Metametametadata

Outsider Art

Please peruse Into the Realms of Henry Darger, a great metafilter. entry. Darger is the quintessential "Outsider" artist, having completed a 15,000+ page book with over 300 illustrations without ever sharing it with anyone. Upon his removal to a nursing home, his work was found. It's subject matter (decidely NSFW), the fantastical resistance of the "Vivian Girls" to the "Glandelinians," strikes many as the obsession of a potential serial killer and pedophile (there's no physical evidence he was either). Upon being told of the discovery of his work, Darger's response was "it's too late now." As evidenced by the metafilter thread, though Darger attempted to remove himself from the rest of the art world, since its discovery, Darger's work has influenced a lot of other artists.

I've recently checked out from the library a book length poem by John Ashbury titled, "Girls on the Run." This poem is very loosely based on Darger's work.

I also recently found John MacGregor's Henry Darger: Into the Realms of the Unreal. I've checked it out and loaned it to Pil. MacGregor is a psychologist who has spent the last decade researching the art of the insane. More reviews of MacGregor's work.

Recently, Jessica Yu has prepared a documentary on Henry Darger, which is currently screening around the country. In the Boston area, this movie is playing Thursday , February 10, at 5:00 p.m. at the MFA, or at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum on Saturday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m.. Anyone interested in 81 minutes of film on a 15,000+ page book with over 300 illustrations?