Henry Darger - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Since his death in 1973 and the discovery of his massive opus, and especially since the 1990s, there have been many references in popular culture to Darger's work by other visual artists (including, but not limited to, artists of comics and graphic novels; numerous popular songs; a 1999 book-length poem, Girls on the Run, by John Ashbery; a multi-player online game, SiSSYFiGHT 2000, and a 2004 multimedia piece by choreographer Pat Graney incorporating Darger images. Jesse Kellerman's 2008 novel The Genius took part of its inspiration from Darger's story. These artists have variously drawn from and responded to Darger's artistic style, his themes (especially the Vivian Girls, the young heroines of Darger's massive illustrated novel), and the events in his life.

Jessica Yu's 2004 documentary In the Realms of the Unreal details Darger's life and artworks.

Comic book artist Scott McCloud refers to Darger's work in his book Making Comics, while describing the danger artists encounter in the creation of a character's back-story. McCloud says that complicated narratives can easily spin out of control when too much unseen information is built up around the characters.

Darger and his work have been an inspiration for several music artists. The Vivian Girls are an all-girl indie/punk trio from Brooklyn; "Henry Darger" is a song by Natalie Merchant on her album Motherland, "Vivian Girls" is song by the band Wussy on their album Left for Dead, "The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies" is a song by Sufjan Stevens on his album The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, "Segue: In the Realms of the Unreal" is song by the band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead on their album So Divided, "The Vivian Girls" is a 1979 song by Snakefinger (Philip Lithman Roth) also recorded by the Monks of Doom on their album The Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company, "Vivian girls" is a song by the band Fucked Up on their album Hidden World, "Lost girls" (about Darger's work) is a song by Tilly and the Wall on their album Bottoms and Barrels, and "Henry D." (about Darger) is a song by the band Peter and the Wolf on their album Fireflies. "Vivian Girls" is a song by Minneapolis indie-pop band Walker Kong on their album There Goes the Sun.

Darger is the subject of a radio play, Darger and the Detective, by Mike Walker performed by members of the Chicago-based Steppenwolf Theatre Company for BBC Radio 3.

In The Venture Bros. episode "Self-Medication", on learning the characters of a Lord of the Rings parody are genderless and "stay thirteen forever", Sgt. Hatred responds "What, did Henry Darger write this?"