David Catches Fish

I’m becoming more and more sure about the fact that I don’t like people.
People are not amazing (with exceptions). Some people do amazing things. I quote myself: “An artist does not make art. Art is what happens on its free will.”

Why am I saying such awful things again?
Yesterday I went to Helsinki Fair Centre with our dance project stage designer Kalle to see the all-famous film director David Lynch giving a speech. We both adored Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, I liked Lost Highway and Kalle loved the Inland Empire (which I didn’t like). I was a bit suspicious as I had a bad experience with Peter Greenaway whose films I adored and who turned out to be a posh old man preaching about the revolutionary phenomena of 80s-style video art in 2005 (we never do learn, do we?). But we decided to take a chance and check the situation out.

When we got to the doors, a couple was leaving and offered us their tickets. Yes, it costs 10eur to see David Lynch. The girl said she does not want to see David Lynch on a PowerPoint. Now we totally had to see the show.
When we got in, David wasn’t even on yet. Yes, the event was very american with two projectors, one showing a .ppt slide saying “David Catches Fish” (or actually something with a bit more sense but in this guy’s case David Catches Fish would have been really fine) and another of a live camera of the dude (some doctor of something) speaking. They voted down the slow-motion finnish translator repeating every sentence to detail and on came mister Lynch. Well. He said hi and proposed for some questions. All the fans lined up and asked stupid things with a trembling voice. Like “Are you going to make another movie” and “What does it feel like to be David Lynch / to make movies / to edit digital film etc.” And then David told them. That he has ideas. And when he thinks about the ideas, he gets more of them. And that he likes Ingmar Bergman. And that meditation will bring the ever-waited world peace. You must simply believe, give up negative thoughts and criticism and pay 1600 euros for the meditation course. If you’re poor, his foundation might pay for you. He’s going to open a Finland Invincible University in Helsinki for transcendental meditation studies.

I left after half an hour. Sorry. They close the Alko-store at 20.00 and I really needed a bottle of red wine.

P.S. I really believe in meditation and have taken advantage of the art myself quite often. I am not in any way mocking any kind of spirituality or strive towards inner peace, rather promoting it. Large communities selling and buying an effortless technique that does not involve concentration or contemplation (monkey meditation?) is not my piece of cake, though. Especially when using talented people as their salesmen.