As an artist recognized as "mentally retarded", for 60 years he painted girls warriors: Henry Darger's Unreal Kingdom
As an artist recognized as "mentally retarded", for 60 years he painted girls warriors: Henry Darger's Unreal Kingdom

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In 1972, photographer Nathan Lerner decided to tidy up the room of his sick lodger - a lonely old man who had worked as a janitor in a Chicago hospital all his life. Among the trash - numerous boxes, skeins of twine, glass balls and magazines - he found several handwritten books and more than three hundred illustrations to them. The content of the book was unusual. The author's name was Henry Darger, and throughout his life he created the story of the war of children against adults.

Henry Darger and his creation
Henry Darger and his creation

Darger had a difficult childhood filled with loss, betrayal and cruelty. At the age of four, he was left without a mother - she died in childbirth. The father was unable to raise two children. Henry's younger sister was sent to an orphanage. He himself, still a toddler, went to the store to shop and looked after the house.

Henry Darger's book
Henry Darger's book

Despite all these difficulties, the first years at school he studied well - he had obvious success in drawing and history. Henry was especially attracted by the topic of the Civil War in the United States - he delved into it so much that he began to discover errors in the stories of teachers. The teachers did not like such an informed student. Yes, and his classmates did not like him - he was persecuted for the habit, in thoughtfulness, "to make strange sounds with his nose and mouth."

Drawing by Henry Darger - the heroine of his book
Drawing by Henry Darger - the heroine of his book

Despite the developed intellect and even some kind of giftedness, Henry Darger was declared "feeble-minded" and sent to a boarding school for children with mental problems with wild diagnoses such as "masturbation" and "aggressive behavior."

Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger

So Darger went to hell for three years. The staff of the boarding school beat their pupils, they "came off" at the youngest and weakest. They tried to teach children something there, but in a strange way: for example, there is a creepy story about how students were taught anatomy by dissecting the bodies of their recently deceased classmates. In the boarding school, Henry learned of the death of his father and from grief for some time lost the ability to speak. This provoked even more attacks.

A fabulous country and its inhabitants
A fabulous country and its inhabitants
Demonic bird
Demonic bird

Sometimes the pupils managed to escape from the boarding school - they were hired as free labor for the farm. It was then that Darger made his first escape. The escape failed. The farmers caught him and tied him to a horse as punishment - Henry was forced to run after her to the farm. Soon he risked again and was even able to get on the train, but the unknown suddenly frightened him more than the usual nightmare. However, having enlisted the support of two of his comrades in misfortune, Darger nevertheless carried out his plan. Soon the guys were in Chicago, where they parted ways. Henry did not look for his calling for long - he quickly found himself a job as a janitor in a Catholic hospital, and he stayed there for half a century.

Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger

It would seem that everything in his life is now arranged much better than that of many inhabitants of asylums for the mentally ill. But the terrible memories did not let go of Henry. At about the age of seventeen, he began to work on the main business of his life - a book with the ornate title "The Story of the Vivian Girls in a Place Known as the Unreal Kingdom."

The heroines of the book of Darger and their friend is a dragon
The heroines of the book of Darger and their friend is a dragon
Good dragon
Good dragon

In short, its plot is as follows. On a fictional planet, satellite of the Earth, in the no less fictional country of Glandolinia, "fallen Catholics" enslave small children (mostly girls). Seven brave girls - their names are Violetta, Joyce, Jenny, Catherine, Hattie, Daisy and Evangeline - revolt against the torturers. The children enlist the dragon's support and, after four years of fighting, defeat the adults - at great cost.

The battle of children and adults
The battle of children and adults
Fallen Catholics who enslaved children
Fallen Catholics who enslaved children

Henry read a lot, although the choice of books might seem strange, and borrowed ideas from one author, then from another. His book contains references to Frank Baum and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Christian history and the events of the American Civil War. Catholic enslavers are almost always real historical and political figures.

The girls are running through the minefield
The girls are running through the minefield
Children in a fairyland
Children in a fairyland

Titanic in itself - fifteen thousand pages! - Darger's creation makes an eerie and unpleasant impression. His literary style left much to be desired - he described cruel scenes in detail, but in a sentimental, even sugary language.

Henry Darger collage
Henry Darger collage

His early drawing abilities did not receive proper development, so he used a technique that is quite typical for artists of the art brut direction - collage. Darger painted landscapes on his own, but he cut out figures of people from magazines and covered them with paint.

An idyllic landscape - but the children have weapons in their hands
An idyllic landscape - but the children have weapons in their hands
Girls and guns
Girls and guns

Perceptions of Darger's legacy are mixed. Some researchers point to numerous descriptions and images of torture, believing that the artist sublimated his sadistic inclinations and sexual attraction to children. However, the suffering of female heroines is more akin to the martyrdom of young Christians (or the exploits of pioneer heroes). Michael Moon argues that upon careful reading, you will notice that all these torments are indeed borrowed from the lives of Catholic saints.

The battle of children and adults
The battle of children and adults
The battle of children and adults
The battle of children and adults
Torture and battle
Torture and battle

The naked bodies that Darger so often portrayed are no longer perceived in an erotic manner by most researchers. Nudity is synonymous with the defenselessness of "girls with guns" in the face of adult enslavers. In some drawings, you can see that the genitals of the warriors are depicted in a strange way - more like male ones. Darger had no sexual experience and did not know how the male body was different from the female.

Darger portrayed girls, but did not know what a woman's body looks like, so he painted them as boys
Darger portrayed girls, but did not know what a woman's body looks like, so he painted them as boys
The nakedness of Darger's heroines symbolizes their purity and defenselessness in the face of the world of cruel adults
The nakedness of Darger's heroines symbolizes their purity and defenselessness in the face of the world of cruel adults
Butterfly girls appear frequently in his works
Butterfly girls appear frequently in his works

Regarding Darger's mental state, the version about the "lancet maniac" finally yielded to the assumption of autism spectrum disorder - isolation, fixation on a limited number of topics, some social naivety. In addition, there is not the slightest doubt that Darger suffered from severe PTSD, which he struggled with, creating heroic defenders for himself.

Winged girls are protectors of the weak
Winged girls are protectors of the weak
Religious motives are often found in Darger's works
Religious motives are often found in Darger's works
Children and adults
Children and adults

Today, Henry Darger's creation is compared to the Sailor Moon anime saga, The Chronicles of Narnia and Game of Thrones (in terms of volume, abundance of characters and level of cruelty). In 2001, Darger's work was exhibited alongside Goya's war prints. However, for the general reader, "In the Edge of the Unreal" remains inaccessible.

Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger
Drawing by Henry Darger

Henry Darger died in obscurity and was buried in a cemetery for the poor - and after his death became America's most popular outsider artist. Subsequently, his admirers installed a tombstone there with a tender inscription "Artist and protector of children."

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