Pete Missing
Encyclopedia
Peter Missing is a New York City
artist, poet, musician, and activist who relocated to Berlin
in 1993.
.
He was one of the organizers of the protest against the Tompkins Square Park curfew that led to the Tompkins Square Park Riot. His symbol, an upside down martini glass with three strikes crossed out, means "party's over". The symbol used to be spotted all over the Lower East Side
. It was often accompanied by anti-landlord, anti-gentrification
, anti-police brutality, anti-corporations, and pro-environment slogans. The symbol was originally designed for a band Missing founded in 1980 called Drunk Driving and has grown to symbolize the decline of our planet and a warning to start something new; time for a change.
He founded the influential underground industrial
band Missing Foundation while living in Hamburg
, Germany in 1984 and imported it to the U.S. in 1985 with new members. The band has included about 20 members over its history. The name came from the East German police unit whose job it was to track down people who fled to West Germany
. At shows Missing would sometimes set himself on fire as part of the performance. The band released five albums with Restless Records
in L.A. including Your House Is Mine which was named Rock Album of the Week in the New York Times in 1988.
Peter has been painting for the past 30 years and has works in over 30 museums in the U.S. and Europe including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Getty Institute
, and the Stadt Museum in Berlin. He currently sells his paintings out of his gallery, Conto Gallery in Kunsthaus Tacheles
in Berlin.
Peter worked many years as a film set designer in Hamburg and taught art to troubled youth in different German schools. He currently lives in Berlin where he is focusing on painting and creating electronic music.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
artist, poet, musician, and activist who relocated to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1993.
History
Missing grew up in the Bronx during the 1950s and 60's, as a middle child of three siblings. He’s Italian and one-third Danish. His father was a postal worker who delivered to the Empire State BuildingEmpire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
.
He was one of the organizers of the protest against the Tompkins Square Park curfew that led to the Tompkins Square Park Riot. His symbol, an upside down martini glass with three strikes crossed out, means "party's over". The symbol used to be spotted all over the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. It was often accompanied by anti-landlord, anti-gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, anti-police brutality, anti-corporations, and pro-environment slogans. The symbol was originally designed for a band Missing founded in 1980 called Drunk Driving and has grown to symbolize the decline of our planet and a warning to start something new; time for a change.
He founded the influential underground industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
band Missing Foundation while living in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany in 1984 and imported it to the U.S. in 1985 with new members. The band has included about 20 members over its history. The name came from the East German police unit whose job it was to track down people who fled to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. At shows Missing would sometimes set himself on fire as part of the performance. The band released five albums with Restless Records
Restless Records
Restless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1981 by Enigma Records and primarly released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute Records...
in L.A. including Your House Is Mine which was named Rock Album of the Week in the New York Times in 1988.
Peter has been painting for the past 30 years and has works in over 30 museums in the U.S. and Europe including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Getty Institute
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, and the Stadt Museum in Berlin. He currently sells his paintings out of his gallery, Conto Gallery in Kunsthaus Tacheles
Kunsthaus Tacheles
The Kunsthaus Tacheles , is an art center in Berlin, a large building on Oranienburger Straße in the district known as Mitte. Huge, colorful graffiti-style murals are painted on the exterior walls, and modern art sculptures are featured inside...
in Berlin.
Peter worked many years as a film set designer in Hamburg and taught art to troubled youth in different German schools. He currently lives in Berlin where he is focusing on painting and creating electronic music.
with Missing Foundation
- Frontline 2185 (with KMFDMKMFDMKMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
, 1984) - The 20th Anniversary of the Summer of Love (with various, 1987)
- Missing Foundation (1987)
- Your House Is Mine 1933 (1988)
- Humanity Demise (1989)
- Song and Legend (with various, 1989)
- Ignore the White Culture (1990)
- Go into Exile (1992)
- Assault on Your Life (1992)
- Live in Europe 1992 (1992)
- Just Another Hit (1993)
- State of the Union 2.001 (with various, 2001)
with Missing Seven Hazard
- Global Warning (Single, 2007)
- Rocket the U.S. (2010)
- Nature Revolt Remix (2010)
- War of the Minds (2010)