David Lynch on Seeing the World like a Child
At a recent appearance at Brooklyn Academy of Music, the great David Lynch sat down with New York Public Library’s Paul Holdengräber for a chat about films, art, music, cigarettes, diners, and more.
During the conversation, Lynch was asked about his lifelong fascination with the absurdity of existence and his insistence on digging beneath the surface of seemingly normal worlds, like he did in his amazing Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks.
He said:
"[Children] see without any kind of judgment. They see the same things, but it's very magical. They try to make sense of it. And it's more like a dream. And hopefully it's a beautiful dream. Sometimes when you pass a house and you see that the door's closed, the window blinds are closed... You wonder what's going on in there. We all get feelings from places. Some feelings are happy feelings, and some places don't put out such happy feelings. I had a very happy childhood. But I think as we all look in, there seems to be something more. And in the air there can be happy feelings, and then there's some kind of feeling that's like a worrisome, fearful feeling."
As you can see in that marvelous quote, Lynch views the world with eyes that are as pure as a child’s. He tries to remove his filter, which in his case, allows him to see the darkness beneath it all. So, if you plan to try to open your eyes, and your mind, to the world in the same way as Lynch, be prepared for the creepiness you might find.
And stay away from disembodied ears and gas huffing Dennis Hoppers.
For more nuggets of awesome from Mr. Lynch, head to IndieWire.
"Angst" by Liransz
