Charles Dellschau - Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis

Dellschau is regarded as one of America's earliest visionary artists (sometimes also referred to as "outsider art"). His work is testimony to the sense of optimism that new technologies have when they change the way people see the world. Flight, up until that time, had been a metaphor for man's pathos - or his inability to accomplish what he was not meant to. Dellschau's work is also remarkable in that it uses the medium of watercolor brilliantly, often using water as the medium with a subtle tint of color.

The book The Secrets of Dellschau by Dennis Crenshaw and Pete Navarro tells the story of Dellschau and of the secrets the authors write that he hid within his artwork. Pete Navarro spent 27 years studying Dellschau's drawings and writings. According to Navarro, the story of the Sonora Aero Club and their achievements had been cleverly hidden by Dellschau in his drawings using several codes and unconnected sentences hidden throughout the work. Thus, one would have to see ALL of the Dellschaus to understand the narrative.

Dellschau's work shows the influence of circus banner painting, in its use of centralized subjects and ornamental borders, and often possesses a jewel-like quality. Reviewing the 1998 Ricco Maresca exhibition, the New York Times said:

“

…his images define a fleet of craft that, at their most recognizable, suggest eccentric balloons or dirigibles, or flying carriages, and sometimes include pilots and passengers. Framed by further stripes, as well as words, names and numbers, the drawings intimate a universe almost as elaborate as Rizzoli's in a style reminiscent of Monty Python.

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It is believed that Dellschau began his airship drawings shortly after a wave of sightings of "mystery airships" in 1896-1897. The nature of the airship sightings is controversial to this day. The theory that Dellschau, the Sonora Aero Club, and the airship sightings of 1896-97 were connected is explored in Crenshaw and Navarro's book, the Secrets of Dellschau.