'henry darger'

Just beside MoMA there is a museum not to miss for those interested in self-taught artists and their works. At American Folk Art Museum you can spend many hours watching some of the works from their extensive collection of 5000 art works. They also have a collection of just as many works by Henry Darger, obsession and creating of an own world. The clouds are ominous.  Small girls from a fairy-tale release a lot of rats out and people in uniform bow to them from a stage.  Dragons lure in a cave, but the girls walk together as a powerful force and don’t even give them a notice.

Darger collected images from comic strips, children’s books, colouring books, games. Reality, real imagined worlds, fantasy in an intriguing mix.

Henry Darger has a special study-center at the museum, the energetic director and curator Brooke Davis Anderson told me during our meeting. Recently they produced an exhibition called “Dargerism” where contemporary artists interacted with his work.  I follow a group of teenagers, who have chosen one art piece each and then present this work from their personal viewpoint, what it tells them. The guards on every floor tell you extra information about the exhibition or art works.

The economical life of a private museum in USA is a tough one.  Fund-raising galas, knowledge of who visits the museum, corporate sponsorship, individual memberships, funding from different foundations and government means a lot of hard work. And yes, Brooke Davis Anderson has Swedish ancestors.

 

American Folk Art Museum New York. Photo Torun Ekstrand American Folk Art Museum New York. Photo Torun Ekstrand
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