Outsider
art does get more outside than that of painter David Huggins. His inspiration
and subject matter is truly extraterrestrial. For years, he has painted the
aliens that visited him, including Crescent, with whom he lost his virginity as
young teenager down south. It was sort of like Summer of ’42, but with UFOs and little gray men. Huggins might
just be the most convincing alien abductee ever filmed when he tells his story
in Brad Abrahams’ documentary, Love and
Saucers (trailer
here), which
releases today on VOD.
Huggins
is a fairly well-known figure on the UFO circuit, but he stands apart from the
field. For one thing, he does not describe his experiences in nightmarish terms,
like skeptics and casual observers would expect TV shows and films like Communion and The X-Files. After all, he was getting regular action. You could
even say he was in a caring relationship with Crescent, who followed him from rural
Georgia, where he grew up, to Hoboken, where he has lived for decades.
Yes,
Huggins has a pretty crazy story. He is also surprisingly credible, precisely
because he does not appear desperate to convince anyone. His folksy attitude
appears to be: believe it or not, but either way, it’s no skin of is nose.
However, the last second revelation that Huggins has lived with his ex-wife for
the last twenty years (presumably sharing him with Crescent), but she refused
to participate in the documentary, ends the film on a frustrating note.
Obviously, there is just so much more to his story, but Abrahams couldn’t get
it on film.
Still,
Huggins is a pleasant fellow to spend time with—and his grown son Michael (who
does appear) comes across as a well-adjusted, gracious fellow. Regrettably, we
never get to meet any of the hundreds of hybrid children he sired with
Crescent, but you have to expect that, because they are aliens. He is also
rather unique among so-called outsider artists, considering he studied at the
Art Students League of New York (whose famous alumni include Georgia O’Keeffe,
Norman Rockwell, and Ai Weiwei).
Essentially,
L&S is a relaxed film that invites
the audience to get to know Huggins over a cup of coffee and a cheese danish. Frankly,
it is a nice change of pace from all the paranoid Art Bell claptrap that
usually dominates discussions of alien contact. Recommended for UFO watchers
and connoisseurs of outsider art, Love
and Saucers releases today on VOD, from the Orchard.
