Louis CK is Probably the Timeless Artist of our Lifetime

Correction: Hmmm… this aged poorly. We regret the error. And by error, we mean the inefficacy of our crystal ball readings.

Upon the recommendation of Nico, I just listened to an interview of Louis CK on the WTF podcast with Marc Maron. During the 119 minute conversation, Louis discusses the order of events and the writing process that took place to create his newest piece of work, Horace and Pete, which Nico, Zakk and I just finished watching and raving about on our podcast, Why is This a Thing? (You can purchase Horace and Pete, in its entirety, from his website).

I don’t want to spend this whole time talking about Horace and Pete—rather, I want to discuss Louis CK and the artistic genius that he is. He is not simply a comedian. He is not simply a writer, or an actor, or a director. He has crossed all of those thresholds, at least to me, and I believe many others out there. Louis is an artist, and Horace and Pete is just his latest piece in his still-growing collection.

Just a little over 2 months ago, Nico, Zakk and I saw Louis CK’s stand-up routine live. Let me just start by saying that I have seen many comedians over the years—Howie Mandel, Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, Sarah Silverman, and Robin Williams are all on that list. I have even seen Louis CK before, and this latest show, was captivating to me. And right while he is at the top of the comedy world, he decides to drop a bombshell like Horace and Pete, a true tragedy the likes of which we have never seen.

It is his ability to do this that really leads me to believe that he is the next timeless artist of our world.

I always like to compare him to Vincent van Gogh or William Shakespeare, and it is undoubtably because of his uncanny resemblance. But that is not the only reason I find it fair to draw the comparison. Like them, Louis sees the tragic side of life. Van Gogh may illustrate this for us through paintings, and Shakespeare through his plays. Louis CK simply uses stand-up comedy as his medium, and now also television.

He also isn’t afraid to make mistakes or take risks. By filming Horace and Pete, he took a major risk. But he is strongly in tune with his emotions, and he trusted his instinct with the show, which follows no traditional norms of television whatsoever. As an artist, your job is to elicit emotions, but one can only do this by having a true understanding of emotion. This is what makes Louis CK the greatest artist of our time.