L'Art Brut: Augustin Lesage

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L'Art Brut: Augustin Lesage

French coal miner Augustin Lesage created meticulously detailed, oversized paintings, combining spiritualist theory with vivid, almost glyphic interpretations. First inspired by voices while in his mid-thirties, Lesage would usually divide his oversized canvases with a vertical axis, mirroring each side. He remained a significant force of Art Brut, or "Outsider Art" as it later became known in the UK and United States, although he eventually was able to retire from the mines and devote his life fully to his art. His life, motivations, and creative output closely follow those of his friends and creative peers Ferdinand Cheval and Fleury Joseph Crépin.

   Lesage (1876-1954) was born in Saint-Pierre-les-Auchel, working in a nearby mine at age fourteen and spending four years in the military from 1896-1900. In 1911, he heard voices that told him that he would one day be a painter and, the following year, became involved in spiritualism. His first such predicted painting, three meters by three meters in size, required over two years to complete, since he compulsively worked around his days in the coal mines.

   Over the next few years, Lesage twice interrupted his work at the mine: as a faith healer and, from 1914-16, when he returned to military service. Then, in 1921, the director of the Spiritualist Journal, aware of Lesage's unique talent and leanings, became his patron, finally giving the artist the ability to fully make his art his mission and obsession.

   He eventually exhibited at the Salon des Beaux-Arts and the Salon d'Automne, giving him exposure in Paris; and became active in various psychic institutes. His strangely beautiful images along with his controversial affiliations made him a reluctant celebrity in artistic and scientific circles, as most viewers never knew exactly what to make of his art and how to compartmentalize it.

   When he died in 1954, Lesage left a legacy of over 800 such inspired and identifiable paintings, mostly in private collections. His major works, however, are on permanent exhibit at: Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, Museum of Modern Art Lille Métropole, and the Paris Museum of Modern Art. Although he was indeed prolific, his work has found little viewership or appreciation outside of France and Switzerland.

   Legend suggests that, in 1939, Lesage heard voices prodding him: "when you have painted 300 (more) paintings, that very day the war will end." He set down his brush, having completed the last of the 300, in May of 1945. Mediumistic art indeed!



7 February 2011

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Mark Dylan Sieber's Space

The sandbox is always open, my friends, for those that want to share eclectic musings, surrealist images, and aural delights.
I detect the melody of the written word and can visualize the beat in the song. That's perhaps why I think in ringtones and post in sound-bites.
But, most of all, I celebrate the moments and the small splendors that enrich our soul.
The sandbox here at Marklewood is flanked in the corners by large bronze urns of yellow peonies & azure-blue lobelia. Behind it is a meandering creek lined with ancient willows.
And if we run scarce of provisions, there is always the bait shop down the dirt road.
My spirit navigates freely from that of Pied Piper to bookworm to Lord Fauntleroy to that of a Bohemian crusader. You best pour a healthy cup of coffee or glass of pinot noir.
I am a disengaged designer, scribe, and recidivist currently living in the hinterlands of Raleigh, North Carolina. I strive to be kind and I seek out those moments of hope that indeed refuel my soul. Often, the most potent of inspiration is found in random human connections, unexpected art finds, and the magic that cloaks our world.
And, yes, we have pets here at Marklewood: a dozen at most recent census. I refer to them fondly as the Twelve Noble & Apostolic Pusses, but they are much more than any label or moniker would suggest. All are indeed rescues or their progeny, with five having been elevated to "indoor" status. The other seven serve sentry here in the stillness of an ancient pine woods.
Alas, poor Tartuffe has been missing since May of '10. Legend has it that he has embarked on some grand theatrical adventure, perhaps in New York. But I like to think that his spirit hovers over head.
"I have stretched ropes from steeple to steeple; garlands from window to window; golden chains from star to star, and I dance.” -- Arthur Rimbaud

L'Art Brut: Augustin Lesage

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