It all began with the CIA. For years Ryan Allen, son of a counterfeit Norwegian kroner producer and an as-yet unknown “massage therapist,” Allen had been receiving transmissions from the CIA on a specially crafted “Spike of Atonement” that his father had made. During his hours of intense agony, Allen would sometimes paint what he “heard” through the spike to distract himself from the pain. Streetlamps. Tire tracks. John F. Kennedy’s real killer. Wilford Brimley driving a go-kart naked through Amsterdam with Queen Latifah on an all-night coke binge. Allen had no way of interpreting what these images meant, but he tried his best to express the raw feeling he felt when he made them.

After many sessions on the spike, he decided that the public should have the chance to feel what he felt. Twelve months and a felony assault charge later, Allen decided that he should just show the world his paintings.

At least until the CIA comes to lock him away.