OUTSIDER, the amazing story of Henry Darger

Darger’s legacy: Mark Stokes

Darger’s legacy: Mark Stokes

Mark Stokes is a filmmaker based in London whose documentary on Henry Darger, Revolutions of the Night, was instrumental in explaining who Henry Darger really was to a wider audience. In the final episode of this series, Philippe Cohen Solal discusses the making of the film with Mark Stokes. Both artists also reflect on what it meant for them to get inspired by this amazing body of work.

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Special thanks to Geoffrey Carey for reading excerpts of Henry Darger’s written works.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

Darger’s legacy: Grayson Perry

Darger’s legacy: Grayson Perry

Although Darger’s artwork and written works remained out of the spotlight for decades, they still influenced many contemporary artists. Among them, widely acclaimed artist and Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry stumbled upon Darger’s work in the seventies while still in art school. In this episode, Grayson Perry discusses Henry Darger’s influence on his work, the path to declaring oneself an artist, elitism in the art world and many more topics, with Philippe Cohen Solal. 

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Special thanks to Geoffrey Carey for reading excerpts of Henry Darger’s written works.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

Darger’s playlist

All of the song lyrics featured on the OUTSIDER album were written by Henry Darger himself. The late artist was both a lyricist and great music lover. In this episode, Philippe Cohen Solal dissects Henry Darger’s taste in music, and is joined by Mike Lindsay to discuss the creation of the OUTSIDER project. Both musicians reflect on their common desire to make an album that would become part of Darger’s legacy to the artistic world. 

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Special thanks to Geoffrey Carey for reading excerpts of Henry Darger’s written works.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

The Vivian Girls

“In the Realms of the Unreal” is Henry Darger’s masterpiece. A 15 000 pages novel, which he later transposed to hundreds of paintings. In this imaginary world, seven sisters who go by the name of the Vivian Girls lead the rebellion of enslaved children against adult men. Darger often draws the Vivian Girls naked and sometimes with male genitalia. His obsessive and subversive representation of little girls was often met with backlash, some critics even calling him a paedophile. In this episode, art historian Leisa Rundquist analyses Henry Darger’s portrayal of girlhood as perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of his art.

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Special thanks to Geoffrey Carey for reading excerpts of Henry Darger’s written works.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

Darger's story

At the age of 12, Henry Darger was sent to a mental institution. The diagnosis was “self abuse”. He was one of many children to be sent away, mainly for being poor and uncared for, and possibly for being a homosexual. The abuse he witnessed and presumably suffered at the Asylum left him scarred for life. In this episode, Philippe Cohen Solal and biographers Michael Bonesteel and Jim Elledge discuss Henry Darger’s childhood and how trauma shaped his art.

Content warning : Please note this episode includes mentions of child abuse, physical and sexual violence. It can be triggering for some and inappropriate for younger listeners. 

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Excerpts of “History of My life” and the weather journals of Henry Darger told by Geoffrey Carey.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

What is outsider art?

What makes Henry Darger an outsider artist? In this episode, Philippe Cohen Solal discusses the label and the artistic movement with Debra Kerr, President and CEO of Intuit, the Center of Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago. Together they dive into Henry Darger’s visual works and analyse his very particular creative process. 

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Special thanks to Geoffrey Carey for reading excerpts of Henry Darger’s written works.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

The discovery

When Henry Darger moved into a nursing home a few months before he passed away in 1973, his landlords, Kiyoko and Nathan Lerner, found over 30 000 pages of writing and 300 paintings in his apartment. Not only did this discovery save Henry Darger’s life’s work from destruction, it also changed the Lerners’ life forever. In this episode, Philippe Cohen Solal invites Kiyoko Lerner to reminisce about her former tenant, the uncovering of his art and to reflect on the many ways it impacted her and her late husband’s lives. Betsy Fuchs, who used to be Henry Darger’s neighbor also joins the discussion.

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel.

Excerpts of “History of My life” by Henry Darger told by Geoffrey Carey

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover. 

Trailer

A self-taught writer and visual artist, Henry Darger was a man with an extremely prolific, yet secretive career. His life’s work was almost lost, discovered by his landlords only months before he died. Philippe Cohen Solal introduces OUTSIDER, the amazing story of Henry Darger, a seven-part podcast series about Henry Darger, his life, his art and his legacy. 

This podcast series was created by Philippe Cohen Solal, written by Clémentine Spiler and produced by César Depouilly for ¡Ya Basta! Records. Illustration : Gabriel Jacquel. Narrated by Geoffrey Carey.

OUTSIDER is an album by Philippe Cohen Solal & Mike Lindsay featuring Hannah Peel and Adam Glover.