The other day I went on a whim to some art galleries to see what’s up with art these days. I saw two shows that really hit me, which was great. Too often I see contemporary art that feels like a hoax. Check out the brilliant documentary: The Price of Everything if you also feel this way.
But this time I felt inspired, which is what I’m always hoping for. In this case, the paintings of nature by Billy Childish brought me right back to my teens, canoeing in the wilderness of Minnesota and Michigan and feeling the power of nature. At the time, I thought that the forest of Michigan were as close to God as I could get. I’m working on an essay about how wrong I was, but that’s for later.
Somehow I had never heard of Billy Childish. I learned from the exhibit that he’s published ONE HUNDRED albums, something like 70 books of poetry, written novels, and has his art showing at a prestigious gallery in Chelsea. How the heck does a guy pull all that off? I dunno. I’m guessing he doesn’t spend much time on Instagram or Reddit.
A few days later I decided to try again, so I took my son out to lunch at Lucien in the East Village and then we stopped by, Codex, a used book store at 1 Bleeker St. There on a shelf was a book of poems by none other than Billy Childish. I grabbed “I’d Rather You Lied” for $30 bucks, and discovered that it sells for $500 bucks online!
It’s great!
this killed my father
this cigar — it tasts bitter
it killed my father
this wisky this rum —
it burns my heart
it killed my father
this money — it scorches holes
in my pocket
it killed my father
desroyed his braintast numbs my toung
smells heavy like cheap perfume
touch like licking a razor
hearing like water flushing threw
my head
sight like strip lightmy father spoke to me once
we sat with our wiskys
i smoked a ciggeret
I diddn’t punch him in the face
i listed to every bit that
was a lie
it killed me
It’s like the guy lived my life. Between his canoe paintings and this poem, I swear, Billy Childish knows what it’s like to be me.
Finally, the advice
My free life coach lesson: Go see something just for fun. It doesn’t have to be art, it can be:
a cool-looking tree
a hill of ants
dogs at the park
a river flowing along
The main thing is to get out of the house and let your mind enjoy something. You never know where it might lead. If the world has room for Billy, then it surely has room for you and me.
Billy is a genius. Check out Notebooks on a Naked Youth.