The power of pictures to make us feel: Remembering David Bowie
Sometimes it’s not our own pictures that make us feel something profound, but those of others who have influenced us.
The loss this week of a consummate artist, David Bowie—who has made millions of us feel all kinds of emotions through his music—has resonated with more people than I would have imagined. My personal Facebook feed is flooded with links to the coverage of Bowie’s death. But it’s the posts that are rife with images that I am finding most powerful.
Classic photo: David and Angie Bowie taking their then 3-week-old baby Zowie for a walk, 1971
As a tremendous lover of music, I am never surprised by how a song can transform my mood—or make me cry. Bowie told stories through his infectious lyrics, and his music was emotionally evocative, to say the least. He had a larger-than-life personality; he lived life out loud. His songs will forever push and pull at us—make us dance, perceive acceptance, be inspired, viscerally feel.
“There’s something within his canon for each and every one of us,” said a fan outside Bowie’s NYC home, reports the NY Times. “He covered every aspect of the human heart, and I really will miss him.”
And the many, many images of him, like his music, will continue to reveal parts of David Bowie’s story. Rest in peace, Starman.
On St. Marks Place, NYC Photo by Jess Dukes