Two bishops in a kayak
"I should have asked the punch line but art should stand on its own and when the artist puts a work on display he must abandon it to the viewer’s interpretation."
The bishops in the kayak piece is what caught our attention. It was on the lawn of a home in Bas-Cap-Pelé along with maybe 20 other pieces with a sign in front that said, “Goguen’s Musée de l'Art Brut. Now, they may not have been bishops but we always try to make sense of what we see and these two mannequins had what look to be coconut miters on their heads.
They had other things on, like rain coats and there was a lobster trap perched on the bow, but it was the miters and the black Beatle wigs which made me think of bishops. It was probably a joke and I should have asked the punch line but art should stand on its own and when the artist puts a work on display he must abandon it to the viewer’s interpretation.
Most of Désiré Goguen’s art brut is inscrutable that way. You sort of get the joke, but it doesn’t quite come through, unless there are puns in French that I can’t catch. That’s possible
Andy McDonald of Andy’s Dummy Farm, which is not far away, between Aulac and Cape Tormentine, solved the problem by nailing signs near his dummies telling you what he meant. I don’t remember reading any of them because they mostly seemed to be mean-spirited, political jokes, the kind bitter old men make, and I can’t imagine Désiré Goguen being bitter. I can only imagine Désiré being generous and exuberant and if he doesn’t put up signs explaining his art it’s probably because he wouldn’t think of spoiling it for you. Think what you want, would be his wish.
Proof of Désiré’s exuberance and good nature is his collection of 3,759 (at the time of writing) toy monkeys in his house. I mean, the inside of the house is literally covered with his collection and his only explanation doesn’t explain anything at all. “When my wife was living, I had 19 and she said that was too many.”
He seemed to treat each one like a small child, touching its hand gently or patting its head. He especially enjoyed turning the mechanical ones on and watching with delight as they danced, sang, or worse, both. And there was a huge gorilla sitting on the kitchen floor. “My brother sent me that one from Florida.”
Elaine, who not only had a broken toe but was so hungry she was getting a headache because of our not being able to find a decent place to eat, waited in the car and missed out. Driving away after she said, “You’re smiling." I was. I couldn't help it.
Bas Cap-Pelé play
The litle gas station was yellow and white. The diner was red and long and had rounded corners and a cute little awning on the front. I almost felt like I was back in the 50's when buildings like these were shiny and new. If I was a kid, I would have loved to play there. They put me in a good mood. Read more about Bas-Cap-Pelé...