Fly High, Fly Guy

Lydia presents the late Daniel Johnston’s “Fly High, Fly Eye”, January 31–March 22. Originally scheduled to take place closer to what would have been his 65th birthday, this exhibition is a belated gift for Austin’s treasure.

This exhibition includes all things eyeball in the pantheon of the Daniel Johnston universe—Fly Eye, Eye Walker, God Eye, Dead Dog’s Eyeball, Fish Eye, SpEYEder, and Double Fish Eye. Johnston’s characters have unique ways of interacting in his universe—social commentators, messengers, by-standers, judges, spies or side-kicks.

The character, “Fly Eye”, represented death for Daniel. According to his sister, while Johnston frequently referenced death or suicide in his work, he was not suicidal. He was always full of hope. Phrases might seem to have one meaning, but instead frequently meant the opposite. For instance, the meaning of the phrase “Who Cares?,” which may seem like a cynical rhetorical question, became apparent to Marjory when researching for a book she is writing about Daniel’s art. She discovered a reference that he intended the question to be answered—God cares.

It may seem a contradiction that a man who suffered so greatly with mental illness, loss and tragedy might remain hopeful. Clearly, he still has much to teach us. In therapy, sometimes my clients may suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts. It can be very disconcerting to people to consider death as an outlet. Often, I point out that there is an important reason they may be having thoughts about death. Symbolically, something may need to die, just not literally. Something needs to change. For Daniel, a symbol of death, such as Fly Eye can be seen as hope—hope that people who have been sleeping may awaken and begin to understand.