Fritz Haeg
Encyclopedia
Fritz Haeg was trained as an architect, but his current work spans a range of disciplines and media including gardens, dance, performance, design, installation, ecology and architecture, most of which is commissioned and presented by art museums and institutions. His work often involves collaboration with other individuals and site specific projects that respond to particular places.
, where he received his B. Arch. He has variously taught in architecture, design, and fine art programs at California Institute of the Arts
(CalArts), Art Center College of Design
, Parsons School of Design, and the University of Southern California
.
Haeg is based in a geodesic dome
in Los Angeles, California
.
and later California Institute of the Arts
(CalArts) where he was an instructor.
in the hills of Los Angeles, California, where in 2001 he established Sundown Salon, a regular series of events, performances and happenings that attracted a diverse crowd, and galvanized a community of east side Los Angeles artists, designers, musicians, and performers. Those who presented work included artists Anna Sew Hoy, Yoshua Okon, Dean Sameshima, Alice Konitz
, Pae White, Eve Fowler, Liz Larner, Christopher Peters
, Pipilotti Rist
, Katie Grinnan, and Jeff Burton
; writers Slava Mogutin
, Chris Abani
, Trinie Dalton and Eileen Myles
; and collectives My Barbarian
, Los Super Elegantes, Assume Vivid Astro Focus
, Lesbians to the Rescue (LTTR), Robbinschilds, and Janfamily. In 2006 the Sundown Salon events came to an end, to be replaced by Sundown Schoolhouse. First based in the geodesic dome as a seasonal self-organized educational environment spanning disciplines, it is now itinerant with programming connected to Haeg's various initiatives.
movement. Starting in the geographic center of the United States, Salina, Kansas
, he selected a local family of willing gardeners to have their lawn removed and replaced with a kitchen garden, of his design. The first garden was commissioned by the Salina Art Center, with later editions in Lakewood, California
(2006), Maplewood, New Jersey
(2007), London, England, (commissioned by Tate Modern
in 2007), Austin, Texas
, (commissioned by Arthouse in 2008), Baltimore, Maryland, (commissioned by Contemporary Museum Baltimore
in 2008), and most recently a public demonstration garden at Descanso Gardens
in La Cañada Flintridge, California
. The book, "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn", was published by Metropolis Books in spring 2008. It is a call for the replacement of the front lawn with edible landscapes, featuring examples of his previous Edible Estate gardens accompanied by essays from Diana Balmori
, Michael Pollan
and Rosalind Creasy.
. The program started in 2006, just as his related event series Sundown Salons concluded. The school was "founded on the premise that artists, designers, performers and writers should be powerful and active agents in society, engaging in a rich and complex dialog that extends to the outside world. The Schoolhouse seeks to present an alternate model for educational and artistic practice, one in which public interaction, physical connectedness, and responsiveness to place are valued above all else." In 2009, a book was published about the activities at then Salon and Schoolhouse.
The Sundown Schoolhouse group presented classes such as Dancing 9-5, Library for the Future, and 'Practicing Moving.' Other activities considered part of the program have included casual meals and yoga sessions. The Schoolhouse responds to the general interests within its community, and often relates to Haeg's other exhibits and projects. Under the name of Sundown Schoolhouse, Haeg has worked with institutions such as Whitney Museum of American Art
, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
.
Visiting hosts and lecturers are invited to organize courses, seminars, and events. Participants and collaborators include Emily Roysdon, Andrea Zittel
, Damon Rich, founder of the Center for Urban Pedagogy
and Eileen Myles
.
featuring a designed beaver pond in the sunken courtyard, an eagle's nest perched above the museum entry. Later 2008 editions are in Cambridge, Massachusetts
(Center for Advanced Visual Studies
at MIT), San Francisco, California
(San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
), Portland, Oregon
(Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College
), and Utrecht, The Netherlands (Casco Office for Art, Design and Theory).
Life and work
Haeg's recent architecture projects have included the design for various residential and art projects including the contemporary art gallery peres projects and the Bernardi residence, both in Los Angeles, CA. He studied architecture in Italy at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia and Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, where he received his B. Arch. He has variously taught in architecture, design, and fine art programs at California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
(CalArts), Art Center College of Design
Art Center College of Design
Art Center College of Design is a private college located in Pasadena, California, and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. The college’s industrial design program is consistently ranked number one by both DesignIntelligence and U.S...
, Parsons School of Design, and the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Haeg is based in a geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Gardenlab (2000)
In 2000 he established Gardenlab, a loose umbrella for his ecology related art and design projects. This initially included community gardens for Art Center College of DesignArt Center College of Design
Art Center College of Design is a private college located in Pasadena, California, and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. The college’s industrial design program is consistently ranked number one by both DesignIntelligence and U.S...
and later California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
(CalArts) where he was an instructor.
Sundown Salon (2001 - 2006)
In 2000 Haeg moved into a geodesic domeGeodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
in the hills of Los Angeles, California, where in 2001 he established Sundown Salon, a regular series of events, performances and happenings that attracted a diverse crowd, and galvanized a community of east side Los Angeles artists, designers, musicians, and performers. Those who presented work included artists Anna Sew Hoy, Yoshua Okon, Dean Sameshima, Alice Konitz
Alice Könitz
Alice Könitz is an artist based in Los Angeles. She works in a variety of media including sculpture made of styrofoam, candies and cardboard, video and photographic collage....
, Pae White, Eve Fowler, Liz Larner, Christopher Peters
Christopher Peters
Christopher Peters is an American movie producer and writer.Part of the Peters Entertainment family, his father is movie producer Jon Peters, and his mother is Lesley Ann Warren. He is married to Daniella Peters. He has 2 half sisters, Caleigh Peters and Skye Peters...
, Pipilotti Rist
Pipilotti Rist
Elisabeth Charlotte "Pipilotti" Rist , is a visual artist who works with video, film, and moving images which are often displayed as projections.-Life and career:...
, Katie Grinnan, and Jeff Burton
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Brian "Jeff" Burton , also referred to as JB or The Mayor, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver who drives the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing. Burton is the younger brother of Ward Burton, who is a former Sprint Cup driver...
; writers Slava Mogutin
Slava Mogutin
Slava Mogutin is a New York-based Russian artist and author, who works across different media, including photography, video, text, installation, sculpture and painting.-Life and work:...
, Chris Abani
Chris Abani
Christopher Abani is a Nigerian author. Abani's first novel, Masters of the Board, was about a Neo-Nazi takeover of Nigeria...
, Trinie Dalton and Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...
; and collectives My Barbarian
My Barbarian
My Barbarian is a Los Angeles based collaborative group consisting of Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon and Alexandro Segade. The trio makes site-responsive performances and video installations that use theatrical play to draw allegorical narratives out of historical dilemmas, mythical conflicts, and...
, Los Super Elegantes, Assume Vivid Astro Focus
Assume Vivid Astro Focus
assume vivid astro focus is both an alias of Brazilian-born New York-based artist Eli Sudbrack, and the name of an international group of visual and performance artists, with French multimedia artist Christophe Hamaide-Pierson one of the main collaborators...
, Lesbians to the Rescue (LTTR), Robbinschilds, and Janfamily. In 2006 the Sundown Salon events came to an end, to be replaced by Sundown Schoolhouse. First based in the geodesic dome as a seasonal self-organized educational environment spanning disciplines, it is now itinerant with programming connected to Haeg's various initiatives.
Edible Estates (2005)
In 2005 he began planting a series of gardens called Edible Estates, a revival of the Victory gardenVictory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
movement. Starting in the geographic center of the United States, Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
, he selected a local family of willing gardeners to have their lawn removed and replaced with a kitchen garden, of his design. The first garden was commissioned by the Salina Art Center, with later editions in Lakewood, California
Lakewood, California
Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...
(2006), Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
(2007), London, England, (commissioned by Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in 2007), Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, (commissioned by Arthouse in 2008), Baltimore, Maryland, (commissioned by Contemporary Museum Baltimore
Contemporary Museum Baltimore
Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Contemporary Museum is a museum specializing in contemporary art, founded in 1989. During its first decade, the peripatetic Contemporary was "dedicated to redefining the concept of the museum." "Like a hermit crab, it moved around the city of Baltimore, sponsoring...
in 2008), and most recently a public demonstration garden at Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens, located in La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California, is a botanical garden.At one time, this property belonged to newspaper magnate E. Manchester Boddy, who owned the Los Angeles Daily News...
in La Cañada Flintridge, California
La Cañada Flintridge, California
La Cañada Flintridge is a small and affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States whose population at the 2010 census was 20,246, down from 20,318 at the 2000 census. According to Forbes, as of 2010, La Cañada Flintridge ranks as the 143rd most expensive U.S...
. The book, "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn", was published by Metropolis Books in spring 2008. It is a call for the replacement of the front lawn with edible landscapes, featuring examples of his previous Edible Estate gardens accompanied by essays from Diana Balmori
Diana Balmori
Diana Balmori is an internationally renowned landscape and urban designer. She is also the founder of the landscape design firm, Balmori Associates.-Early life:...
, Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. A 2006 New York Times book review describes him as a "liberal foodie intellectual."...
and Rosalind Creasy.
Sundown Schoolhouse (2006)
Sundown Schoolhouse is a series of classes hosted in Haeg's home in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The program started in 2006, just as his related event series Sundown Salons concluded. The school was "founded on the premise that artists, designers, performers and writers should be powerful and active agents in society, engaging in a rich and complex dialog that extends to the outside world. The Schoolhouse seeks to present an alternate model for educational and artistic practice, one in which public interaction, physical connectedness, and responsiveness to place are valued above all else." In 2009, a book was published about the activities at then Salon and Schoolhouse.
The Sundown Schoolhouse group presented classes such as Dancing 9-5, Library for the Future, and 'Practicing Moving.' Other activities considered part of the program have included casual meals and yoga sessions. The Schoolhouse responds to the general interests within its community, and often relates to Haeg's other exhibits and projects. Under the name of Sundown Schoolhouse, Haeg has worked with institutions such as Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated to exhibiting the innovative...
, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
.
Visiting hosts and lecturers are invited to organize courses, seminars, and events. Participants and collaborators include Emily Roysdon, Andrea Zittel
Andrea Zittel
Andrea Zittel is an American practicing sculptor, installation artist, and Relational artist.-Early Life:Born in Escondido, California in 1965, Zittel graduated from San Pasqual High School in 1983...
, Damon Rich, founder of the Center for Urban Pedagogy
Center for Urban Pedagogy
The Center for Urban Pedagogy is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to improve the quality of public participation in urban planning and community design...
and Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...
.
Animal Estates (2008)
His most recent project, Animal Estates, creates homes for animals that have been displaced by humans. Each edition of the project is commissioned and presented by a local museum which includes various combinations of related performances, displays, installations, exhibitions, documentary videos, and printed materials such as a local field guide. The project debuted at the 2008 Whitney BiennialWhitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
featuring a designed beaver pond in the sunken courtyard, an eagle's nest perched above the museum entry. Later 2008 editions are in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
(Center for Advanced Visual Studies
Center for Advanced Visual Studies
The Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT was founded in 1967 by artist and teacher György Kepes. Kepes, who taught at the new Bauhaus in Chicago, originally founded the Center as a way to encourage artistic collaboration on a large civic scale....
at MIT), San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
(San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
), Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
(Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
), and Utrecht, The Netherlands (Casco Office for Art, Design and Theory).
External links
- New York Times: Art and Life, Steeping in a Teapot by David Coleman, March 16, 2008
- New York Times T Magazine A Fertile Imagination by Susan Morgan, 2008
- New York Times: Spanish-Modern Mashup in Los Angeles by Michael Cannell, June 26, 2008
- Financial Times: Turf Wars by Simon Busch, 2008
- The Independent: The urban farmer, One man's crusade to plough up the inner city by Kate Burt, 2008
- Frieze Magazine: Edible Estates by Bradley Horn, 2008
- Dwell Magazine: Emerging Designer: Fritz Haeg, video feature, 2008
- Men's Vogue - Greener than Grass by Tim McKeough, 2008
- Reed College Magazine: Canyon Meets Artist by Stephanie Snyder, 2008
- Time Magazine: The Incredible Edible Front Lawn, 2008
- City Radio: interview, 2008
- San Francisco Chronicle: Haeg - Cut the Grass, Plant and Edible Estate by Glen Helfand, 2008
- Whitney Museum of American Art: feature video, 2008
- Art Review: Go tell it on the Mountain - LA's New Nomadic Schools by Holly Meyer's, 2008
- KCET: Sustaining L.A., 2008
- Making Art a Team Sport by Holly Meyers, 2007
- Here and Now on NPR: Edible Estates, 2007
- Day to Day on NPR: Architect creates Estates for Wild Animals, 2008
- Eco Art Blog: Utopia and Failure: Eco Art Blog Interviews Fritz Haeg by Matthias Merkel Hess, 2008
- Creative Time: Interview with Nato Thompson, 2007
- The London Paper: Art that you can Eat by Lottie Muggach, 2007
- Archinect - Fritz Haeg : Small Revolutions by Amy Seek, 2007
- Frieze Magazine: Anyone Home? by James Trainor, 2006
- ABC World News Tonight: Front Yards 'Uprooted' for Greener Pastures, 2006
- TreehuggerTV: Edible Estates, 2006
- Fritz Haeg's official website