A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was employed as a junior copywriter. Salary 4.5K. 1-month holiday a year. 1½ hours for lunch. I was not the only junior in the creative dept mind. There were three others and one guy in particular had some very peculiar tendencies.
He was an art director. He was taller than the rest of us, looked strange, talked nonsense incessantly and when he wasn't jabbering on about god knows what, he was making weird bird noises. Even at the youthful age of 19, he left people feeling rather bewildered and perplexed in his presence.
Needless to say, I became quite chummy with him.
We'd go out for a beer at lunchtime and once the drinks were on the table he'd get up and climb up on the pub roof. One time, in a moment of madness, I invited him to my 21st birthday party and he made his entrance wearing a small Horse Chestnut tree inside his shirt. Another occasion, driving in my car, he told me quite straight faced that his brother was named Eeyore. And when he wasn't carrying the MD of the agency around the office over his shoulder, he painted his face with indelible magic markers. This guy was not drunk. He was not on drugs. No - he was just nuts, plain and simple. And if truth be told, people didn't hold out too much hope for him forging a career in the ad business.
But surprise, surprise, he proved everyone wrong. Having got himself another job at an agency called CDP, 15 years later he'd won every top award going. In fact he was appointed the youngest ever President of D&AD and was listed in the D&AD Masterclass Series as one of 28 of the world's best art directors.
His name - Graham Fink.
Mad as a box of frogs is Graham. But there's no doubting the guy is also a genius. Sure his brain is wired slightly differently, but more than that he's always open to new ideas. In Graham's world anything is possible.
Of course he is not alone when it comes eccentric behaviour. In fact I'd be so bold as to say that some of the most imaginative creative people are often out to lunch.
Film Director Tim Burton is a nutcase in point. Whereas most people enjoy being awake he says he is at his happiest when he's sleeping. "There are a few things that just calm me down: when I hear about somebody making mashed potatoes and when I hear about somebody sleeping and liking to sleep. I get this sense of calm, and it's a wonderful feeling. And in Hollywood, nobody likes to sleep, they're losing out, they're not on top of it. I love to sleep." Then we have artists Gilbert & George who, back in their student days, were prone to standing on tables, singing along to Flanagan and Allen's song "Underneath the Arches" for a day at a time.
Dean Kamen, the guy who invented the Segway scooter, lives in a mansion with hallways resembling mine shafts, 1960s novelty furniture, a collection of vintage wheelchairs, spiral staircases and secret passages, an observation tower, a fully equipped machine shop, and a huge cast-iron steam engine which once belonged to Henry Ford built into the center atrium of the house. And who could forget Icelandic singer Bjork dressed for the Oscars as a swan.
Many people outside of the creative industry would classify these examples as ranging from harmless eccentricity to borderline insanity. But if you're an artist or professional creative you can probably relate to some of them. From my point of view, having spent many years working with creative people and observing their habits up close, they look perfectly normal - even essential - to me.
More power to your madness I say.
John Fountain is a copywriter
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Twitter: @fountainjohn
