Royal Robertson
Encyclopedia
Royal Robertson also known as the self-proclaimed Prophet Royal Robertson, was an American artist.
on 21 October 1936, Robertson later moved to Baldwin, Louisiana
. He spent almost his entire life in Louisiana. Robertson left school having completed the eighth grade
. In his late teens he apprenticed as a sign painter and traveled to the West coast in his early 20s working as a field hand and sign painter. He returned to Louisiana in the 1950s to care for his mother where he continued to work as a sign painter. He married Adell Brent in 1955 and they had eleven children. Their marriage ended after 19 years when Adell left him for another man, moved to Texas taking their children with her, and became a minister.
through complex numerological
formulas and warned him about the dangers of adultery and fornication led Robertson to believe that he was a victim of a global female conspiracy. He believed that his ex-wife's betrayal would be the cause of the cataclysmic destruction of humanity, and that his art was divinely sanctioned. According to social anthropologist Frédéric Allamel, Robertson saw himself as a patriarch in search of a new Zion and a prophet whose legacy would consist of his apocryphal work. He identitied himself as "Libra Patriarch Prophet Lord Archbishop Apostle Visionary Mystic Psychic Saint Royal Robertson". Robertson was a self-taught artist with no formal training although according to Paul Arnett, a writer on African American vernacular art of the American South, Robertson took a correspondence course in art.
and there are many references to it in his work together with references to "girlie magazines", comic strip
s and science fiction
. He was preoccupied with numerology
and biblical prophecies
of the End of Days from the Book of Revelation
. Frequent themes included images of aliens and their spaceships, Bible verses and religious references, fire breathing, godzilla
-like monsters, snakes, architectural drawings of houses and temples in futuristic cities, superheroes, and portraits of Adell often identified with Jezebel
and other Amazon-like "harlots". His colorful drawings often included rambling, judgmental, ranting texts, sometimes in comic book-like speech balloons, about "adulterous whores" and unfaithful spouses. He frequently referenced precise and painful moments in his life, particularly his wife's unfaithfulness to him and produced calendars chronicling memories of his marriage in short journal notations scribbled in each date's block. Much of his work included images that conveyed a sense of artist pitted against the forces of evil. His works were often double sided and when he signed pieces, he would add "Prophet" to the front of his name, or alternatively "Patriarch".
in August 1992. Two collectors helped him file papers with the federal government to recover from his losses.
, Mississippi Museum of Art, the University Art Museum
, Lafayette, the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, the American Visionary Art Museum
and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont.
Robertson died suddenly in 1997.
and Ike Morgan.
by American artist Sufjan Stevens
is a reference to the work of Robertson. Robertson's work is used for the cover and interior design of the album, as well as for the supporting tour, where his imagery is animated synchronously with the live music. The album's thematic and formal content reflects and responds to Robertson's work and circumstances, including themes like the apocalypse, prophecy, and internal messiness.
Early life and marriage
Born in St. Helena Parish, LouisianaSt. Helena Parish, Louisiana
St. Helena Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Greensburg. As of 2000, its population was 10,525.St. Helena Parish is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Baton Rouge–Pierre Part Combined Statistical Area.-History:For the past...
on 21 October 1936, Robertson later moved to Baldwin, Louisiana
Baldwin, Louisiana
Baldwin is a town in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,497 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area....
. He spent almost his entire life in Louisiana. Robertson left school having completed the eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
. In his late teens he apprenticed as a sign painter and traveled to the West coast in his early 20s working as a field hand and sign painter. He returned to Louisiana in the 1950s to care for his mother where he continued to work as a sign painter. He married Adell Brent in 1955 and they had eleven children. Their marriage ended after 19 years when Adell left him for another man, moved to Texas taking their children with her, and became a minister.
Works
Robertson remained in Louisiana after his marriage ended and became a recluse. He was largely scorned by his neighbors and was overcome by misogynistic rage towards his former wife and women in general. Robertson suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and claimed to have had his first vision, a futuristic vision of a space ship with God as driver, when he was fourteen. When his marriage ended he began to record his visions in his imagery and writings. Numerous hallucinatory visions of space travel where aliens predicted the End of DaysEnd of Days
End of Days is a 1999 American action horror thriller film directed by Peter Hyams starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Tunney, Rod Steiger, Kevin Pollak, CCH Pounder, Udo Kier and Gabriel Byrne as Satan...
through complex numerological
formulas and warned him about the dangers of adultery and fornication led Robertson to believe that he was a victim of a global female conspiracy. He believed that his ex-wife's betrayal would be the cause of the cataclysmic destruction of humanity, and that his art was divinely sanctioned. According to social anthropologist Frédéric Allamel, Robertson saw himself as a patriarch in search of a new Zion and a prophet whose legacy would consist of his apocryphal work. He identitied himself as "Libra Patriarch Prophet Lord Archbishop Apostle Visionary Mystic Psychic Saint Royal Robertson". Robertson was a self-taught artist with no formal training although according to Paul Arnett, a writer on African American vernacular art of the American South, Robertson took a correspondence course in art.
Materials and themes
Robertson worked on materials like poster board and paper or wood using magic markers, tempera paint, colored pencils, ball point pens and glitter. He studied the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and there are many references to it in his work together with references to "girlie magazines", comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. He was preoccupied with numerology
Numerology
Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...
and biblical prophecies
Bible prophecy
Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy is the prediction of future events based on the action, function, or faculty of a prophet. Such passages are widely distributed throughout the Bible, but those most often cited are from Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24, Matthew 25, and Revelation.Believers in biblical...
of the End of Days from the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
. Frequent themes included images of aliens and their spaceships, Bible verses and religious references, fire breathing, godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
-like monsters, snakes, architectural drawings of houses and temples in futuristic cities, superheroes, and portraits of Adell often identified with Jezebel
Jezebel
Jezebel may refer to:* Jezebel, wife of King Ahab*Jezebel, in the Book of Revelation 2:20 a prophetess in the church of Thyatira* Jezebel , starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda* Jezebel , a blog aimed at women...
and other Amazon-like "harlots". His colorful drawings often included rambling, judgmental, ranting texts, sometimes in comic book-like speech balloons, about "adulterous whores" and unfaithful spouses. He frequently referenced precise and painful moments in his life, particularly his wife's unfaithfulness to him and produced calendars chronicling memories of his marriage in short journal notations scribbled in each date's block. Much of his work included images that conveyed a sense of artist pitted against the forces of evil. His works were often double sided and when he signed pieces, he would add "Prophet" to the front of his name, or alternatively "Patriarch".
Home
Robertson's home and yard were decorated with hundreds of his signs, drawings, calendars and shrines. The exterior was decorated with a variety of painted and rotating signs including warnings that "whores" and "bastards" should stay away and misogynistic messages denouncing "bad" women often addressed to his ex-wife Adell. The interior was decorated with his drawings pinned to every available wall. Many drawings inside his home were of his ex-wife and the interior included a number of shrines dedicated to her. According to Allamel, Robertson developed a "complicated spatial ritualization" before he would allow visitors into his "sacred/profane inner space". His home was destroyed by Hurricane AndrewHurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
in August 1992. Two collectors helped him file papers with the federal government to recover from his losses.
Exhibitions and collections
His work has been featured in many exhibitions and a number of works are held permanent collections including the Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, Mississippi Museum of Art, the University Art Museum
Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum is a museum located in Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1964, Lafayette businessman and philanthropist, Maurice Heymann donated to the University of Southwestern Louisiana , now University of Louisiana at Lafayette, three-acres of land located on the corner...
, Lafayette, the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, the American Visionary Art Museum
American Visionary Art Museum
The American Visionary Art Museum is an art museum located in the Federal Hill neighborhood at 800 Key Highway in Baltimore, Maryland and that specializes in the preservation and display of visionary art...
and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont.
Robertson died suddenly in 1997.
Film
In 2009, Scott Ogden and Malcolm Hearn produced the documentary Make that examined the lives and art-making techniques of Robertson and self-taught artists Hawkins Bolden, Judith ScottJudith Scott
Judith Scott was an internationally renowned American fiber artist. She was a fraternal twin to Joyce Scott, and she was born profoundly deaf, mute, and with Down syndrome...
and Ike Morgan.
Cultural references
The title of the 2010 album The Age of AdzThe Age of Adz
The Age of Adz is a 2010 album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on October 12, 2010 by Asthmatic Kitty Records. It is Stevens' sixth studio album and his first song-based full length album in five years, since the release of Illinois in 2005.The album features a heavy use...
by American artist Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
is a reference to the work of Robertson. Robertson's work is used for the cover and interior design of the album, as well as for the supporting tour, where his imagery is animated synchronously with the live music. The album's thematic and formal content reflects and responds to Robertson's work and circumstances, including themes like the apocalypse, prophecy, and internal messiness.