David Lynch on 'not' launching a career

January 13th, 2006

[jaqf]

trying to do this now. it’s hard because we’re taught that if you’re not making money then it means you’re wasting time.

[ingvarhallstrom]

He's absolutely magnetic, totally mesmerizing to look at. That handwave. I feel like I'm being mesmerized.

[gilmour]

god he was such a real artist and not in a bullshit way. he was the best.

[BennieWoodell]

Wow. Every word he says he believes, his eyes never break with the interviewer. He's never thinking of his answer, he just knows. Damn. I've never seen interviews with him, this is fantastic.

[JibberJabJones]

the sheer faith and resilience to continually have to stop, then go raise money again, so you can shoot another little portion of the thing you're trying to make is crazy. if you ask me, that's the real genius of a man like lynch. almost nobody can do that.

[LunarMunchies]

I love how much this applies to all art forms, and to be honest many ways of life

[LSTAR]

Oh man!!!! We lost an icon today😢 He is one of my favorite directors. I see him sitting in that chair in the White Lodge right about now…..

[scramthapocalyps]

Thanks for posting the video I needed to hear this. Growing up I had a highschool teacher name Ms. Weiss she told a class full of young artist that “ I don’t believe that all of you are artist. Artist are people who have proven themselves have career. Not everyone is an artist”. I took this message to heart that the only way I could be an artist if if I was paying bills with my art.then I went to art college and was told that my work had to explore serious themes. Most of it was marketing concepts to art galleries. Less about genuine art exploration. I was concerned about how was going to make money as an artist that I stopped enjoying making art. I would look at blank peices of paper racked with anxiety on how is this going to make me money. I lost love of making. It was only until recently when I got rid of this notion that I got to create again.

[TrivoMarjanovic]

Entertainment killed art. Let's bring it back to life.

[uphillracer]

I wish I had as clear a vision as David

[iTubeYourDadsMinge]

I wish I’d found this video at 17. David has always been such an influence on me and I quit scriptwriting at university at a young age because I gave in to always being told ‘What you want to isn’t what makes it onto television’ and just didn’t have the resilience necessary to keep doing what I was doing, in my immaturity.
How age makes us wiser and the weak of us look back with regret sometimes. 😕
An absolute legend. Thank you for sharing. Rest in Power, David. 🧘

[feliciadominguez]

The world without David Lynch, vastly diminished.

[charliemuskrat]

I wish these ideas and attitudes were still around today. Media has completely changed, there is no cinematic experience anymore. The world and society is run by 'content.' Maybe I'm a cynic.

[FranklyNorman]

He’s right about titles. One person has many things within them. We all do. And you go where the inspiration takes you. I’ve been a musician for over half my life at this point. And I’m not sure if I’m done. What next? Maybe a carpenter, a lover, a father, or perhaps a writer, or even a mechanic. These are all things that call to me these days. It takes incredible courage to begin again.

[Chef_Alpo]

What he's speaking of represents the dividing line of what it means to be an artist and what it means to simply produce entertainment media. That is not to say there isn't ever an overlap or that one as a component on a work can't give life to a money driven entertainment project, but what so many fail to understand and berate others for pointing out while stating "they're in it to make money" or justifying a work by "they made a lot of money" is that to the true artist, that is the one of the artistic mindset, one does for the love of doing and being what they are doing.
The true artist lives through and essentially for what they are doing and that is the drive of life, the day making money replaces that passion is the day any artist loses their vision, amd the talented individuals whose drive is the money and fame were never artists to begin with, they are talented creative entertainers.
I'm glad David stated this, because so few have understood it and it seems that number has dwindled since the turn of the millennium.

[nimontv]

Man, I've never met you, but man I miss you.

[Hush]

Don't make art with the expectation of making a career or making money. There's an extraordinary amount of luck necessary for anyone to make art for a living, and if instead you just continue to make art because you love to do (and don't quit your day job) maybe that passion may bloom into something more.

[mosriteminioncause]

David Lynch Was his Art...His Vision....Himself...there will be no more David Lynch...a strange wonderful singularity.

[saahilh.]

Damn. Finally found somebody who I can relate with on this point. As a struggling artist, I agree that it is hard to create a great project on a low budget but I completely agree that the end product is what matters… more than what it earns. Even other creative people I have known as chasers of money, but I say that’s not true creativity, that’s business. I loath it when my Cinema teacher says that a film is a product… I am like no! You have to change your perspective. Any piece of art, be it a film, a novel or a painting have inherent value and they are emotions. You cannot buy an emotion. Fuck capitalism honestly.

[valleys]

He is so great! Just listening to him is very liberating for me. ❤