David Bowie has died.
His unexpected death comes just days after he released his newest work, an album titled with a symbol, a black star. A symbol that takes on new meaning with the announcement of his death came at the end of an 18 month battle with cancer.
You can’t encapsulate Bowie’s work, or his wide spread influence, there’s just too much too take in.
Last year I was walking around an exhibition of this work at Melbourne’s Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) where you could spend hours appreciating his music, videos, clothes, film performance, music videos. Hours could be lost just looking at one of his notebooks of scrawled lyrics. Just a single element of his creative output could capture your attention.
A friend said the other day, “Bowie’s only ever done one performance, and it’ll end the day he dies.” At the time I thought about that profound statement, and now that that moment is unexpectedly upon us, I suddenly realise it’s just not true. People will be exploring, discovering and re-interpreting his work forever.
Bowie’s ever changing cast of characters, styles and sounds means that there is something for everyone still to discover and enjoy.
If your familiar with his Ziggy Stardust period, dive into the work he created in the ’80s as Tin Machine, if you liked his drum n bass influenced album ‘Earthling’ go and explore the instrumental tracks on ‘Low’, If you thought his last album was sublime, take a listen to his soundtrack for ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’. There’s always more Bowie to discover.
Bowie was an artist, in the truest meaning. His death has brought people to tears. This isn’t the phenomenon of online mass condolences that we often see for celebrities leaving. This is the mourning of an artist’s passing.
Graeme Watson
