Darger-ism

Back in December and again in March, we wrote about the influence of the late Chicago outsider artist Henry Darger on contemporary art:

Darger’s influence is easily detected in all the high-school-notebook-doodle-style art around these days. ... But it’s not just Darger’s look. He’s also a touchstone for the return of narrative art – especially the growing body of invented (and often inscrutable) personal mythology art.

It turns out we weren’t the only folks noticing Darger’s influence. The American Folk Art Museum in New York has scheduled an exhibit to open in April 2008 called "Darger-ism: Contemporary Artists and Henry Darger.” The museum reports:

Curator Brooke Davis Anderson will explore how Darger's artwork has influenced and inspired young, contemporary artists working within the academy. Approximately 8 to 12 artists from the United States and abroad will be featured in a visual dialogue with a number of Darger's narrative watercolors from the museum's permanent collection.