I'll say right off the bat, no one's tribute to David Lynch is going to top Kyle MacLachlan's, so I won't even try. I'm just here to let out some of my thoughts.
Whenever I'm introduced to an artist's work, I always have this need to know everything about the person behind the art. Usually I'm trying to find something relatable about them, something that makes me feel connected to them (look, we have this thing in common! I can be an artist too!).
Other times, I'm confused by their work, and I want to try and make sense of it (what happened in their lives that made them produce that?). The assumption is that if I learn more about the person, it'll help me understand the art.
When it comes to David Lynch, that second approach sort of unravels. I'm no closer to understanding the art, but the person himself is so fascinating that you can't help but want to fall deeper into his world.
I remember reading David's autobiography Room to Dream and being floored by the fact that his childhood and personal life was nothing like the unsettling, terrifying images in his films. He lived quite a joyful life! He just had this uncanny ability to capture the strange, gut-punching feelings that our subconscious tries to hide from us, the things most of us would shrink away from, and instead channel them into his work.
He does the same thing with beautiful visions, mundane visions, over-the-top ridiculous visions. Sometimes watching his films feels like putting a magnifying glass to a dream: the dream has its own weird logic, and we as the audience get to see it get drawn out into a feature-length film or an episode of TV.
Yes, much of his work is beyond my comprehension, but understanding isn't the end goal. As Kyle so beautifully put it, "He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath."
Reading his book and adjacent interviews, I was also amazed that everyone who came into his orbit—actors, crew, wives, ex-wives, other directors, assistants, anyone—they all loved him. No one has a bad thing to say about him. I think some people also have an innate ability to surround themselves with good people, and stay away from the bullshit. The David Lynch Universe is full of those good people. The David Lynch Universe is full of love.
Right now, the videos I choose to watch of David are of him as a person, because we could all use a little bit of his childlike wonder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pVP4xeRyk
https://youtu.be/-6ofe4SQoaI?si=47t3e9xu3TLqftXB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUJTemgaqjI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2RFMCmfRmc