David Bowie Memorial, Lafayette Street, NYC, 12 Jan 2016 © Alice Arnold 2016
I’m not sure much can be added to the tremendous outpouring of sentiments that has followed the untimely death of David Bowie. So much has been said about his genius and creativity, his ability to always keep us guessing and his unique artistry. I have always been a huge Bowie fan, like so many of us, feeling a close personal relationships with songs of his that marked meaningful moments in my life. He gave the outcast and loneliness in the world, and even the depths of outer space, beauty. Now that he is gone so unexpectedly, I am suddenly aware of how much his life meant to me, and it is comforting to know that I am not alone. It makes perfect sense that he chose New York as his home for past 18 years, a place where fashion, art, theater, and music all churn on endlessly, where a larger than life celebrity can still just be another man on the street. New York offers us the dream, or at least the illusion, that at our core we are all the same, and perhaps just one chance step away from immortality. Unlike most of us, David Bowie will live on forever, and remembering his grace, charm and originality gives us all something to strive for. The world is a better place because he was on it. “The stars look very different today”.
