Henry Darger

One of my favorite artists ever is 20th-century outsider/self-taught artist Henry Darger. He worked with collage and watercolor and created his amazingly imaginative and striking pieces with tracings and clippings from everything from children's coloring books to local newspaper ads to religious images. He created an entire world for his "Vivian Girls" including a 15,000 page manuscript that chronicled their story. His work is a bit trendy right now (see Vivian girls tattoo here), but really deserves a lot more serious attention. Anyway, if you're in New York, you must go see the Darger collection at the American Folk Art Museum. If you want to learn more about his heartbreaking life and art, then rent the documentary In The Realms of the Unreal.