Diving Headfirst Into the Abyss That is David Lynch's Brain on a Whim One Thursday Afternoon

DISCLAIMER: I don't know if I really "get" visual art, nor do I know much about it, so just know that I don't know what I'm talking about.

During class today I was reading the Daily Pennsylvanian, when I came across a review of David Lynch’s The Unified Field, his visual art exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). 


Lynch actually studied at PAFA in the mid 1960s, and he cites this time as a defining point in his career. I had previously heard something about this, but forgotten. Upon seeing the review, I decided that I had to go see the exhibition as soon as possible. So immediately after class, I grab my coat, my SEPTA tokens, my cash, and walk to the Market-Frankford Eastbound subway station. I descend into the grimy, industrial underworld. I get on the subway, stare at the floor until it reaches 15th Street, and then get off. I emerge up from underground and take a deep breath of not-so-fresh air. I walk up Broad Street, until I see signs for PAFA and the Lynch exhibit.

Upon entering, I follow the sound of a siren. I eventually make my way into a tiny room, the only source of light being a projector. There are black curtains on either side of me. I find myself staring at a rendition of Lynch’s very first film, Six Men Getting Sick. The film is even more disturbing in person. You hear the siren on a loop, and three of the six heads are actual sculptures instead of just images on a screen. Film projected onto the sculptures shows their stomachs filling up with vile, and the heads expel their poison, ad infinitum. Already deeply disturbed, I realize that I am in for another typical Lynch experience, albeit an unorthodox one. I make my way up to the mezzanine, where I see a few early drawings and paintings from Lynch and some of his colleagues. These show hints of what is to come, but don't properly prime me for what I am about to experience. After browsing these for a while, I move on to the main portion of The Unified Field.

"Six Men Getting Sick"

Reading the descriptions by the paintings and drawings, it seems as though Lynch takes a sort of Hegelian dialectical approach to his art. He emphasizes contradictions; in his art, he explores the relationship between opposing forces, whether that’s opposing ideas, opposing people, etc. Lynch is also interested in processes rather than the stagnant, particularly organic processes. In his art, you can see a lot of interaction between humans and other parts of nature. He attributes his interest in biological processes to his childhood on a farm. This helps to make sense of why Lynch considers run-down, dystopian 1960s Philadelphia as the greatest influence on his works. It is such a stark contrast to his upbringing, yet Lynch sees similarities. He paints trees and factories alike, noting that they both follow certain processes. Lynch sees the industrial as a live entity, in some ways simply an extension of the organic. His paintings reflect this idea, maybe more so than his films.

I move upstairs and see the entryway to the exhibit. Outside of the exhibit, a man and woman are theorizing. They're discussing that Lynch has said that if it weren't for Philadelphia, his films would probably not exist. They dive further into the statement, realizing that Philadelphia is where our country was founded almost 250 years ago. They extend Lynch's idea, hypothesizing that if not for Philadelphia, our country would not have existed. I wonder, if this was the case, maybe I wouldn't exist. With strong family ties to Philadelphia, in a way I am born out of the same urban decay that facilitated the existence of films like Eraserhead. Yikes. Beyond these two, I only saw one other person at the exhibit while I was there, which made the experience all the more surreal. On top of that, there was white noise the whole time. I am still undecided as to whether the noise was simply the heater, or if the Eraserhead soundtrack had been playing.

Untitled (left) and "Man Throwing Up"

The exhibit consists mostly of works from before his film career, or from the last five years. One can imagine how some of his early works led to his films. There are a few drawings and a painting of the Eraserhead baby which is obviously connected to his films. But many of the other drawings just show that Lynch was developing his experimental style that he would eventually translate to moving pictures. The pieces in the exhibit are abstract, yet obvious. Simple, yet complicated. The titles are eerily objective and descriptive, like “Rock With Seven Eyes”. I’ll leave it to your imagination what that piece is. The central themes to the exhibit seem to be similar themes to a lot of his films. His works of art evoke feelings of paranoia, fear, alienation, and disgust. Staring at a David Lynch piece too long will leave you wanting to crawl out of your skin, but you can't help but to stare for longer than you should.Lynch's use of texture is particularly interesting. He makes ample use of a variety of textures, mediums, and layers so that his pieces pop out at you; looking at pictures of his art won't do it justice. Even when he doesn't glue other mediums to his pieces, like light bulbs or a doll's arm, his art still pops off of the canvas. He often applies numerous layers of paint or even mixes paint with more viscous fluid so that he can give his art a certain thickness. One piece even incorporates dozens of actual dead flies, giving the piece a grimy look. Another depicts a man vomiting, and the textures he uses leads one to believe that Lynch himself vomited on the painting years ago and it has since dried, and is now in a museum for our viewing pleasures. Lynch also has noted that in order to get the look he wants, and to engage himself more in the piece, he often paints with his hands as opposed to a brush. I don't think anyone should find that particularly surprising, though. In his art, Lynch explores our darkest fears, primal fears of limb dismemberment, home invasion, inadequacy, and parenthood. The exhibit as a whole is an exercise in fear and guilt. Lynch doesn't pull any punches in this exhibit, perhaps to his detriment.

"Boy Lights Fire"

Although The Unified Field is unsettling in its own right, as are most Lynch projects, perhaps the most unsettling thing about the exhibit is the persistent misogyny. I will not make any assertions as to whether Lynch is a misogynist. Maybe he is, or maybe he seeks to expose misogyny to start a dialogue. Regardless, The Unified Field oozes with sexism. Many of his works depict violence against women, male entitlement, and general oppression of women. In one painting, a man has sex with a woman until her face turns blue. In another, titled "Boy Lights Fire", a boy lights a fire in order to impress a "neighbor girl who he likes a lot". A crude greyscale painting shows a man strangling a naked women. The theme continues, with many, often graphic, depictions of violence against women. These pieces are so obviously problematic that I don't even feel the need to make an argument that they are. I would like to think that since the misogyny is so over-the-top, then perhaps these pieces are meant to expose misogyny, to reject it. However, I can't extrapolate that much. Even if this was his motivation, I'm not convinced that it excuses it. He is still depicting violent acts against women I can't help but be troubled by the persistent sexism. It's a shame, because while a lot of this art really moves me, the misogyny overshadows that. These misogynistic pieces make me feel remarkably uncomfortable, and not the good uncomfortable you get from seeing the Mystery Man in Lost Highway. One can't help but think, "how the hell did Lynch develop this relationship with women?" I sure don't have an answer. I don't have an answer about very many things that Lynch does in general.

All I can say for sure is that The Unified Field is disturbing, disgusting, and unsettling as per standard Lynchian methodology, but the misogyny is overt and it's something that I can't get past. I haven't seen Blue Velvet in a while, but I remember enough to know that this isn't the only time Lynch has depicted acts of oppression against women. I, however, do think that seeing Lynch's paintings is key to beginning to understand his films more, both in terms of technique and theme. Lynch emphasizes the importance of color and lighting; he treats each shot as its own individual painting. With Lynch's artistic style and affinity for visually striking shots, it is almost necessary for him to have started as a painter. It was building the foundation that would later give us masterpiece visuals in films like Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. So in a way this exhibit is essential viewing for a Lynch fan, with the caveat that the sexism is disgusting and inexcusable. There may be a lot of value to take from some of these pieces, but at the end of the day, the persistent sexism is a major problem, one that I'm incapable of overlooking.

TL;DR: There are a lot of intriguing pieces in David Lynch's The Unified Field, but the persistent misogyny in the exhibit largely detracts from its merit.