Images might say a thousand words. Determining exactly what they're saying depends on who one asks.
Words can brand the creative person, who conjured or captured them. Author Jim Elledge's book, HENRY DARGER, THROWAWAY BOY: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist, ( published by Overlook Press ) chronicles the life of late gay Chicago artist Henry Darger.
Darger died in 1973. His dark art prompted people to project meanings on his creations and pass judgment on him.
Elledge recalled seeing a Darger painting that featured girls with penises. Critics wrote off Darger as a pedophile or killer, while Elledge, a Kennesaw State University English professor, got a different vibe.
"When there's no evidence, it's pretty drastic. It was reason enough to spend 10 plus years to research and write the book," he said.
Elledge initially planned to write an essay about Darger's Girls With Penises.
A desire to write a book critiquing Darger's art burned until Elledge realized he knew nothing about art. So, Elledge settled on writing Darger's biography.
"He was very obsessive about these images. They appear over and over … in about half of his paintings," he said.
The exact meaning of images of abused children and "girls with penises" ( better known as Vivian Girls ) isn't known. However, Elledge offers an educated guess.
"It's not really girls that he's actually thinking about, but Vivian belles, fairies, pansies, queers, or queens."
Elledge's research revealed Darger's art delved into a sad and horrific period in his life.
Darger's father sent the then-12-year-old to the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children in Nov. 1904 in Lincoln, Ill. The younger Darger had been masturbating since age 6.
Elledge even found the asylum application. In it, the elder Darger said Henry engaged in "self-abuse."
He was at the asylum until he ran away in 1909. Darger's father died, while he was confined. Elledge said his father's decision didn't dampen the younger Darger's view of him.
"He wrote an autobiography, when he was in his 70s. He only had good things to say," Elledge said. "My guess is that nobody ever told him. People did a lot of things to him like that and never explained anything."
Physicians, as early as 1850, believed masturbation was a symptom of homosexuality or "masturbic insanity," according to Elledge. That myth was prevalent until the 1940s. Castration was considered one of the alleged cures.
The author discovered this in a 1,000-page report, resulting from state legislature committee probe of the asylum, which opened several cans of worms.
"That investigation sort of set off other investigations," Elledge said. "That ended up being key to understanding his paintings."
Investigation testimony included asylum inmates noting that most boys who were confined weren't mentally disabled. Some were promiscuous. Some were truants.
And, some were criminals. Other inmates included older men, who couldn't be accommodated by the state's prisons. Elledge recalled another vivid image from Darger's paintings.
"There are images of the individual children being sliced open by adults," Elledge said.
With that said, Darger didn't just express himself with a paintbrush. He used the power of the pen, writing several novels.
Elledge said his writing provided a window into his troubled childhood. In one novel, he said Darger shares a conversation between two children: Whenever a girl is raped, she is ripped open.
"What Darger was painting [and writing] were his own experiences," Elledge said. "It has given me a huge appreciation for Darger as a human being."
Essentially, according to Elledge, Darger's novels and art became metaphors for his trials and tribulations. Though the history continued haunting him, his creations allowed Darger to "become victorious" over his demons.
"He didn't let his past get in the way of his need to write and paint," Elledge said.
Neighbor David Berglund made the Darger discoveries. His landlord tapped Berglund to clean out the hoarding artist and writer's abode.
Apparently, fulfilling the need to create didn't involve sharing his work. Elledge believes Darger never exhibited or sold any of his work. Dusty diaries and journalslying around his apartment at 851 W. Webster St.contained his writings.
Darger's debut exhibit occurred in 1977, four years after his death.
"Basically, it's an accident that we even know about Henry Darger," Elledge said.
Darger lived at 851 W. Webster St. from the fall of 1932 ( after moving from 1035 W. Webster St. in 1921 ) until he entered a nursing home shortly before his death. Despite his graphic images, horrendous childhood, Elledge learned Darger wasn't a hermit or a pedophile.
"I hope people come away [with the fact] that he wasn't anything from the sort," Elledge said.
Darger and William Schloeder shared a nearly 50-year relationship. That really resonated with Elledge.
"He was not only loved, but loved another person," he said. "I felt like uncovered something really important."