The late underground Chicago musician and street artist Wesley Willis is the subject of Carl Hart’s smart ten-minute doc. A towering man and a schizophrenic who liked to greet friends with a gentle head butt, Willis passed away from leukemia in 2003 at age 40. An excerpt from his New York Times obituary:

“At 6 feet 5 inches and more than 300 pounds, Mr. Willis often walked the streets of the Wicker Park neighborhood talking loudly to himself and selling self-produced CD’s.

The record label Alternative Tentacles released three of his albums. A fourth, Greatest Hits Vol. 3, is scheduled for release in October.

Mr. Willis began his career with the guitarist Dale Meiners in the early 1990’s. Their band, Wesley Willis Fiasco, opened for the band Sublime in shows nationwide.

Mr. Willis, who had schizophrenia, at times lived on the streets. But he continued to write songs, perform and create detailed drawings of Chicago street scenes in colored felt-tip markers. He was the subject of at least four documentaries about his career and the voices he heard because of his schizophrenia.” (Thanks to The Documentarian.)