Hole in the sky?

My name is Major.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion


Go ahead. Google it. While your at it, google the name "Henry Darger." I'll give you a minute then scroll down some.

Henry Joseph Darger was a reclusive American writer and artist who worked as a custodian in Chicago, Illinois. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, (also know as Into the Realms of the Unreal) along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story. Darger's work has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art.

15,145 pages.. one book?

In the Realms of the Unreal includes The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, and extends over 15 immense, densely-typed volumes of 15,145 total pages. The text is accompanied by three bound volumes of several hundred illustrations, scroll-like watercolor paintings on paper, the work of six decades, derived from magazines and coloring books. In addition, Darger wrote an eight volume, 5,084-page autobiography, The History of my Life; a 10-year daily weather journal; assorted diaries; and a second work of fiction, provisionally titled Crazy House, of over 10,000 handwritten pages. He started writing in 1908.

The son of a bitch was crazy, spent his entire life writing and drawing huge elaborate pictures from tracings of childrens books about 7 sisters on another planet. Some of the drawings he made took up to 3 years to complete, were 10 feet long, and had 10,000 or more tracings.

What the hell? I'm right there with you. Just watch the vid below.

1 comment:

  1. Wow. There's a pretty good indie band here in NYC, getting some buzz for a year or two, called "Vivian Girls". Now I know where the name comes from, thanks!

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