The Art Life Of David Lynch part 2
David returned to the United States after his disappointing experiences in Europe. He moved back to Virginia and stayed with a friend since his parents had relocated to California. Taking Fisk's advice, David, already enrolled there, decided to go to Philadelphia and enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Unlike his previous art school experiences, Lynch truly enjoyed his time there, drawing motivation from the vibrant community of serious painters who continually inspired him and others.
Interviews indicate that he found significant inspiration in the city, factories, smoke, railroads, diners, the strangest characters, vivid images of plastic curtains held together with Band-Aids and rags stuffed in broken windows, and the paintings of Francis Bacon, which would later influence his filmmaking. While at the academy, Lynch's works delved into home, body horror, and trauma themes. True to his distinctive style, he revealed the beauty found within the filth, corruption, despair, and violence of urban life, highlighting the interplay between ugliness and beauty. His films frequently examined the darker aspects of human nature and the beauty found within the darkness.
If David hadn't attended PAFA, his iconic movies might never have happened. In 1967, Lynch experienced a pivotal moment in his artistic journey. One evening, while working on a dark garden painting, he had a powerful realization when he felt the wind was spilling out of the canvas and the plants were coming to life. "I'm looking at this and hearing this," he recalled years later, "and I say, 'Oh, a moving painting.' And that was it."
Lynch began dating Peggy Reavey, and they got married in 1967. Their daughter Jennifer was born the following year. They bought a 12-room house in Fairmount for just $3,500, about $32,000 today, due to high crime and poverty.
"We lived cheap, but the city was full of fear. A kid was shot to death down the street. We were robbed twice, had windows shot out, and had a car stolen. Our house was broken into only three days after we moved in. The feeling was so close to extreme danger, and the fear was so intense. There was violence, hate, and filth. But the biggest influence in my whole life was that city."
At the Pennsylvania Academy, Lynch created his first short film, Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times), in 1967. He initially wanted to see his paintings come to life and started exploring animation with artist Bruce Samuelson. When that didn't pan out, he decided to go solo, buying a cheap 16mm camera. He set up in an abandoned room at the academy and spent $150 — a big deal for him at the time — to make the film. He described it as "57 seconds of growth and fire and three seconds of vomit." Lynch showcased it on a loop at the academy's end-of-year exhibit, where it won a joint-first prize with a painting by Noel Mahaffey.
"Six Men Getting Sick" is this one-minute animation featuring a painting by David Lynch, played on a loop six times, with a haunting siren wail in the background. The title, as mentioned in the notes from "The Short Films of David Lynch," hints at its minimal plot. The animation portrays six abstract figures whose insides become visible, revealing colorful substances that seep up to their heads, leading to some pretty intense vomiting.
While the film might not have a traditional plot, critics suggest it serves as an interesting lens into Lynch's narrative style, highlighting our own limited perspectives. You can actually see similarities between this concept and Lynch's first feature film, "Eraserhead," which came out in 1977.
The experimental six men getting sick lead to a commission from one of his fellow students, the wealthy H. Barton Wasserman, who offered him $1,000 (equivalent to $8,800 in 2023) to create a film installation in his home. David Lynch spent $478 on a second-hand Bolex camera to create an animated short. However, when he had the film developed, it turned out blurred and frameless. He called Wasserman to report the disaster, and Wasserman encouraged him to use the remaining funds to make something else, just asking for a print. Lynch decided to try something new by blending animation with live action, resulting in the four-minute short film The Alphabet (1968).
The film features his wife, Peggy, as a character called The Girl, who sings the alphabet while images of horses flash on screen. Tragically, she dies at the end, bleeding heavily across her bed sheets. To enhance the sound, Lynch recorded the sound of Jennifer crying with a broken Uher tape recorder, creating a distorted effect that he felt was especially powerful. He later shared that the inspiration came from a night when Peggy's niece had a bad dream and was mumbling the alphabet in a distressed manner as she slept. That moment sparked the idea for The Alphabet, with the rest just flowing from his subconscious.
