Glossographia #3, Graphite, gesso, ink, collage, and colored pencil on paper. 22 × 30 inches, 1962.
The title of this series of drawings comes from an academic tome of terminology and etymology by Thomas Blount (1618–1679). Naughton saw her drawing practice as a means to catalog and articulate the varying ideas and emotions she had trouble communicating through her sculptural objects. It seems fitting that these paper-based works would take on a titling scheme associated with a book that offered definitions of esoteric words and phrases.
Imogen Naughton (d.b.a Caledonia): 1921(?) - ???
Pink Acolyte Service: 1950-64.
The 3rd Pink Acolyte, Imogen Naughton, was better known by her chosen mononym Caledonia. Naughton’s life and work are a contradiction; it is not clear whether Imogen Naughton truly existed or was a fabrication of the Pink Acolyte Union during the vacuum created by Johanna Riesenbaum’s unexpected retirement. Brief glimpses of the reality of her existence appears throughout the writings of other acolytes (2nd Acolyte Johanna Riesenbaum and 4th Acolyte Arin, for example,) as well as the existence of physical objects, but no formal records nor photographs of her face exist in any known archives.
Naughton was a sculptor and painter who worked primarily in large scale plaster objects and works on paper. According to what little documentation we have left, all of Naughton’s fully realized sculptures were either lost to time or otherwise destroyed due to improper sealing of the plaster surface before display outdoors, leading them to melt back into a lime slurry. No photographs of her nor her finalized sculptures exist, yet the Luscinia Historical Society claims to have an extensive collection of her sketchbooks, notebooks, and journals.
According to these notebooks, she was first approached by the Terrifying Pink Thing while on a research trip to Scotland where she was aiming to study cultural objects from the Picts. While other international manifestations have been hinted at, Naughton’s account is the first to confirm such a possible phenomenon.
I am still absolutely confounded by last night. It was the eyes that trapped me first. Heart shaped iris and pupil that I found myself captivated by. I was mesmerized and fully in her embrace, yet I desired it. I still do. (Journal Entry dated Nov 2. 1949)
Piecing together Naughton’s life is made further complicated by what appears to be a fluid use of the name Caledonia in place of her given name. Unlike the 4th Acolyte, who utilized various spellings of the same phonetic pronunciation (Aaron), Naughton seemingly randomly chose when to go by Imogen and when to go by Caledonia.
Much of what remains of Naughton’s work allegedly remain un-digitized and uncatalogued in the Enosi Archives at the Luscinia Historical Society. Recent attempts to contact their archivist have been met with silence.