La vie sans histoire de James Castle par Luc Vezin

Abstract

Reviewed by: La vie sans histoire de James Castle par Luc Vezin William Cloonan Vezin, Luc. La vie sans histoire de James Castle. Arléa, 2022. ISBN 978-2-36308-311-1. Pp. 260. Toward the end of Vezin's novel, the author cites his subject's tombstone inscription, "C. James Castle, September 25, 1900–October 27, 1977," and then remarks: "Sa postérité s'ouvrit sur une double erreur" (203). The errors here are slight. The real name was James C. Castle and he was born in 1899, but these minor mistakes point to a larger misapprehension concerning Castle's life and achievements, and it is partially for this reason that the novel was written. James Castle was born deaf in a little town in Idaho. He could only make guttural noises and laugh, sounds that usually unsettled people in his vicinity. He was uncouth, often dirty and in adulthood a chain smoker. He drew on scraps of paper (empty cigarette packs, labels of various sorts) using soot he moistened with spit. His subjects were his home, his region, and occasionally himself. Yet through a series of unlikely circumstances, toward the end of his life Castle was recognized as an important American artist whose work was sought by major museums and collectors. Vezin describes him at one gallery opening, smiling like a child and pointing to his drawings. A life like this is ripe for legends and sentimentality, most of which Vezin debunks. Castle did not have a particularly unhappy childhood, although he was occasionally the butt of mockery by kids who made fun of the "Dummy." He was not sent home from a school for the deaf and dumb with a note saying he was uneducable. He had in fact his family's support if not always understanding, and it was a nephew who spearheaded the effort to get recognition for "Uncle Jim." The nephew's initially timid, but consistent attempts to attract attention to his uncle's work, slowly paid off. Castle began to appear in galleries, at times with success and at other moments to indifference, but his drawings and small mud sculptures began to catch on and even sell. Without realizing it, Castle became famous. Vezin deftly describes the comportment and motives of the artist's admirers and detractors, but he avoids, probably correctly, trying to enter into Castle's mind and imagine what the artist thought. James Castle was a phenomenon, an American original; Vezin respects his achievements, but allows the mystery of his creative process to remain just that, a mystery. This novel tells an amazing story without sensationalism or bathos. It is unfortunate, but probably due to financial exigency, that examples of his work could not be included in the text. Based on the untitled figure on the book's cover, Castle's creations would seem to fall into the category of art brut, best associated in France with Jean DuBuffet (1901–1985). Vezin is a professional art historian; he might have chosen to write a scholarly monograph, but by opting for fiction, he has retained the basic facts while deepening the perplexity surrounding the origins and impetus of James Castle's art. [End Page 252] William Cloonan Florida State University, emeritus Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French