David Lynch, like many other filmmakers before him and many who would follow in his path, was drawn to Los Angeles because of the city’s natural and near-constant light.
In the 2016 documentary, “David Lynch: The Art Life” – in which Lynch talks in detail about his early days as an artist, his transition from painting to film, and the real moments of his youth that led to He was forced to develop his signature “Linchin”. “The style—the light of the city that he made his home for 55 of his 78 years—and the light of his own inner creativity are depicted as intertwined. A great spark-producing string that the sun itself above us. They will be there long after the explosion in the sky.
In the wake of Lynch’s passing, we’re fortunate to be able to access his light whenever we want by revisiting the works he left behind—to help us in times of deep emotional stagnation or jumpstart our creativity. Can be used to start, in the dark that threatens to end it. Although his time here was short – with many wishing that his final time would never come – his imagination, of which he had an endless supply, comes with a reminder that knowledge of the light There is darkness and that is the sun. Always shining somewhere, you only need to turn towards it to feel it.
The second episode of “Twin Peaks: The Return” aired on Showtime in 2017 and would eventually become Lynch’s final release project since attempting to secure financing or distribution for the two films (“Deer Don’t Run Anymore“and”Snot World“) went nowhere and Netflix offered plans for a limited series called “”.Unrecorded night“During the COVID pandemic — which I bet they’re kicking themselves for now — a scene featuring two of his most beloved characters, Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) and Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is depicted, just one of the many ways Lynch played with the concept of light as a sea of creativity with many ideas to fish out— But this Very good.
This light, to me, feels like it’s the perfect symbol of every thought Lynch has and, now, every thought he’ll ever have.
In the scene, Cooper – trapped in an in-between space known as the Black Lodge for 25 years – speaks to a long-dead Palmer, questioning if it’s really his.
“But Laura Palmer is dead,” he says, trying to make sense where there’s no sense.
“I’m dead. Yet I’m alive,” Palmer told him back, slowly moving his hand forward to remove the mask from the front of his face, revealing a bright white light washing over Cooper. What did
This light, to me, feels like it’s the perfect symbol of every idea Lynch has ever had and, now, every idea he’ll ever have. And, like Palmer, he is dead. Yet he is alive.
Because of this light.
Want a daily wrap of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
The scene was jarring but, like most of Lynch’s work, poignant and beautiful. In most of his projects—and especially in “Twin Peaks”—horror scenes were often punctuated with brilliant flashes of light, and the color or temperature of that light was always deliberate: that of gloom. Blue for death, white for death, red for pain. Or pale for murder and blind hope.
From “Wild at Heart” to “Mulholland Drive” and everything before, after, or in between, Lynch’s Light did some of the heavy lifting but, like the works themselves, if you dig in and in In the midst of it all, you would finally come to the source of that light – which was lunch itself.
In a clip circulating on social media after his death, Lynch compares people to light bulbs that radiate energy, both good and bad. For anyone who loves him—either through knowing him personally, or through his work—you get the sense that he’s done a lot to define what kind of “Light” he is. Bulb”, and most of his work was done by him. Years of practicing Transcendental Meditation.
“Man is like a light bulb. And we enjoy that light from within, but we also radiate it. We affect our environment. Everyone knows that,” he says in the clip. are “You walk into a room where there’s been a bad argument, and the argument is over, but you can feel this thing. You walk into a room full of joy, and the power of that is beautiful.”
I’ve definitely felt the light of lunch through his work that way. Actually, during one The interview I was lucky enough to work with him many years ago. And I had to drive. Sit in the theater parking lot until I reconnect with the real world around me. For a long time, and many times over the years, the energy in it found its way directly into me in a deep way. And it won’t stop, even now that he’s gone. By experiencing what he has created I can recapture that feeling and bask in it, just as easy as flicking a light switch.
In the days following Lynch’s death on January 15, 2025, many obituaries written about him by friends, family and stars with whom he worked over the years mentioned Roshni – both for him. Meant, and what it brought.
Like the works themselves, if you go in and out of the middle of it all, you’ll eventually come to the source of that light – which was lunch itself.
In one such memory posted on Instagram Riley Sweeney Lynchhis son with third wife Mary Sweeney, has shared three photos of his father over the years, and it’s interesting to see which one he chooses.
In the first, Lynch is shown sitting in his studio, lit by overhead shop lighting. The other is of Riley as a young boy, standing beside his father with sepia-toned daylight over his shoulders. And in a third, Lynch is shown walking straight away from the camera toward a bright ball of sunlight shining through the trees of Washington State while filming “Twin Peaks: The Return.” A life story told in light: work, family, and a journey of no return.
Toward the end of Lynch’s “Art Life” documentary, he talks about getting a grant that would allow him to relocate from Philadelphia — where he currently lives with his first wife, Peggy, and their daughter, Jennifer. Lived in Los Angeles, and how. Everything changed for him.
Describing seeing the lights of Los Angeles for the first time, Lynch says, “So when we got out, we drove down at sunset and turned left on San Vicente—parked a big truck—and the next morning That was the first morning I experienced the California sun.
Compared to that first morning spent in Los Angeles, when the light took every care in the world out of him, the setting was much harsher in its final part – during a wildfire that destroyed a large part of the city. He was forced to evacuate his home.
But above this fire, and above this fear, there was the light of everything. And he went that way.
Read more
About this topic
