Darger: The Henry Darger Collection at the American Folk Art Museum

Rating:
Summary: 3rd Favorite Darger Book
Review: For sheer size and volume, Henry Darger in the Realms of the Unreal is the best bet. An exhaustive essay into Darger's background and psychology and numerous reproductions, some not in any of the other darger books, all in color. The one drawback of the book is that because it is so big (500+ pages), it doesn't hold together well at the binding and pages start to become loose. But this is an essential Darger book to have.

The other essential Darger book is Henry Darger: Art and Selected Writings. The essay portion wasn't as interesting to me as the Unreality of Being book, but this has just as many reproductions and maybe more. Also the book is a more manageable size, the reproductions seem a little better, and it's a great single volume.

The book from the American Folk Art Museum is much smaller than the other 2 in number of pages, the reproductions seem smaller, and there's even less text than the other two books. However, it is the least expensive by a significant amount making it the "bargain" Darger book. For that reason, it would be a good buy for a casual Darger fan. But if you already have the first two books, this one is too repetitive. If you are a big Darger fan, you should try and make the visit to see the exhibition at the Folk Art Museum in New York. Being able to see them in person is a great experience. The size, colors, texture are almost too much to take in, so many details....they are amazing to look at.

Rating:
Summary: Darger: madman or genius
Review: I must admit that before i picked up this volume, i wasnt certain of the answer to the aforementioned question. I knew about him, had read bits and pieces about him, but did not know the full scope of his talent.

This book allows the reader to see not just his art, but to catch a glimpse of the sheer magnitude of his madness/genius. The art work is brilliantly reproduced (seeing his stack of journals made the book worthwhile for me).

If you are at all interested in seeing the work and a glimpse of the life of one of the outsider art masters, i suggest that you pick up this book at once.