentally disabled, the psychotic, the obsessive, the compulsive." Then, Henry Darger made more sense to me. It was interesting in the film that no one really knew how to pronounce his name. They were all trying to act like this close friend, but he really did not have any. He was an outsider. He would came home from the real world and enter his own fantasy world of his own. He was an artist in the closet. But, he never had a reason to share it with people. Darger did not like the world around him, so he created a world that made sense to him which included little girls with penises. He had a sad childhood,lived in an orphanage,taken to an asylum and worked as a janitor with nuns. Then after he was in the war, he was truely disturbed by life. He was an introvert. His art is interesting because he created so much and was really talented, but he was schizophrenic. But the type of person he is reflects in his art. His work is chaotic, not always making sense and in many different forms. But what stands out so much about this artist is that he probably did not think of himself as an artist. He wrote a 15,000 page book because he wanted to. He never shared that book or received any kind of recognition, even among friends and family.He did not produce his art for other people , but soley for himself in his mental state. This man seemed to live this sad, lonely and depressing life, but he somehow always made the time so write or draw. I find that very admirable. I never feel like anything I create is worth it, but who am I making it for? Im not making it to hang on a wall, Im making it because I want to and it makes me happy. Henry Darger was an "outsider artist" because no one knew he was an artist until he died. He taught himself how to write stories and he drew the images in his book. He was obviously smart, but then he had problems in his daily life. He became the story he created and no one even knew about "The Realms of the Unreal".