Hi, How Are You? A Blog about Daniel Johnston

For those interested in outsider artists, there is no greater outsider than the "sorry entertainer" himself Daniel Johnston. A musician, painter, optimist, manic depressive and recluse, Johnston came to the attention of the art and music world in the mid 80's, when he would hand out his homemade cassestte tapes to the pretty girls who came into his McDonalds in Austin, TX. Word spread fast about his unique lo-fi pump-organ music and disturbing childlike art work, and Johnston quickly became a cult hero with fans as diverse as Kurt Cobain, Beck and the Flaming Lips. Yet, his work has just recently gotten the attention that it has long deserved being documented in the major motion picture "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" and the book "Hi, How Are You? The Life,Art, & Music of Daniel Johnston" which, the book at least, we now carry at Star Clipper.

Johnston's art has long amused and delighted his fans by focusing on reaccuring characters from Jeremiah the Frog, Sassy Frass the Cat, Satan, Casper the freindly Ghost and the recently deseased Captain America. Yet, the juxatoposition of his amaturish stlye next to the mature content of his imagery is what sets his artwork apart from the various copycats of his style. "Hi, How are you?" true virtue is it's revealing look at Johnston's mental illness and how his art has and hasn't helped him overcome his personal demons. So check it out why not!

One more thing, since Johnston was such a fan of Captain America, here is a little sample of his unique art style that is also a fitting Johnston tribute to the living legend.

-Jon