Strange Country Ep. 275: Henry Darger

Strange Country

Henry Darger is one of the most profitable outsider artists out there. Unfortunately he didn’t reap the benefit of that while he was alive, spending much of it in abject poverty. He was compelled to make and write art during the time he was not working as a janitor or dishwasher. His artwork dealt with themes of child abuse and violence, subjects very familiar with Darger when he was put in an asylum at the age of 12. Strange Country cohost Beth with special pinch (or pitch) hitter Terry discuss this artist and why work gets recognition after they’re gone.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

Sources:

Andrey V. “Henry Darger.” Widewalls, 16 January 2017, https://www.widewalls.ch/artists/henry-darger. Accessed 13 December 2023. Bouchard, Sara. “Phyllis Bramson on Henry Darger.” Painters on Paintings, 9 November 2015, https://paintersonpaintings.com/phyllis-bramson-on-henry-darger/. Accessed 13 December 2023. Boxer, Sarah. “He Was Crazy Like a . . . Genius?; For Henry Darger, Everything Began and Ended With Little Girls (Published 2000).” The New York Times, 16 September 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/16/arts/he-was-crazy-like-genius-for-henry-darger-everything-began-ended-with-little.html?searchResultPosition=3. Accessed 13 December 2023. Coleman, Megan. “Influences.” Henry Darger, http://officialhenrydarger.com/about/influences.html. Accessed 13 December 2023. Elledge, Jim. Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist. Harry N. Abrams, 2013. “Henry Darger.” MoMA, https://www.moma.org/artists/28600. Accessed 13 December 2023. Holst, Amber. “The Lost World.” Chicago Magazine, 2005, https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/november-2005/the-lost-world/. Accessed 13 December 2023. Lerner, Nathan. “On Henry Darger.” Nathan Lerner, http://www.nathanlerner.com/articles/henry-darger.html. Accessed 13 December 2023. McNett, Gavin. “"Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal" by John M. MacGregor.” Salon.com, 23 July 2002, https://www.salon.com/2002/07/23/darger/. Accessed 13 December 2023. Pogrebin, Robin. “A Henry Darger Dispute: Who Inherits the Rights to a Loner's Genius? (Published 2022).” The New York Times, 8 February 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/arts/design/henry-darger-estate.html. Accessed 13 December 2023.