The relationship with Sam Riordan’s wife, while only briefly touched on in the book, is extremely similar to the one that Dali had with his wife. Their relationship, first as artist and muse, and then as artist and wife, was complex and often complicated, but they were madly in love. Whether or not the playwright and the artist were involved, Dali and his wife were deeply in love and they had a long, fulfilling marriage. While Dali denied claims that the two were involved romantically, many of his peers contend this. Federico Garcia Lorca was a legendary Spanish playwright and he was openly in love with Dali. While Salvador Dali denied that he had any homosexual inclinations, it was rumoured until the end of his life that he had a passionate love affair with Garcia Lorca.

He’s married, to someone who he considers the love of his life, but unlike Dali, he’s openly bisexual. Sam Riordan’s relationships closely resemble those of Salvador Dali’s. Long after Riordan is supposed to be dead, his presence lingers–John has a job at his studio, Damien thinks he’s extremely lucky to have landed it, and Levi is writing a book about it. Even when people speak about him, even in the studio, they do so in hushed tones. In Welcome to Crash, Sam’s presence is seen as something of a myth. The thing about these artists is that not one of them was perfect as people, but they were both hugely influential in their mediums. He’s heavily based on both David Bowie and Salvador Dali. Sam Riordan is an amalgamation of various artists who were hugely influential, mostly in the twentieth century. Sam Riordan is more than just a painter, he’s an artist (and an artiste), hugely influential in Damien’s worlds in ways that don’t simply influence the story, but rather the entire cultural framework that encompasses it. That is absolutely the kind of stunt that Sam Riordan would pull off, if he wanted to.

It’s just something that artsy people that he doesn’t get would do. Of course, Sam Riordan is supposed to be long dead, and everyone around Damien acting as if he was still alive and simply around is completely dismissed by Damien. It’s the equivalent of getting a job at Andy Warhol’s studio. When Damien gets a job at Crash, he’s ridiculously excited. Part of the reason for that is the frame of reference that he provides for Damien as a character. Sam Riordan is a minor but important figure in Welcome To Crash. Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Lina Langley here today on her Welcome to Crash tour. Available for purchase at DSP Publications

Welcome to Crash by Lina Langley