Early life of David Lynch
However, Lynch took to building fireworks and playing the bongos in a Beat Generation nightclub as acts of rebellion, before discovering that he could translate his childhood fascination with drawing and painting into a career in fine art.Lynch and his close friend Jack Fisk travelled to Austria hoping to study under Oskar Kokoschka, but the artist was not present at the time.[6] Donald Lynch worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, which necessitated moving the family around the country—they relocated to Sandpoint, Idaho, when David was two months old.[6] Lynch recalls having a happy childhood, although he suffered from bouts of agoraphobia in his youth, especially after having been scared by a screening of Henry King's 1952 film Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie, when he was six years old.[12] He also points to a particular image from his childhood that shaped his understanding of the world—"[my youth] was a dream world, those droning airplanes, blue skies, picket fences, green grass, cherry trees.His childhood friend Toby Keeler posited that this experience and the "be prepared" Scout motto formed the basis of Lynch's "do it yourself" approach to filmmaking and art, and shaped his ability to "make things out of nothing".[18] Later in life, however, Lynch was summoned for conscription for the Vietnam War, and declared 4-F, "unfit for military service"[19] (spasms of the intestines and a dislocated vertebrae[20]).Lynch rented space in the elder Keeler's studio and, alongside his friend Jack Fisk, worked on his art until he had finished school.[28] In 1966, with the help of Fisk, Lynch animated a one-minute short feature called Six Figures Getting Sick; the project cost $200 and was filmed with a sixteen millimeter camera.This loop was repeated several times and accompanied by the sound of an air-raid siren; however, it was projected onto a cast of Lynch's head in order to distort the footage further.[29] After Six Figures Getting Sick was completed, one of Lynch's classmates, H. Barton Wasserman, offered to pay $1000 for a similar motion picture to be made for an art installation in his home.[32] Completed in 1970, it relates the story of a family grown from the ground like plants; the neglected and abused son seeks to create stability in his life by growing a grandmother from a seed.He accepted a scholarship at the AFI Conservatory,[36] Lynch moved to Los Angeles, California, with his family, and recalls having felt "the evaporation of fear" after leaving the crime and poverty of Philadelphia.Several board members at the AFI were still opposed to producing such a surrealist work, but they were persuaded when dean Frank Daniel threatened to resign if it was vetoed.[39] Eraserhead's script is thought to have been inspired by Lynch's fear of fatherhood;[27] Jennifer had been born with "severely clubbed feet", requiring extensive corrective surgery as a child.[42] Additional funds were provided by Nance and his wife, actress Catherine Coulson, who worked as a waitress and donated her income,[43] and by Lynch himself, who delivered newspapers throughout the film's principal photography.After this, it ran for ninety-nine weeks at New York's Waverly Cinema, had a year-long midnight run at San Francisco's Roxie Theater from 1978 to 1979, and achieved a three-year tenure at Los Angeles' Nuart Theatre between 1978 and 1981.He directed music videos for artists such as X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails and Donovan, and commercials for Dior, YSL, Gucci and the NYC Department of Sanitation.Lynch also worked as a musician, releasing solo albums and variety of collaborations; a visual artist, including painting, furniture design and photography; and a nonfiction author, publishing the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006) and Room to Dream (2018).
senior portraitMissoula, MontanaCorcoran School of the Arts and DesignSchool of the Museum of Fine Arts, BostonPennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsDavid LynchJennifer LynchFilmographyEraserheadThe Elephant ManBlue VelvetTwin PeaksThe ReturnWild at HeartLost HighwayThe Straight StoryMulholland DriveInland EmpireDiscographyBlueBOBThe Air Is on FirePolish Night MusicCrazy Clown TimeThe Big DreamThought GangCellophane MemoriesBibliographyImagesCatching the Big FishGenealogies of PainRoom to DreamDale CooperLaura PalmerSheriff Harry TrumanShelly JohnsonDonna HaywardAudrey HorneMaddy FergusonBenjamin HornePhillip JeffriesWindom EarleLeland PalmerLog LadyThe GiantThe Man from Another Place / The ArmTommy HillBobby BriggsFrank BoothUnrealized projectsAccolades receivedCultural impactFrequent collaboratorsDavid Lynch FoundationDavid Keith Lynchfilmmakerpaintertelevision directorvisual artistsurrealistdreamlikesound designDepartment of AgricultureBoy Scouts of AmericaEagle ScoutBeat GenerationJack FiskOskar KokoschkaPhiladelphiaAmerican Film InstituteAFI ConservatoryDuke UniversityUnited States Department of AgricultureSandpoint, IdahoSpokane, WashingtonDurham, North CarolinaBoise, IdahoAlexandria, Virginiaelementaryhigh schoolagoraphobiaHenry KingWait till the Sun Shines, Nelliebottle rocketspipe bombshigh school fraternitybe preparedJohn F. Kennedypresidential inaugurationassassinatedM1917 Browning machine gunVietnam WarHungry Horse, MontanaHungry Horse DamCharlie RussellFrederic RemingtonWestern United StatesSalzburgAthensFrancis BaconJenniferPacific NorthwestSix Figures Getting Sicksixteen millimeterLos AngelesCaliforniaFrank DanielJack NanceSissy SpacekCatherine Coulsonsound designerAlan SpletcinematographerFrederick ElmesTranscendental Meditationvegetarian dietFilmexBen BarenholtzWaverly Cinemamidnight runSan FranciscoRoxie TheaterNuart TheatreRonnie RocketStuart CornfeldMel BrooksBrooksfilms