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Lot Essay
L'escadron des Christmas Seal Girls, rayonnantes dans leur uniforme de petites filles parfaites, est armé pour lutter contre la cruauté des adultes bien trop familière à Henry Darger. Invulnérables sur leur perchoir, elles semblent tirer la force de leurs yeux métalliques des timbres-poste de Noël, ironie de celui qui 'n'a jamais vécu un beau Noël de sa vie' (H.Darger, The History of My Life, 1973). Orphelin interné dans un institut pratiquant sévices et redressements, Darger venge son enfance à travers 'Les Vivian Girls' de The Realm of the Unreal, son oeuvre monumentale de 15 000 pages illustrées. Ces candides fillettes résistent à leurs tortionnaires dans une guerre sans fin, faisant de Darger le protecteur et le refuge ambigü de l'enfance maltraitée. Darger puise graphismes naïfs et couleurs vives dans la culture populaire américaine, qu'il copie dans les comics ou les illustrations pour enfants pour les agencer avec minutie dans des compositions complexes. Dans Tornado I, II et III, le chaos de la tornade, rendu profond grâce à l'utilisation autodidacte de la perspective, est bravé par de vulnérables oiseaux aux couleurs éclatantes. Son style naïf mais aux compositions virtuoses, ainsi que le lien direct entre ses souffrances vécues et son oeuvre singulière posent Darger en figure majeure de l'art brut américain.
The squadron of Christmas Seal Girls, radiating in their uniforms of perfect little girls, is prepared to deal with adults' cruelty, all too familiar to Henry Darger. Invulnerable on their perch, she seem to get strength from their metallic eyes of Christmas postage stamps, irony of that one who 'has never experienced the happiness of Christmas in his life' (H. Drager, The History of My Life, 1973). An orphan, interned in an institute practicing beatings and adjustments, Darger retaliates his childhood throughout 'The Vivian Girls' of The Realm of the Unreal, his fifteen thousand-page and illustrated monumental oeuvre. These candid little girls resist their torturers in an endless war, turning Darger into the protector and the ambiguous refuge for mistreated childhood. When creating his nave graphics and vivid colors, Darger takes his inspiration in the popular American culture, he copies in comics or illustrations for children in order to mix them with thoroughness in complex compositions. In Tornado I, II and III, the chaos of the tornado, made deep thanks to his autodidact use of perspective, is braved by vulnerable colourful birds. His nave style yet made of virtuoso compositions, as well as the direct link with his experienced sufferings and his singular oeuvre, turn Darger into the leading figure of American outsider art.
The squadron of Christmas Seal Girls, radiating in their uniforms of perfect little girls, is prepared to deal with adults' cruelty, all too familiar to Henry Darger. Invulnerable on their perch, she seem to get strength from their metallic eyes of Christmas postage stamps, irony of that one who 'has never experienced the happiness of Christmas in his life' (H. Drager, The History of My Life, 1973). An orphan, interned in an institute practicing beatings and adjustments, Darger retaliates his childhood throughout 'The Vivian Girls' of The Realm of the Unreal, his fifteen thousand-page and illustrated monumental oeuvre. These candid little girls resist their torturers in an endless war, turning Darger into the protector and the ambiguous refuge for mistreated childhood. When creating his nave graphics and vivid colors, Darger takes his inspiration in the popular American culture, he copies in comics or illustrations for children in order to mix them with thoroughness in complex compositions. In Tornado I, II and III, the chaos of the tornado, made deep thanks to his autodidact use of perspective, is braved by vulnerable colourful birds. His nave style yet made of virtuoso compositions, as well as the direct link with his experienced sufferings and his singular oeuvre, turn Darger into the leading figure of American outsider art.