Way…Out –
Sept. 11, 2019 – Mr. Johnston had been released from a hospital on Tuesday after being treated for kidney issues. “He was still productive, writing songs and drawing, and was just annoyed by his health more than anything,” his brother said. “It was just one thing after another.” In a career that was filled with stops and starts, Mr. Johnston became something of a man-child celebrity of the artistic underground, earning the admiration of rock stars like Kurt Cobain and Tom Waits as well as comparisons to William Blake. His cartoon drawings — rendered in Magic Marker and frequently inspired by characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost — were included in the Whitney Biennial exhibition in 2006 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
