Ubu Roi — wood cut by Alfred Jarry

King Ubu is a figure conjured by the French artist Alfred Jarry, who led the way to the DADA movement, just before the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

In Ubu, the illusion of grandeur was taken to the absurd limit.  The French, of course, were lucky to have taken the lead on the way toward a system of government that gives voice and power to ordinary people. The absurdity of a single person being in charge of the well-being of an entire country was self-evident in France at Alfred Jarry’s time, but this didn’t stop England, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands, Austria, Prussia, Italy, Spain from keeping monarchy alive with a figure head as powerless ornament.

In fact, the very idea of a single person having a claim on liberty and personal autonomy of others, considered “subjects,” has been laid to rest long time ago. If we want to attach a date, then the French Revolution comes handy, but as always, philosophers and artists have been centuries ahead. If you listen to Shakespeare you find biting commentary on the whims of potentates, their pomposity and the justification of their reign as divine.

For some reason the king as a theme occupied my fantasy a lot when I did my forays into art, with collages and drawings. We are all first confronted with the idea of “King” in fairy tales, or when we hear about the strange ceremonies in countries that have not been given the final fuck-off by the masses.  For young children who encounter a king or queen in fairy tales, they immediately understand their reign as an extrapolation of the vast, seemingly unrestricted powers of their parents.  For a few years this seems part of the natural order in the world they grow up in, until it disappears along with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a lovely story with “a broad, dual audience, appealing to both children and adults due to its deceptively simple story and profound, universal themes about life, loss, and imagination” (Google AI).  But there are pieces of satire: the Little Prince claims he has the power to make the sun rise and set, but only at particular times of the day.  It is the minuscule leftover of power of a king stripped of all authority long ago, but keeping on his boisterous claim of control over his empire and the workings of the world.  As such it reminds us of Trump’s habit of interceding at the last moment in a peace deal that is close to complete, and then claiming credit, as in the recent negotiations between India and Pakistan.

King George III – Getty Images

King George III in all his madness is well known from the Hamilton play. Following The Acts of Union 1707 which solidified parliamentary rule in England, we know the emptiness of his delirious declarations:

(You’ll Be Back, from HAMILTON)

“You say/the price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay.
You cry/in your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by.
Why so sad?/Remember we made an arrangement when you went away,
now you’re making me mad.
Remember, despite our estrangement, I’m your man./You’ll be back.
Soon you’ll see./You’ll remember you belong to me.
You’ll be back./Time will tell./You’ll remember that I served you well.
Oceans rise,/empires fall,
we have seen each other through it all,
and when push/comes to shove,/I will send a fully armed battalion
to remind you of my love!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da,
Da da dat dat da…
You say our love is draining and you can’t go on.
You’ll be the one complaining when I am gone…
And no, don’t change the subject
cuz you’re my favorite subject.
My sweet, submissive subject,
my loyal, royal subject,
forever and ever and ever and ever and ever…
You’ll be back,
like before.
I will fight the fight and win the war
for your love,
for your praise,
and I’ll love you till my dying days.
When you’re gone
I’ll go mad,
so don’t throw away this thing we had.
Cuz when push comes to shove,
I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat—”

“Mighty King” — collage by J. Frank 1967

Here are two examples of my art.  There is obviously no anticipation of the ludicrous and at the same time terrifying situation the MAGA movement has put us in. The framed “Mighty King” above and below has stunted feathers for arms, making the art of flying (and thus following the exalted dreams of the potentate) extremely improbable.  The “King with Scepter” at the bottom has a transistor board as a body, illustrating the comic attempts to reconcile the idea of royalty with the modern age. The head and pair of eyes are suspended on springs, so that the tiniest vibration causes the head to nod and the eyes to shift.

“Mighty King” — collage (detail)  by J. Frank  1967

“King with Scepter” — 3D collage by J. Frank  ~1973

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