“A Short Film about Royal Robertson, Who was Insane, but For Very Good Reasons”

The most insane artists are typically the most fascinating. Proof: one of the

most famous artists of the 19th century, Vincent Van Gogh, cut off his own ear.

Perhaps people are merely fascinated by the erratic behavior of outsider artists. Or

perhaps outsider art allows for voyeurism among the general public – a glimpse into

an unhealthy or deranged mind, a freedom from the rigors of everyday existence.

And as much as we wouldn’t like to admit it, every one of us is at least a little bit

insane, and outsider art appeals to us because it touches upon and acknowledges

this insanity.

The Story of Royal Robertson

Royal Robertson was a relatively unknown outsider artist from St. Helena’s

Parish, Louisiana.

These pictures show how this town is very rural and kind of derelict/abandoned

and left behind. This is a terrific visual metaphor for Royal and his life. Additionally,

these images give a great sense of place and setting for the story. Royal was also a

paranoid schizophrenic. At the age of fourteen, he had his first vision. He saw a

futuristic UFO, with what he described as God as the pilot. The Biblical and science-

fictional aspects of this first vision would have quite an impact on themes in his later

artwork.

As a young man, Royal got a few jobs as a sign painter, exercising his artistic

predilections, before he returned home to care for his mother.

In 1955, Royal married Adell Brent, who would be his wife for 19 years and

the mother of his eleven children. The marriage ended when Adell left Royal for

another man, and took the children with her. Following this betrayal by Adell,

Royal’s artistic focus changed dramatically. No longer content with being a sign

painter, Royal began recording the complex visions he had through his artwork.

Many of his pieces are done in a cartoonish, comic book style, complete with word

balloons and vivid colors done with markers.

This piece depicts Royal’s madness with the rambling, disjointed texts that

border the piece – “Fornicators & Adulterers Killed Everybodys”, “Towns In Sleeps

Cities Went Sinkin.” This latter statement seems to be a call to arms for people to

wake up and avoid the apocalypse. This is in service of Royal’s claims (discussed

below) that he is a prophet.

Many of Royal’s visions (and subsequent artwork) regard alien visitors who

warn of the infidelities of women (and Adell in particular) and the oncoming

Apocalypse. His artwork is often fragmented and includes rambling, ranting

accompanying texts. Both of these trademarks can be attributed to Royal’s madness,

and they separate Royal’s work from any other artist’s. Calendars also feature

prominently in Royal’s body of work, as he was obsessed with numerology and

determining the exact moment of the Apocalypse.

Royal considered himself a Prophet, and frequently labeled himself as such

when he signed artwork. He legitimately considered his visions to be prophecies

that needed to be avoided, making his work all the more appealing and disturbing.

He lived as a recluse in Louisiana until his death in 1997. The people of his town all

thought him insane, and he was quite aware of their perceptions of him.

This piece (left pic) seems to be a self-portrait by Royal. It shows that he is not

oblivious to people’s opinions of him. On the left margin, Royal list abuses people

have done to him – including having bottles and rocks thrown at him and being shot

at. He gives no reason as to why these things have occurred to him, so perhaps they

are merely imaginary events resulting from his schizophrenia. He does say that the

town folks call him a “crazy painter”, which seems likely enough. Understanding

Royal’s frame of mind and his interpretations of real-world events will be essential

to having the audience empathize with him.

Royal’s awareness of people’s thoughts about him did not keep him from

adorning his lawn with hundreds of signs warning against the intrusion of whores

and dope men and adulterous wives named Adell (right pic). These signs, and the

exterior of the house in general, demonstrate the image of himself that Royal

projects to the outside world. It seems that Royal’s house is his haven and sanctuary

from the outside world, which, in his mind, is so eager to harm him. None of these

signs are welcoming, and they transmit a visual equivalent to how Royal secludes

himself from society.

Inside the house, Royal kept a series of shrines dedicated to his wife.

Whether these are laudatory or defamatory is unclear, but regardless, they are

indicative that he could not escape his intense feelings for her. This aspect of Royal’s

life makes him a wonderfully conflicted character. On one hand, the divorce from his

wife had driven him into the farthest depths of insanity. On the other hand, he still

deeply loved her, and she was probably the only person who could save him from

himself. The artwork and lifestyle he had chosen and lived was fundamentally

counterproductive to this end.

A Short Film

During my research, I have found startlingly little information about how

Adell and her 11 children responded to this sort of exposure. This research has left

me with many questions: How did Adell and her kids feel about Royal? Did they

communicate with him? Did they try to make amends? Did Royal stay in contact

with his kids? What caused Adell to leave Royal? Were there intense signs of Royal’s

madness evident during their 19-year marriage? The only information I could find is

that at the time of his death, Royal was in the process of reconciling with two of his

children. This seems to confirm the fact that there were continued hostilities during

the majority of his life, and that the children were well aware of their father and his

lifestyle.

My proposal for this short documentary feature is half biography, half

investigation. I want to show Royal’s life and lifestyle alongside his artwork and

madness, because by their very nature they are fascinating, interesting, and

incredibly bizarre. The other half of the documentary will focus on Royal’s children

(his wife Adell died shortly after him) and their reactions and relationship to their

eccentric father. This would include a trip to Royal’s home (which, though I doubt

this is the actual case, in my ideal documentary world would exist as a museum

dedicated to his artwork), including examinations of much of his artwork and how

they relate to his visions and illness.

Royal’s work has garnered recent critical attention, and his artwork has been shown

at exhibitions in renowned museums, including the Smithsonian. For the purposes

of my documentary, I think it makes more sense to have Royal’s home act as the site

that his children travel to in order to come to terms with their father’s life. It is more

personal and cinematically more dramatic.

Structure

First Act

The documentary would open as Royal, in the process of trying to reconcile

with two if his children, dies. It will then be revealed just what he was trying to

reconcile for – his insanity and the things he thought about their mother. With the

audience hooked by this point, I will retrace and go back to Royal’s childhood. The

first act will end with the first of Royal’s visions, and the implications this will have

on his later life.

Second Act

The second act will begin with Royal’s marriage to Adell, and will then

proceed to discuss his children’s memories of Royal before the divorce. The

documentary will next focus on when Adell leaves Royal for another man and takes

the children with her. The children will reflect on their move to Texas and on Adell’s

new husband. Just as royal’s life shifted to focus on his visions and artwork at this

point, so too will the documentary. Psychologists and other analysts will attempt to

decipher Royal’s work from this period. Additionally, I think it would be helpful to

present a typical “day in the life” of Royal, in order to portray his daily musings and

habits, and to show how he lived. This will also hopefully present a more

sympathetic view of Royal, allowing the audience to empathize with him.

Third Act

In the final act, Royal’s children will go to his house to look at his artwork and

the remnants of his life. My hope is that following this, they will be able to reconcile

with their father’s work and lifestyle. After this will follow a more upbeat, universal

epilogue. An exhibition celebrating Royal’s work will be held at the Smithsonian, and

Royal’s children will be in attendance.

Audience

My hope is that this documentary will appeal to a large group of people.

Because the main subject is art, it should appeal to other artists (of all mediums,

including artists working with music and film) and people whom like art. The piece

would be a portrait of man insane, so in that regard it should also appeal to

psychologists and people interested in mental illnesses. Royal’s sci-fi elements and

cartoonish leanings make his work attractive to fans of both of these genres as well.

The documentary also deals with more universal themes, such as love and divorce,

which are instantly recognizable and relatable. The fact that this is not a typical

example of either makes the subject all the more thrilling.

Subject

My subject in this documentary will be twofold. On one hand, there is Royal

and his artwork. His mental state and lifestyle must be presented so that the

audience has a good idea of what an outsider artist is and how they differ from

regular artists.

On the other hand, the other subject would be Royal’s children. I would interview all

of his children, but try to focus particularly on the feelings and perspectives of a few

of them. I would definitely want to focus on the two who attempted to make amends

with Royal before he died. I would also try to focus on two of the children less

enthusiastic about forgiving him, in order to provide a balance.

Point of View

By approaching this documentary with both objective and analytical

intentions, I think that I could develop a successful documentary that investigates

the relationship between artists and their mental states while concurrently

developing an investigation of artists and their relationship with their world and

how their artwork affects this relationship.

My intention in remaining objective with my portrayal of Royal’s life is to

allow the material to speak for itself. Royal was a mentally disturbed individual who

was deeply affected by the betrayal of his wife, who he loved dearly. If I took sides

with Royal, it might gloss over the already beautiful and dark story. If I took sides

with Royal’s children and wife, then I run the risk of portraying Royal as nothing

more than a mere madman filled with hate.

Impact

The impact I hope to have with this documentary is to intrigue people into

approaching artwork analytically, and looking at the effects that art can have on

both the artist’s lives and the lives of people the artist knows. Secondly, I hope this

documentary serves to inform people about Royal Robertson and his body of work.

His work is absorbing and interesting because I think it holds more water when you

know his background. One can look at the Mona Lisa and appreciate it for its

sublime beauty, but one must know who Adell is and why Royal believes himself

wronged to appreciate one of his pieces.