Loss of a Canberran Icon

I met him when I first arrived in Canberra. He did a portrait of me on the back of another artwork. Never saw him again, but I have the portrait hanging on my wall. It was a unique style.

I’m sure I ran into him once or twice over the years…..I’d have to agree though that calling him a Canberra icon is a bit of a stretch.

Icon or not, I’d prefer to see a well executed sculpture of Danny than some of the CRAP that’s been going up around the place claiming to be art, that’s for sure.

ant said :

Still doesn’t ring a bell. I must be the only person in Canberra who didn’t encounter him.

i’d say 99% of Canberra wouldn’t have a clue who he was. To call him a Canberra icon is a laughing stock.

When he first used to do the paintings up on the wall of the phoenix they were good.
He used to do portraits of people and take a long time over it. They were good – but the people were still always surrounded by symbols like dragons and whatnot. He went to art school, so his work wasn’t always just scribbles.

ant said :

Bewdy, there’s two of us, me and madman. Maybe his daubings will be worth a fortune and we’ll be gnashing our teeth in times to come.

Hahahaha, for sure! Bit ironical about the whole price of paintings from artists who have passed – i think it’s a bit unfair on the artists to be fair said.

Bewdy, there’s two of us, me and madman. Maybe his daubings will be worth a fortune and we’ll be gnashing our teeth in times to come.

By the time he was hawking them in the Phoenix and the Gypsy they weren’t great.

ant – your not the only one!

I can now say for sure that I had never met this bloke, and depending on what the paintings were like and the price, I would have probably bought one off of him.

I met him a few times over the years mostly in the mid 90’s from memory while sitting outside King Omallys he use to drop by with his Art work. The funny thing back then the rumour was he was an ex ANU lecturer who fried his brains on drugs. But the post above by wonsworld set that straight.

Still doesn’t ring a bell. I must be the only person in Canberra who didn’t encounter him.

That’s a lovely picture of him.

I had a bit to do with Danny – he was in a relationship with a local artist, a friend of mine, for a few years, before he really went downhill. People didn’t run the “stuff and nonsense, Daniel” line with him enough. When I did, I could see there were entirely lucid and strategic thought processes going on in his head. He stopped pestering me for money and stopped runnng any sort of hubristic line at me as soon as it was clear it wouldn’t work. His ‘artworks’ became effortless crap once he realised he could trick people with his ‘mentally ill marketing strategy’. He was clever and manipulative and had once been talented. He could also often (not always) jump out of his mentally ill state when it suited him. His mum advocated for mental health patients on radio and became quite a good speaker on the issues. It may be, though, that it suited Danny not to be well as a result. There was a micro-Danny-industry with lots of mini vested interests. On the handful of occasions that I saw Danny when actually really mad, though, he was scary. I have no idea when he was on medication though, perhaps ‘manipulative Danny’ was the one on medication, when perhaps he chose to appear less lucid than he really was. The really mad Danny may have been the one off medication.

While I have sympathy for the guy for being struck with some obviously serious mental illness, I can’t see myself missing him.

Whenever I struck him, it was invariably on the receiving end of one of his tirades of abuse. I had to kick him out of various establishments I worked in as he hassled customers and got very aggro whenever they refused to buy one of his scrawls.

I never saw any of his stuff from his younger days – which may have been good for all I know – but what I saw of his more recent work was sub-high school in quality.

I think it’s a bit rich painting him as some kind of tortured idiot-savant; brought low by his illness. I think a description closer to the truth would be that he was a man that life dealt a dud hand; a poor soul that could not be helped, despite all the best will in the world.

ABC 2 are reshowing the Andrew Denton show on mental illness on Wednesday 13 Aug 2008 at 8.30 which looks to be a good insight for the masses as to what people with mental illness go through. First shown back in April this year.

The topic is called Angels and Demons, website here.

This is a sad story. I guess, big picture, it’s a reality check about how the homeless/mental health systems do, or don’t, work. It must be hard to go on meds that fix one problem but make you feel weird and ‘not yourself’ in other ways, which seems to be why so many people with schitzophrenia go off the pharmaceuticals and self-medicate with illicit drugs.

I always give money when people ask, as I don’t think it’s my place to judge how they are going to use it for food, or shelter for the night – or even a drink or a hit. (We are all desperate for something to forget our troubles sometimes, why should the well off be the only ones to get respite from a little too much reality?)

What Wonsworld said about the failure of this man’s drug therapy is so typical of so many people with mental illness. I’m guessing this bloke had a collection of paranoid tendencies, they often strike very intelligent people, and it worsens with age.

It sounds like a doctor did get the drug combo right (no easy thing), but like so many with schitzophrenia, as soon as they start to feel good and “normal”, they feel that they are cured and can handle things without the drugs. And they stop taking them and descend back into their paranoid world. I’ve often suspected that even though the drugs are working, it’s the vestiges of the paranoid tendencies that have them still eager to not take the drugs. That suspicion of the outside world remains with them.

This type of mental illness is IMO the hardest thing to deal with: an intelligent person whose brain has gone off the rails and seems hell-bent on continuing that way.

To all you people waxing lyrical about how you knew him and how we should have a statue about him you are a bunch of hypocrites. Now he’s dead you show all the care and concern in the world. Boo Hoo, how could this happen, People falling through the cracks Blah Blah Blah. You couldn’t give a shit about him when he was alive, don’t pretend to be Mother Theresa now he’s ead. You still don’t give a shit and neither do I. Statue? FFS.

I cannot say I ever met Danny, but Wonsworld I want to thank you for giving me a picture of him through your words.

R.I.P Danny

I love this last post by wonsworld about Danny McFadden.

When i was young my dumb ass brother said you don’t want to become an artist because you’re art isn’t worth anything until you are dead. Probably the smartest words to spit out of his corn hole. Now I wish I bought some of Danny’s art – i always found it interesting (ie it seemed to visually illustrate his state of mind) – but never judged him on his circumstances real or imagined.

I’ve seen Danny round for years, so I am sad to see he’s passed. There’s no chance of a statue nor appeasing those whom he interrupted their precious latte chat so this sort of inane talk sounds a bit like the pot calling the kettle black…

My point is that there is so much blogging here and everywhere that is rubbish. So, I was so very pleased to see something that had so much real human feeling.

Thanks to wonsworld and RIP Danny

I knew Danny and have known his family since before school (our fathers worked together… his dad was my dad’s manager). Back then we were in the same group of three or four close friends and used to hang around quite a bit. We used to go into the bush near his house and build forts in Summer. In Winter, we played on the same school football team (both were second rowers) and we hung around and caught yabbies and played as kids do. The only time I ever heard him being called Daniel, was when we buggered off without telling anyone where we were going and his mother would lecture us when we got back.

Through high school we started to develop different friend sets. Danny was kept back a year and we had different people in our groups but would still occasionally get together at his place or mine and play records or watch telly or whatever. Most people change as they grow up through school but Danny really changed and not in the way all my other mates did as we grew up. Danny was different only back then I had no clue as to why. It’s now so obvious.

Not long after high school he moved to Canberra and I ended up down the south coast and our lives went in totally separate directions. We would catch up on the odd occasion but Danny was a different person and it was not as a result of a drug habit/problem.

His condition was not a result of drugs and those who are suggesting as much never knew the guy as he was before his mental illness took hold. The drugs certainly did not help (and probably accelerated) his condition but they came after (possibly to try make some sense of his world) but Danny was once just a normal person that you would pass by in the street and not take a second glance at. Just like anyone else.

I don’t know if he was a genius or just a tortured soul. But he was his own worst enemy in the end. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s he would less and less frequently come back home and some times he would be old Danny again. He would be on his prescribed meds and feel he was fine and all was well with the world to the point where he would believe that he did not need his medication any more… so he would stop.

As a result, his world would slip and when his family tried to convince him to continue taking them, he believed that they were trying to poison him etc and he would return to Canberra. Each time it would be worse and worse. When I saw his father occasionally and I would ask after him, the answer would always start with “Oh… poor Danny”, though I am sure that they never told me the worst of it.

I mentioned in RiotACT some time ago (in a previous rant someone was having about Danny) that the last time I saw him, he no longer recognised me as he asked for some smokes and loose change in exchange for art work. It was him but it wasn’t the Danny I knew years before.

So now Danny is gone and whatever pains he suffered (or those around Civic who had to deal with him suffered) are gone… but I really feel for his dad, Mr Mac, who is one of nature’s true gentlemen and for his mother and family who tried their best with an un-win-able situation.

Weird. I worked in the City for decades, and have no idea who this bloke is (was). Need a photo.

He did have the mental health issues well before he had the drug issues.
He always used to try to force his paintings on people, but they were real paintings and he he only wanted 2.00 for a can of coke. And he used to be annoying cos he wouldn’t go away, but kind of funny and semi-charming – in between just being wierd.

But I agree he became scary.

Drugs dont’ make anyone’s life better.

Special G said :

I got moderated because I disagreed with JB on this one. Nice work – there was no swearing or anything of the like.

Complete crap.

sunshine said :

i think a sculpture in civic would be an extremely fitting way to remember daniel AND he would love it! he always wanted to be known and had visions of holding a huge art display of his work. He just wanted to be famous for his art and be remembered.
Don’t know how one goes about organising a public sculpture though.

Something fitting… how about a troubled soul holding art suppiles while standing over a figure of a scared innocent female in a public place while public servants walk past not knowing what to do despite thinking they know everything?

Drugs are bad. Mental health issues that were self inficted gain little sympathy with me.

i work in the city and have to say that i don’t think i have ever seen this bloke. Sad story though.

Might recognise him in a photo but just might be one of those characters i’ve never seen.

Although it’s sad that someone has died, I don’t agree that he was any sort of icon nor do I believe he warrants a statue.
He may have had mental problems but it sure didn’t help his condition taking whatever it was he took or getting pissed out of his mind.
Did he live in Manuka? I always saw him there. The last time I remember seeing him was on a 300 bus from City to Woden. I thought it was strange as I’d never seen him in the Woden area at all and wondered why he was heading in that direction. Anyway, going under the tunnel at Parliament House he got up and told the driver some cock and bull story that he was going to be sick and would he let him off here. The driver pulls over at the Canberra Avenue exit and Filthy hops off on his merry way to Manuka (I’m guessing).

I got moderated because I disagreed with JB on this one. Nice work – there was no swearing or anything of the like.

I have seen Filthy intimidate lone females in bars for smokes or cash and seen the effects of drugs on him. He wasn’t homeless and self injected mental illness is not something I have a lot of sympathy for.

An infamous character of Canberra’s art community. From all accounts he seems to have been a talented artist, and a brilliant cabaret musician. My father knew him well in art school and is pretty upset to see him go.

He was creepy in his later years, no doubt about that, but his condition should serve as a reminder about the impact of mental illness on talented people like this.

[
He was someone with obvious mental problems and needed help, which he didn’t get.

actually, he did get a great deal of assistance. Just because his mental illness wasn’t ‘cured’ doesn’t mean that no-one cared or looked after him

He did get a lot worse. Many years ago he used to be much less scary, friendlier, and less pushy. And his art was better too. A sad decline seems to have come to its ultimate conclusion.

i think a sculpture in civic would be an extremely fitting way to remember daniel AND he would love it! he always wanted to be known and had visions of holding a huge art display of his work. He just wanted to be famous for his art and be remembered.
Don’t know how one goes about organising a public sculpture though.

I saw him at The Phoenix a few times, back in the days when I still got out at night. He was clearly mentally unwell, but never intimidating and did try to sell some interesting artworks. I hope the local media takes the opportunity to do some stories on support for mental illness.

johnboy said :

When I worked in cinemas “part of my job” as an usher was cleaning up toilets that had been fouled by wealthy Saudis unfamiliar with abluting without the aid of servants. (“Put the lid up for the love of god! It’s not an inspection platform!”)

The fact it was “part of my job” did not make me any happier about it.

There’s a bit of a difference between lack of toilet etiquette and having a mental illness though…

Ugh – forgot to close my HTML tags.

When I worked in cinemas “part of my job” as an usher was cleaning up toilets that had been fouled by wealthy Saudis unfamiliar with abluting without the aid of servants. (“Put the lid up for the love of god! It’s not an inspection platform!”)

The fact it was “part of my job” did not make me any happier about it.

Deadmandrinking said :

johnboy said :

I’d prefer something that raises awareness of mental illness more than just weirds people out and becomes a subject of ridicule.

Agreed. Although, the city could do with a bit of livening up – another sculpture wouldn’t go astray.

I understand the police might have found him a ‘pain’ – but part of their job is dealing with people with mental illnesses and I don’t think it helps to degrade them.

Which begs the question, should care of the mentally ill be a part of the job description of law enforcement officers? Personally, I think not.

johnboy said :

Do him in bronze hunched over and scribbling away with his charcoal….

It could be a bit like the sheep… People would wonder what it was all about…

I can sympathise with police though, he would have been a huge pain in their lives, especially in his frequent less lucid moments.

I’d prefer something that raises awareness of mental illness more than just weirds people out and becomes a subject of ridicule.

I understand the police might have found him a ‘pain’ – but part of their job is dealing with people with mental illnesses and I don’t think it helps to degrade them.

Do him in bronze hunched over and scribbling away with his charcoal….

It could be a bit like the sheep… People would wonder what it was all about…

I can sympathise with police though, he would have been a huge pain in their lives, especially in his frequent less lucid moments.

Ugh, typos. ‘I wouldn’t agree with a statue in as much as I would a display thingy’

Joe Canberran said :

I’m sure I have a charcoal drawing or two of his somewhere.

RIP

Yeah, I got a drawing of his at some point. It was a little odd and chaotic, but I knew he had some problems. I remember when I gave him 2 bucks for it, some people who were sitting at another table were crying out ‘Nooo, don’t give him money’. I thought that attitude was a bit slack. It was 2 bucks, he’d definitely worked for it and I am sure he needed it more than I.

It also saddened me to hear that he had been capable of much better paintings and was a talented musician. I guess some really good artists can only go two ways, success or down the path McFadden unfortunately took. It’s a shame about much of the community’s, like Vg’s, attitudes towards those in our community who have a little more trouble fitting in. I think McFadden was an example of how people in is situation do have something to contribute – they just have a lot of trouble getting it across.

I would agree with a statue in as much as maybe a display-thing in city walk of his work (I’m sure people have enough to donate – I can’t find my McFadden, unfortunately, though) and maybe just a bit about his life. Perhaps it will raise community awareness about the plight of the many in this city who suffer from mental illness and are unfortunately usually only seen in their worst states.

Never heard of him.

vg said :

most people would hold a different opinion to the OP

totally, wtf, an icon of a crack head in civic ? no thanks.

who are you to say who is an icon..?

anyway met him a couple of times as a youngster in the mid-to late 90’s at the phoenix as did most people in the bar. certainly wasn’t someone who ifound pleasurable to talk to but definately interesting character.. maybe canberra’s own weslesy willis?

I would hardly have called him an icon.

I will leave it at that, not nice to speak ill of the recently passed other to say that most people would hold a different opinion to the OP

Always found him abusive myself.

Personally I think he’d make a great subject for a public sculpture on city walk.

He was one of the first Characters I met when I first moved to Canberra, and yes I have one of his works.

He was a character alright, and had a fascinating family history which he would share within anyone ready to listen (and many who weren’t!!) A gifted man who, like many others, you just wonder what he might have achieved if that talent could have been channelled differently.

Not *that* tall IIRC.

He had a strong beard and a nose that had been through the wringer and he was heavy set.

But yes a big man, unfortunately intimidated a lot of women he loomed over with his drawings.

Is that the really tall guy in the overcoat?

he had a bad heart and other physical conditions as well. it was just his time to go after living such a hard life.

he died peacefully in his sleep in his own bed on wednesday night

I know nothing of the details.

But I did research an article a while ago on the plight of the older homeless, only to discover there aren’t many. They just look old and they die young.

Did he suicide? What happened?

I’m sure I have a charcoal drawing or two of his somewhere.

RIP

yes he was – would often go to St Christophers Church and play his heart out – much to the priest’s delight 🙂