Eric Andersen (artist)
Encyclopedia
Eric Andersen Born in Antwerp 1940 is an artist associated with the Fluxus
art movement. He lives in Copenhagen
, Denmark
.
held during the Festum Fluxorum in the Nikolai Kirke (Nicolas Church) in Copenhagen
. He soon took an early interest in intermedia
l art. In his Opus works from the early 1960s, Andersen explored the open interaction between performer and public, developing open self-transforming works, such as arte strumentale.
Andersen’s performances depend very much on the public. This is true of not only his Fluxus actions but also his installations, to which the public may be prompted to contribute. From 1962 to 1966 he worked closely with Arthur Kopcke, turned in the late 1960s to mail art
and then in the 1970s was concerned with geographical space. His most eminent works include Hidden Paintings, Crying Spaces, Confession Kitchens, Lawns that turn towards the Sun and Artificial Stars.
Andersen was often a guest in the former East Block
countries. In 1966, he held a three-day event in Prague with the Fluxus artists Tomas Schmit
and Milan Knížák
. Those were the first Fluxus
events in Czechoslovakia
. In Poland
he exhibited in Galeria Akumulatory 2
in Poznań
and in the Galeria Potocka in Krakow
.
In 1996, the year in which Copenhagen was Europe’s cultural capital, Andersen arranged a three-day inter-media event involving parachute-jumping, helicopters, mountaineering, live sheep and 500 singers walking on water.
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
art movement. He lives in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Life and work
In 1962 Andersen first took part in one of the early concerts given by FluxusFluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
held during the Festum Fluxorum in the Nikolai Kirke (Nicolas Church) in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. He soon took an early interest in intermedia
Intermedia
Intermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
l art. In his Opus works from the early 1960s, Andersen explored the open interaction between performer and public, developing open self-transforming works, such as arte strumentale.
Andersen’s performances depend very much on the public. This is true of not only his Fluxus actions but also his installations, to which the public may be prompted to contribute. From 1962 to 1966 he worked closely with Arthur Kopcke, turned in the late 1960s to mail art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
and then in the 1970s was concerned with geographical space. His most eminent works include Hidden Paintings, Crying Spaces, Confession Kitchens, Lawns that turn towards the Sun and Artificial Stars.
Andersen was often a guest in the former East Block
East Block
The East Block is one of the three buildings on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing offices for parliamentarians, as well as some preserved pre-Confederation spaces.Built in the Victorian High Gothic style, the East Block is, along with the Library of Parliament, one of only...
countries. In 1966, he held a three-day event in Prague with the Fluxus artists Tomas Schmit
Tomas Schmit
Tomas Schmit Tomas Schmit died on 4 October 2006 at the age of 63 in Berlin, Germany. The artist and author is one of the pioneers of the Fluxus movement of the early 1960s. During the subsequent 40 years, he developed a ramified work of drawings, texts, books and concepts of artists' books...
and Milan Knížák
Milan Knížák
Milan Knížák is a Czech performance artist, sculptor, musician, installation artist, dissident, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.-Childhood and early life in the Protectorate and in the former Sudetenland :...
. Those were the first Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
events in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
he exhibited in Galeria Akumulatory 2
Galeria Akumulatory 2
Galeria Akumulatory 2 in Poznań was one of the key Polish locations exhibiting international art trends such as conceptual art or Fluxus from 1972 to 1989 – and so it hosted numerous solo exhibitions by international conceptual artists and the Fluxus Festival in 1977...
in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
and in the Galeria Potocka in Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
In 1996, the year in which Copenhagen was Europe’s cultural capital, Andersen arranged a three-day inter-media event involving parachute-jumping, helicopters, mountaineering, live sheep and 500 singers walking on water.
External links
- ERIC ANDERSEN fluxus debris!
- Eric Andersen
- Fluxus Text about Eric Andersen
- http://www.ubu.com/papers/marshall/marshall_anderson_opus74.htmlText on Eric Andersen at UbuwebUbuWebUbuWeb is a large web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives.-Philosophy:...
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