David Bowie–the ingenious, rule-bending and influential British musician–died Sunday, January 10th after a tough battle with cancer which lasted for more than 18 months. A post on his Facebook confirmed his death; it read, “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family.” His son, Duncan Jones, helped confirm his father’s death by tweeting, “Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.”

Bowie was loved by many for his music, his acting, his influence in art and his way of representing all the outsiders around the world. He was a misfit, an alien and a sexual experimenter that was able to speak for those that felt much like him. He has already been paid tribute by many of his fans around the world.

He was a musical chameleon, not only by changing his looks and persona many times, but by also being an incredibly versatile and innovative artist. He used a diverse group of genres ranging from jazz, rock, cabaret, punk and “plastic-soul.” He was also an actor in many movies like “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Basquiat”.

Two days before his death and his 69th birthday, he released the final album, Blackstar, of his very large and diverse discography, which includes 25 albums.  Admiring Kendrick Lamar’s ability to stand in and out of hip hop while working with jazz on his latest album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Bowie reaches out to a more exploratory sound recording with a very experimental jazz quartet. This new sound really challenges his fans and is very different from his older projects.

Blackstar not only challenged his fans, but it also foreshadowed his looming death for them. It was his farewell to the his fans and his music.

During the writing and recording of this project, he was expressing a new theme that he had never touched before. He was an artist that stayed true to his art even up to last days of his life. He made his death into an art project with his two new music videos and album. He allowed us to touch death vicariously through these new releases. He was facing the truth of his mortality face to face as directly as possible and he was able to project what he was seeing into his tracks and videos. He tests listeners lyrically and musically to see through the layers of his music and see the message he was conveying.

Throughout Bowie’s musical career, starting at 15, he created music and an identity that has been one of the most creatively influential in the pop world. He touched many people ranging from all ages and told them to be themselves.

Courtney Kiley, a huge Bowie fan, has been influenced by Bowie’s creativity and innovative art since she first heard him in high school. As a child she would tell everyone she was from Mars, much like many of us wish we were. When she heard Bowie’s music about space in high school, she was caught immediately. “This guy is from another planet too,” Courtney realized. This would turn her curiosity for Bowie’s sound into a love for him that will probably stay her whole life.  

Jose Luis Martín, a spanish musician, was never a big Bowie, but he remembers anticipating any new Bowie albums like many other people because they were always a different sound from his previous album. For him, Bowie was a great artist instead of a musician. He was praised by many, but for Martín, what Bowie said, stood for or wore was more important. “It was more important what he did than what he composed,” explained Martín as he explained a story of Bowie’s studio sessions. To his astonishment, he was told that Bowie did not take a long time in the studio, which went well when he sung with jazz musicians.

David Bowie was a man who influenced many generations through his music, his videos, his creativity and his personality. Murals in England and around the world have been visited regularly by many different people that were all touched by his creative soul. Flowers are left all over these murals and many tears have fallen on those flowers. Many more will fall for the great man that he was.

David Bowie was a work of art in his life and in his death.