IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL: THE MYSTERY OF HENRY DARGER
IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL: THE MYSTERY OF HENRY DARGER
February 5 2010, DVD, home living room, own (?)
I don't remember if Davey is letting me borrow this or if it was a gift. I'm going to try to give it back to him, or put it on the lunchroom table, because seriously, I don't have the desire to ever see this movie again.
It's not that it's bad - or that the subject matter is painful (which it sort of is) - it's because more than half of it is spent narrating excerpts from crackpot artist Darger's 15,000 page epic "In the Realms of the Unreal" using his own illustrations therein - but animated. I HATED THAT. I love Darger's artwork; it's freaky and psychedelic and uncomfy and beautiful and personal, and no, I don't want to see it chopped into little moving bits. Ugh. Yuck. So I spent a lot of the running time with my eyes closed, listening to the narration instead, and it made me angry because I wanted to see the art as it actually looks. Bastards!
Other than that, this is a fine documentary about a psychotically prolific, incredibly isolated artist and writer, whose process of solitude and concentration illuminated quite a few things about me and my own process. It actually made me feel kind of bad for having a life outside of what I create, because so much of my life has been spent in that kind of creative crucible (see: winter 2006-spring 2008, and the 250,000 words of fanfiction output I was able to create by largely turning my back on my friends and family and everything that was not The Story). Henry Darger was on to something very real and true - when you're in that state, nothing else matters. NOTHING. And I miss it every day, and yet, I cannot give up my outer life. It is also an impossible balancing act that I will never resolve, but I will never give up either. So, be patient with me, people. If you see this movie, it may help you to understand ME better, so I recommend it. And I hope the animation doesn't irritate you as much as it did me.
February 5 2010, DVD, home living room, own (?)
I don't remember if Davey is letting me borrow this or if it was a gift. I'm going to try to give it back to him, or put it on the lunchroom table, because seriously, I don't have the desire to ever see this movie again.
It's not that it's bad - or that the subject matter is painful (which it sort of is) - it's because more than half of it is spent narrating excerpts from crackpot artist Darger's 15,000 page epic "In the Realms of the Unreal" using his own illustrations therein - but animated. I HATED THAT. I love Darger's artwork; it's freaky and psychedelic and uncomfy and beautiful and personal, and no, I don't want to see it chopped into little moving bits. Ugh. Yuck. So I spent a lot of the running time with my eyes closed, listening to the narration instead, and it made me angry because I wanted to see the art as it actually looks. Bastards!
Other than that, this is a fine documentary about a psychotically prolific, incredibly isolated artist and writer, whose process of solitude and concentration illuminated quite a few things about me and my own process. It actually made me feel kind of bad for having a life outside of what I create, because so much of my life has been spent in that kind of creative crucible (see: winter 2006-spring 2008, and the 250,000 words of fanfiction output I was able to create by largely turning my back on my friends and family and everything that was not The Story). Henry Darger was on to something very real and true - when you're in that state, nothing else matters. NOTHING. And I miss it every day, and yet, I cannot give up my outer life. It is also an impossible balancing act that I will never resolve, but I will never give up either. So, be patient with me, people. If you see this movie, it may help you to understand ME better, so I recommend it. And I hope the animation doesn't irritate you as much as it did me.