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The Musée de l'Imaginaire was the creation of Raymond Dreux. Born in 1928 near Tours, France, he led a nomadic life travelling with his bookseller parents, often living in gypsy camps. As a young man he worked as a mason for other artists, which helped him to discover and develop his own creativity, making his first sculptures in terracotta in 1950. From 1970 to 1978 he lived at Fox-Amphoux in the Var, then at Fanjeaux in the Aude, where his work expanded to include paintings, constructions of found objects, and especially models in terracotta. In 1985, at Laurac le Grand in the Aude, he created the Musée de l'Imaginaire; a place to show the works of his friends and to share the things he loved which defied easy categorisation or labels. Between 1985 and 2004 he and his wife Sonja lived in La Gaude in the Var department, and he spent a few months each year at the museum. |
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I met Raymond quite by chance in August 2000, while sitting in the town square in Fanjeaux waiting for a friend. I noticed a wild looking old guy with long frizzy hair and beard meandering up the road towards me. He approached, looked at me and asked (actually it was more of a statement than a question): "You're an artist!" I was a little stunned and said "well...yes..." at which he immediately sat down next to me and began excitedly describing his museum, inviting me to come have a look. He took me in his little pickup to the nearby tiny village Laurac le Grand, and led me to an intruiging looking faded green door decorated with bits of metal and enamel. I didn't know what to expect, or rather I guess I wasn't really expecting much; perhaps a room with a few so-so paintings, but when he opened that door it was more like entering into another world! Even the walls and doorways, even the toilet...were works of art thanks to Raymond's handiwork with plaster and masonry. I won't try to describe it, you can look at the photos to get some idea. I was completely amazed and immediately wanted to make a website about it, which in turn fired up Raymond's already overflowing enthusiasm. I showed him my own art and he especially liked the erotic pieces. We talked about setting up a room in the museum which would feature my erotica. Something we never managed to do... Our friend Raymond died in July 2004. All his life he'd never gone to doctors, and only did so when he knew something was seriously wrong...when it was too late. He was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the prostate and bladder and died shortly thereafter. I spoke to him by telephone at his home in La Gaude a few days before he died and he was as enthustiastic as ever, and happy to know we were still photographing every inch of the museum, so that whatever happened, it would live on at least in photos, and be seen and known by people around the world on the internet.To make a long story short: after his death the buildings which housed the museum had to be sold. His wife Sonja, friends and various groups of local people tried to raise enough money to buy the buildings, or to interest some art foundation or another to help preserve it, but to no avail; it was finally sold to a private family in 2006. All the art was removed and stored in a nearby garage, and some of it has come to live at our house. The new owners decided to completely re-do the inside of the buildings, stripping it down to a bare skeleton...and so now nothing remains of Raymond's fantastic creation except memories and photographs. |
| Between 2000 and 2006, Maggie Thomas and I made over 20,000 photographs of the museum, and I am scanning Raymond's vast collections of old postcards and other things which I'll add to
the site as time allows. Maggie has plans to make a DVD rom 3-D "virtual museum" which may take several years to complete. Meanwhile, enjoy this website, which I hope gives some idea of what it was
like to wander about this fabulous, inspiring place, discovering something new with every visit. Bob Drake, November 2007.  |
 Maggie Thomas and Raymond Dreux, October 2003. |
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