u/kunikimomsupremacy

David bowie's is a face that surrenders itself completely to your perception of it, while still maintaining a distinct, captivating individuality that is impossible to describe with words. It's just not possible to capture the whole essence of that face in any reproduction of it (as in, through writing, drawing, etc.). It is otherworldly in some way - his striking eyes with their mismatched pupils and his uneven teeth all exude some rare, captivating, organic kind of beauty . . . and his features, though individually unusual, all work together in harmony and compliment each other when viewed as a whole. Femininity and masculinity painted in subtle, well-blended strokes. That is a work of art. It is a playground of emotion and theatre. It holds you, you cannot look away. It is the most fascinating and beautiful face in the world, as far as I'm concerned. And of course, there is his general manner of carrying himself as well. He has a certain magnetism that commands your complete and utter being.

His face looks deceptively easy to draw . . . but as soon as you begin to try, the intricacies and complexities of its design become painfully apparent. There is a reason so few have been able to produce a compelling portrait of him.

I think the perception of 'david bowie' as a concept is inherently distorted, as he has stood to represent so many different ideas through his life that it's difficult to categorise him as a singular individual. your brain finds it hard to accept that, for example, ziggy and the Duke, who are two vastly different characters and inspire starkly contrasting aesthetics and images, are in fact both manifestations of the same man. He's so fucking fascinating. It's like the mona lisa or something.

David Bowie is always, almost relentlessly, whatever you want him to be. He provides the audience with so much room to choose what he represents to them. He is ALWAYS perceived. All you need to do is give him a role, and he will play it perfectly, with full intensity - enough to make you believe that it is his whole person. But WHO is david bowie? What is the underwhelming answer to that question? No one can get close to guessing. Or perhaps it's rather that no one wants to. Knowing would simply kill the magic.

"To define is to limit." What 'Bowie' suggests is the very embodiment of that phrase.

bowie performed in israel in 1996 and then appeared in an interview on an israeli channel in 2003. keep in mind he wasnt high at this point in time, nor was he playing any sort of character. you can argue the performance in 1996 was not that bad in light of the peace agreements that were underway until late 1995 between israel, palestine and jordan; but his performance was scheduled for july 3, 1996, which was after the election of netanyahu, and after things had begun to go significantly downhill. he couldve cancelled but he didnt. he also mentioned when he landed that he had been 'trying to play in israel for years.' I dont know if that was a lie or not, but it definitely was not a very nice thing to say during that period of time. the interview in 2003 is another case because it is most definitely a conscious choice to still involve with israeli media despite there being pretty widespread knowledge about what the government was doing in palestine back then. he's well read and updated, i don't think he didnt know. he also mentioned palestine and alluded to the israel-palestine conflict in 'loving the alien' which he wrote back in 1985, so he was certainly aware. whether these interactions with israel indicate support for its ideals or plain ignorance i dont know, but it's definitely not a good look. all of this is severely disappointing information to me as a diehard bowie fan. he saved my life but i cant stand for all this shit. im thinking of taking my posters down and everything. i still find his music awesome. it's very necessary to separate the art from the artist, but that's especially hard in bowie's case because so much of his art represents his beliefs. i still hope im able to do so someday though. i dont want to pretend i dont like his music because its genuinely the best i've ever heard. but at the same time i dont want to be supporting someone so callous about humanity. i am so sorry, so sad, and so so disappointed. i just wanted to put this out there.