‘It’s meant to be an infantile world, in order to make us believe that the adults are elsewhere, in the ‘real world’, and to conceal the fact that real childishness is everywhere, particularly among those adults who go there to act the child in order to foster illusions of their real childishness.’

Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulations

I have chosen to look at the work of George Condo in reference to this quote and in particular his painting of ‘Skinny Jim’.

Firstly, I notice a link between the childish ideals of both the painting and the quote. However on closer inspection, both have elements of a sinister quality. Skinny Jim, a clown, reminds the viewer of children’s parties and infantile entertainment, but his face is contorted to seem bizarre and grotesque. An expression which would no doubt scare a small child. Similarly, Disneyland creates an environment for children to thrive on the imaginary, yet the warmth and affection of the park is only a simulation of a make-believe world.

I would also argue that both create a false sense of security to the viewer or visitor. In addition to the facial expression, Skinny Jim holds a lit cigarette in his hand, perhaps not immediately recognised but again making him less of a childish figure and more of a threatening presence. Likewise, a first impression of Disneyland may be positive however, perhaps the draw of the park is not what it offers on the inside, but an escape from the ‘real’ world on the outside. As also stated by Baudrillard, ‘You park outside, queue up inside, and are totally abandoned at the exit’, suggests that Disneyland is not a friendly place, but designed out of greed.

Finally, it would seem that Disneyland also attracts adults to revel in its childlike fantasies, as mentioned in my chosen quote. In contrast, the childlike figure in the opposite case seems to be George Condo himself in his relentless reproduction of distorted individuals. As written in the Sunday Telegraph (6^th November 2011) of the Hayward Gallery’s retrospective, ‘the show presents and ever-changing fairground gallery of enigmatic grotesques’, which in turn could also refer to Disneyland itself.