David Huggins – an uncommon life

Artblog contributor Corey Armpriester interviews David Huggins, a unique painter whose works chronicle his experience of alien beings on earth and their interactions with him. The pictures, all scans from a book about Huggins, are spooky and minimalist, and have timeless narrative appeal. Corey's non-judgmental approach to the interview and to David Huggins allows each reader to make up their own mind about Huggins's story.

David Huggins is a 68 year old painter who lives in Hoboken, NJ. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City, and he’s been divorced for a little under ten years, with a 27 year old son who lives in Thailand. David concentrates most of his talent on the creation of a series of testimonial paintings about his life-long experience as an alien abductee.

David is not on any medications nor has he been institutionalized at any time in his life. He says he’s never had an illness a day in his life, not even a cold!? His paintings manifest from memories of abductions from the age of eight to the present day. People all over the world have reported similar experiences as David’s, only to be labeled “crazy”, which seems to me the sign of a lethargic mind.

Condemnation without investigation is its own form of insanity. I’m writing this piece not to give the impression that I know David is telling the truth, because I don’t know; I’m on the fence about all of this. I celebrate the world of ideas no matter how far out some of them may seem. Even if this is a made-up story from the mind of a delusional man, the power of the idea remains the same. Ideas are essential to the curious mind, and we as artists need not fear the ideas of other artists no matter how alien they sound. If David is indeed “crazy” he’s in good company. Unusual ideas are almost always perceived as odd or askew until the common mind can make use of it. And as we all know artists are anything but common; and that’s why I love talking with them and sharing our conversations with you, the reader.

Sitting in David’s studio surrounded by his paintings creates a feeling of being watched; this both excited and unnerved me. David begins to tell me about the cast of characters that populate his paintings and often visit him from another world or another dimension — he doesn’t know for sure. There is Crescent, she’s the alien hybrid that took David’s virginity at age seventeen. She and David have over fifty hybrid-alien children together. There is “Hairy Guy” (think mini Sasquatch) with luminous yellow eyes. There are the classic Grays that always accompany Crescent on her visits to see David, and there are the insect-like beings that David says are the leaders — they are often present during Crescent’s sexual encounters with him.

David is their stud; they only seem to want him for that purpose. He has complete trust in his alien companions, which I find shocking considering his memories are often manipulated by his Succubus buddies. I suspect David is suffering from Stockholm syndrome. He has accepted his life-long enslavement as a sort of gift. He feels protected by these beings and claims they have saved his life on more than one occasion. He is genuinely grateful for their intrusion into his life. David’s paintings may be the work of a madman; or David may be the victim of childhood trauma abuse; or the most radical scenario of all, David may be painting the truth.

Corey Armpriester-How long have you been painting?

David Huggins- I’ve been painting for as long as 1965 or 66, that’s when I started.

Do you work with oils or acrylics?

I work with oils

Where did you go to art school?

The Art Students League.

Were your parents supportive of your interest in art?

No, they didn’t think it was worth pursuing, thinking I was never going to make any money from it. Just get a job and that was it.

How often do you exhibit your work?

Well, there was an exhibition earlier this year at the Monroe Art Center.

How often do you sell these testimonial kinds of paintings?

Not often

What do the ETs think of the human pursuit of art?

That’s very interesting. Most of the people that I met [other abductees] that are involved with these beings have a very creative bent to them. I sort of feel like the art and creative aspect is associated with them [the ETs] in some way.

Do the ETs produce art, as we know it?

I can’t say that I’ve seen it.

How are your memories triggered?

Sometimes by another painting. I’ll be working on another painting and suddenly I’ll remember another incident that occurred.

In your book you talk about the hair on the female hybrids as being a wig. What is it about the hair that seems so unusual to you?

It’s very unkempt, I remember one time one of the females was walking past me and the hair was not on right. She took if off and I was taken aback by that and so I said, “Should I shave my head” to let her know I was okay with it.

How have your parents dealt with your ET experiences?

As a kid I would see one of the beings and I would run to the house and say “Hey mom and dad, there is something out at the barn or something behind the house.” And they would say “Quit making things up, there is nothing there.” One time I did it and it was too much — I got a whipping really good. The next day I went behind the house and there is the woman [Crescent] with a few Grays and one Insect-Being and I remember telling the woman “My momma and daddy don’t believe me that I see you and I got a whipping.” As soon as I said that, I knew she [Crescent] didn’t like that. She looked at me and said, “Then don’t tell them.” After that, I never said a word.

Do you have absolute trust in these beings?

Yeah, they have helped me in a lot of ways.

How?

Well they saved my life a couple of times. There was the incident with the snake under the tool shed; there was another incident were I nearly drowned. I’m looking at this person while I’m drowning and I hear this voice say “Let him live.” And just as they said that my toe catches hold of a root and I’m able to pull myself to shore.

How are the ETs organized?

There are the Grays; then there is Crescent; then there is a guy, very tall and angular, very thin, and he has a hair bun on the back of his head. He has red eyes and he communicates with the insect beings; so does Crescent.

Are you in contact with them today?

Oh yes

When was your last encounter with them?

Maybe about a month ago.

Are you in your physical body during these encounters or are you out of body?

It’s a combinations of all those. Sometimes they come and just take me. I know I’ve had a lot of the out of the body experiences. There are times when I’m with them — I feel like I’m in a human body, but a much younger body.

Do you feel violated — do you have a say in what they do to you?

It was up to me. The Little Hairy Guy came to my room one time and asked “David can we use your body?” and I said “Yes, you can use it as much as you like.” He seemed very happy by my response and he left the room, just kind of vanished.

Was that before the sexual encounters?

That was after. I was like, “Hey man, why are you asking now?”

Do they confirm to the law of free will?

There is free will.

Is there a male equivalent to Crescent?

I can’t say. I have seen a lot of males. I have no idea. There does seem to be a faint memory of other males but I don’t remember too much.

Why do you think you were chosen?

Good question, I don’t know.

How many hybrid children have you fathered with the ETs?

I was taken into a room and it was filled with babies and I had to touch every one. The human touch was really important. The first time I touched one of the babies static electricity jumped from my hand to the baby. This was right before I touched it and I pulled back and said to the Insect-being “Wow, did you see that?” So I reached over and touched the baby. I woke up the next morning spent, totally exhausted and slept all day. But that night the Insect-like Being takes me to this door; we are in front of this doorway and there is this brilliant light. It was like it was pushing it’s way out of the doorway — it had form. The Insect-Like Being said I had to go inside the room with the light, so I go inside and it was just incredible. The light was passing right through me. I was in there for a few minutes. The next morning when I woke up I had incredible energy and felt really energized for weeks afterwards.

What are your offspring being used for?

I have no idea.

Are they both male and female?

Yes

What are the Alien hybrid children fed?

I remember eating some dark chocolate substance — it was like chocolate pudding. There was an odd taste in my mouth the next morning, and after I had a glass of water, it was gone.

Are any of your alien children artistic?

I don’t know, this has never occurred to me. You ask nice questions, I’ll try to find out.

Do you know any of your alien hybrid children?

I’m sure on some level I know them all.

Does the female ET’s vagina feel any different from a human female?

I can’t say there was all that much warmth. You got to remember, your senses are subdued when you’re with them. The intense orgasm you would normally feel is toned down.

Are you sedated?

Yeah, you’re sedated to keep from flipping out.

Does Crescent have a menstrual cycle?

I don’t think so.

Will your human son suffer the same fate as his father?

He hasn’t shown anything. I can’t say that he will. If they [aliens] got in contact with him he hasn’t said anything.

Do you ever question your sanity?

In the beginning.

Does it frustrate you not having very many answers to your questions?

I go with the flow.

All images of David Huggins’ paintings are from LOVE IN AN ALIEN PURGATORY – The Life and Fantastic Art of David Huggins by Farah Yurdozu.