"Art workers won’t kiss ass" is one of my all-time favorite rallying cries. It originated with the Art Workers’ Coalition (AWC), a New York-based group of artists and activists formed in 1969 to protest against museums and advocate for artists’ rights. I can’t think of a single artist working today who personifies this ideal more than Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.

He designed most of the Lips’ album art and many gig posters, created “King’s Mouth,” a 20-foot, immersive art installation, conceived many of their concert activations, and wrote the science-fiction film Christmas on Mars—then directed it on a set constructed from mostly found objects, shooting in his backyard over the course of seven years.

I last saw Wayne in 2017 at a bar in his hometown of Oklahoma City. He proudly took me into the bathroom to show off the wallpaper, which featured his mug amidst a collage of local heroes like former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer and members of the NBA’s Oklahoma Thunder.