29/11/2021
WHO WAS THE REAL DAVID BOWIE?
If you look at David Bowie's handwriting over the years, you see some interesting changes that are in keeping with his experiences and his personality and which reflect his maturing attitude and how he dealt with fame.
Looking at the two samples with photos, you see his tall, looped T bars and circled I dots. The Lyrics show a sensitive and independent David who is somewhat immature and childlike.
Circling I dots are often a feature of creative people and they show egocentrism and a mind that goes round in circles. They often feature in the handwriting of arty people and eccentrics who may appear or seem different in their desire to stand out from the crowd.
The T bars are a sign of willpower and the crosses on them denote rank or role in society, how people perceive themselves and David's are pretty high which show he can be a leader and he can follow through, but the loops on the T bars also show sensitivity to criticism and the circles in the 'O' formations, a desire to keep secrets or not reveal one's true intentions. All in keeping with the need to control the self in order to project an image to the world. The large middle zones show a desire to be social and involved with others on an eneryday level but the high top zones show a love of ideas.
The underlining of the word 'Bowie' shows a desire to draw attention to this new persona, and to be noticed. The downward slant of the autograph may denote pessamistic feelings but is probably mostly due to the space given on the photo. However, it is worth noticing that a downward slope usually occurs when tired, depleted or in a low mood and an upward slant shows optimism and energy. We see both of these on David's handwriting at different times.
The large circled I dots can get pretty large at times in the early handwriting and this shows creativity, ego and self absorption, plus what can sometimes be an over occupation with details and rules and a desire to be oppositional. They can also show a liking for fantasy and escapism, a powerful need for significance and a desire to rebel and free oneself of conflicts.
Looking at David's later handwriting, we can see he does fewer circled I dots (though they are still present) as he has matured and as his signature has become more obscure, showing that he values privacy above image and keeps his real self very private. In many ways though he is still childlike and his moods changeable so he could be difficult to understand unless someone has known him for a long time. Notice how the middle zones are much smaller than in his early handwriting. This shows less desire for social involvement.
When a signature is not readable, it is a sign that there is a formal persona which keeps the real person behind it really private and this is what David did, moving to the US, where he could, in many respects live a more normal life.
David's signature has in his later years, become knotted, showing that he had crafted his own persona and his way of dealing with the world and was not an easy person to know. A signature that differs from the main handwriting shows that the outer person differs from the inner and if larger, it shows a strong ego and self importance.
His large, lower loop shows a strong awareness of material matters and financial abundance and the knotting of the signature reveals a need to be in control. David's mature writing also shows a backward slant, indicating more caution and a withdrawing from the world. Yet his upward slanting T bars towards the end of his life, are a sign of ambition and aspiration, reflecting his desire to make a final statement with Blackstar, his parting gift to the world.
Looking at David's lyrics on 'Blackstar', we see a more mature writing but the overtracing and structure and formation shows physical weakness and rumination which is understandable, given Davids's illness. The 'I' formations have lots of space around them showing a feeling of needing personal space but also a sense of isolation, Doodles which have a lot of shading, often show worry and depression and lines across almost act as venetian blinds through which we peep out at the world while trying to remain unseen ourselves. The expression on the faces of doodles often show how we are feeling ourselves.
David's normal handwriting showed a strong need to keep his privacy, discipline, but also a gentler and more good humoured side to his nature, as he wrestled with his creativity, in his attemtps to live a normal life. In his desire to stand out from the crowd and gain respect and admiration, he experienced the ups and downs and he could become irritated, could take offence, could be secretive and insist things be done his way but he could also express real sensitivity and wisdom while all the time, being the real and vulnerable person he was. Only those who had been involved with David for a long time really knew the real person behind the persona.
