Daniel Johnston (1961–2019) was an American singer-songwriter and visual artist who became a significant figure in the indie music scene of the 1990s, releasing over twenty albums and numerous singles to an international audience. His prolific creative output extended beyond music; over three decades, he filled hundreds of notebooks with sketches and drawings that documented his emotional and psychological landscape. Johnston's graphic work combines appropriated and invented characters—rooted in religious texts and superhero comics—with handwritten inscriptions about love, regret, and anxiety, rendered in an impulsive, unpolished style he considered more authentic than refinement. His influence spans both music (covered by Tom Waits, Beck, Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Rey, and others) and visual art, exhibited at institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art's 2006 Biennial, with his legacy now stewarded through the Hi, How Are You Project, which raises awareness of mental health.
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