A lot of you may know him, or know of him. Wesley Willis was an incredibly prolific artist, and musician. And he had a lot of friends. A lot. Everywhere he went, he made friends. And it's pretty certain that most people that came in contact with him, remember meeting him.
A brief description of Wesley Willis doesn't really say it all, but it says a lot. He was 6'5", over 300 lbs, and almost child-like in his world view. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the late eighties, heard voices in his head and took medication to temper his demons. He drew street scenes incessantly (in ball point pen and felt tip markers), and recorded over 50 self-produced CDs. He loved rock n' roll, fast food and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. He toured a lot, sometimes with a band, sometimes by himself. There were times that he had no permanent address, sleeping on the couches of friends instead. He had no bank account, but at times had thousands of dollars in cash in his pockets.
When he passed away in 2003, there were online tributes all over the place, with a wide mix of people posting comments. Some viewed him as novelty, or as an outsider artist. Some quoted from one of his many, many, songs. Some wrote about his prolific art output. And some remembered Wesley, the person. The demographics were all over the place. It was obvious from reading the comments, he was loved; even by those who shared only momentary contact. There's a new documentary about him,
"Wesley Willis's Joy Rides," in which one person totally nails it. He said "You could see peoples' hearts through their interactions with Wesley Willis."
In another segment of the documentary, they interview the manager of the Chicago art supply store that Wesley used to shop at. The manager is recounting a conversation that he had with the stores owner. When asked by the owner "Do you think Wesley is a good presence in the store?" he answered yes. Elaborating, he added,
"In India they call them "muss" [sp?]
, which means "a God intoxicated person,", somebody who acts abnormal, somebody who acts crazy, but they're not crazy at all. They're, in fact, so in love with God, so in love with life, that they act imbalanced. I told him that he might be one of these types of people. One of the criteria for recognizing if someone is a muss, as opposed to someone who is mad, is the effect that they have on people around them. Usually a mad person,...you want to keep away, and they have sort of a disturbing effect. Whereas Wesley had the opposite effect. He could uplift people, make people feel good about themselves, and people liked to be around him."While there is no doubt that his output is worth notice, having known Wesley and having seen his effect on people first hand, I'm convinced his legacy will prove to be his ability to interact comfortably with people from all walks of life. Whether you were a child, a geriatric, well-known hipster or totally anonymous wallflower, Wesley treated you with respect. His verve was contagious, and after meeting him, it was hard not to take stock of your priorities. Wesley was the embodiment of the whole punk rock ethos, and his disregard of criticism bears a lesson for all of us.
About the links below:
Released last year,
"Wesley Willis's Joy Rides" is an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with Wesley, and revelatory enough for those who knew him well. After viewing it, I looked online for Wesley resources, something I haven't done since he passed away. I was astounded to find
another short on YouTube, filmed in 1988, showing a considerably slimmer Wesley, drawing on the street, before his many Wesley-isms, before his music, before his fame, but with his good will and friendly manner firmly established. I also ran across another page with
single mp3s from over 25 of his CD's. Mind boggling in it's scope, it's roughly 500 songs. There's also 23 more mp3s on Alternative Tentacles site. And, finally,
a high resolution gallery of over 100 Wesley drawings.
Wesley Willis's Joy Rides trailer at YouTubeWesley Willis: Artist of the Streets: Early 10 minute short from 1988
Wesley Willis CD Repository: mp3s of over twenty five Wesley Willis CDs
Alternative Tentacles: 23 mp3s (use the "Biographies by Artist" drop down menu to get to Wesley's page).
The Art of Wesley Willis at FlickrInterview with filmmaker Chris Bagley at Viceland FilmsAudio interview by high school studentsAudio interview by Howard Stern Part 1 and
Part 2
