“My mother drove me away so I could watch Twin Peaks.”
I live in a forested area of the UK and it has a dreamy feel to it. The sound of owls and the sounds of the trees resonate deep in my heart. Sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, always beautiful. David Lynch has been one of my favorites since my late teens. I first learned about Twin Peaks when my mother chased me out of the living room to watch it as a child. I'll never forget the ghostly music that creeps up the stairs and into my bedroom. Jay Stevens Wood, 42, Forest of Dean.
“Lynch has found a new way to haunt the present.”
About 12 years ago, I attended an event at the Institute of Education in Bloomsbury where David Lynch answered questions in front of an audience. Lynch has found new ways to haunt the present. He presented sounds, objects, and scenarios and made them shine with significance beyond the everyday. Through close observation and an understanding eye, he proved that this superpower was available to others as well. We owe him a lot. Alan Forester Parker, London
“Everyday Surrealism”
I first encountered his work when “Twin Peaks'' was published in my late teens. It started out as a quirky soap opera, but it escalated into watching it every week with my mom and dad. Now that seems unusual. I doubt they've seen any of his other work, but Twin Peaks brought the whole family together to explore everyday life in a way no other prime-time TV show has done since. It gave me a surrealist experience.
I was once walking home at night through a very quiet residential area in Midland from visiting family, when I turned a corner and saw what I thought was a ghostly, human-sized owl monster. I was completely surprised. An uncovered ironing board left for salvage. I took the photo (above) and I've always thought it looked like something out of David Lynch's head. Richard Cooper, 53, Twickenham
“Lynch's work expanded the world”
David Lynch opened up a world of excitement and possibility. I grew up in remote Aberdeenshire. I was extremely shy and didn't think I would fit in. When I was a teenager, “Twin Peaks” aired and my world expanded. It revealed that we can be anyone and anything. Conspiracy has entered everyday life. I realized that in life I can feel shy and hardworking and exciting and mysterious. Lynch's work just expanded the world in such a wonderful way that I didn't have to fit in anywhere. Jess, Aberdeenshire
“They taught me that good movies are about emotion.”
David Lynch changed my life. My mother died when I was 17 and my father died when I was 4. Movies therefore became a source of escapism. When I was 19 and homeless in Wales, I had three things in my backpack besides clothes and cereal: Spare by Michael Marshall Smith, Nevermind by Nirvana, and David Lynch. 's “Lost Highway.'' After watching Eraserhead and Blue Velvet when I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to be a film director. They taught me that good movies are about emotion.
I remember going to film school when I was 22 and seeing Inland Empire at the Haymarket Cinema in London. After 20 minutes, half of the audience left. I was sitting there knowing that this movie was a masterpiece, but right then I knew I wanted to make a movie like this too. In 2009, I made my first short film, Closure, which is very Lynchian. I'm not very good at it, but I had fun making it! Dan RodIges, 42, Spain and UK
“I realized that Lynch had a talent for ventriloquism.”
In 1989, I was assigned to take portraits of 12 musicians for the Village Voice. One of the artists was singer Julie Cruise. I called Julie and she asked if my friend David Lynch could come along too. On the day I took the photo, I discovered an abandoned mechanical room in her hotel with four walls of metal industrial windows and a few cement workbenches. The enveloping light was beautiful, but I had to avoid being seen by the security guards.
I wanted to photograph him with a telephoto lens, so I kept a certain distance from David. Just as I was about to take the first frame, I heard a disembodied, very oddly pitched, menacing tone voice from somewhere behind me. “That's tough, buddy.” I turned around and saw no one there, but Mr. Lynch was smiling. I realized he had a talent for ventriloquism and was “voicing” his voice…I thought, “Wow, now we're in David Lynch territory.” At the end of the session, he gave me a pre-release CD of music from the then-upcoming Twin Peaks series. It was a CD that I had loved for many years. Michelle Delsol, New York City, USA
“He talked about creativity, spirituality, meditation and staying true to yourself.”
I was in high school when I learned that my favorite director was coming to a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Union Square in Manhattan. I had to skip school that day just to get in line. I waited for hours with other fans. Then he came out on stage and spoke to us about everything from creativity to spirituality to meditation to staying true to yourself. Hearing his words made me feel like there was more to me than I thought.
After that, I ended up talking to him. When I told him how I had skipped school for this event, he laughed and said: “I'm glad you're here, buddy.” From that day on, I learned about meditation and began to find my creative spirit. We also participated in global 10 minutes of transcendental meditation. It was an inspiring and calming experience. I plan to continue doing sessions in the future because I connected deeply with myself during my practice. Chuck, 39, New York City, USA
“I’m always looking for potential lynching scenes.”
I was heavily influenced by Eraserhead when I was studying photography at art school in the 80s. I have seen his work ever since. When I work in an industrial environment, I'm always looking for potential lynching scenes. Lynch was a unique and uncompromising visual artist who created and crafted parallel worlds to our own, at once familiar and alien. Stephen Eric Parker, 59, North Yorkshire
“Looking back, you could say our film is a Lynchian pastiche.”
Lynch came to my attention in 1999 during an art school lecture where snippets of his films were shown. For young artists, the images and atmosphere were exciting and moving. In 2004, I collaborated with my friend and fellow art student Hamish to make a short film titled The Red Man, which was essentially an ode to Lynch. We worked with non-actors and shot the film on a shoestring budget using MiniDV cameras. Lynch later used this camera in Inland Empire. Looking back, “The Red Man'' could be called a pastiche or mehter film.
One of my most vivid movie memories is watching Mulholland Drive alone in the theater. The visuals were exotic and hallucinatory, and it felt like the scent of L.A.'s lush plants was wafting through the air. I think this is his masterpiece, and of all the films he's made to arrive at this clear and unique vision. Jack Holden, 45, Berlin
