Eric Andersen (artist)
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Eric Andersen (born 1940 in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
) is a Danish artist associated with the
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...
art movement. He lives in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. Eric Andersen's artistic activities invite the audience to look at life from new, unexpected perspectives. It can deal with widely different phenomena such as: composing music, the function of museum institutions, the postal system, art or ethnological collecting to natural phenomena such as our circulation around the sun or the functions of or scent. His activity is intermedial, that is to say that he does not use traditional artist's materials and that meant that he and others broke with what kind of issues/subjects art could include.


Life and work

In 1962 Andersen first took part in one of the early concerts given by
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...
held during the Festum Fluxorum in the Nikolai Kirke (Nicolas Church) in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. He soon took an early interest in
intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...
l art. In his ''Opus'' works from the early 1960s, Andersen explored the open interaction between performer and public,Higgins, Hannah. Fluxus Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. p. 150 developing open self-transforming works, such as ''arte strumentale''. Eric Andersens most eminent works include:
Hidden Paintings
',
Crying Spaces
',

',
'' Lawns that turn towards the Sun
',
Opus 51 - I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOU
',
Mariane - Artificial Stars
' and
PLEASE LEAVE
'. Hi'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. Andersen turned in the late 1960s to
mail art Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the mail, postal service. It developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence School and ...
and then in the 1970s was concerned with geographical space. Already during the 1960s, Andersen began to take an interest in using
computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', ...
. Unlike the other pioneers in this time, he did not use them to create images, but was fascinated by the ''
algorithms In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for per ...
'' and how he could use them to control the audience. His work ''opus 1966'' is an early form of
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, consisting of a poem, which constantly recreates itself. In 2023, he transformed this work into a choral piece in connection with an exhibition on artificial intelligence in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Andersen was often a guest in the former
East Block The East Block (officially the Eastern Departmental Building; ) is one of the three buildings on Canada's Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing offices for parliamentarians, as well as some preserved pre-Canadian Confederation, Confede ...
countries and was essential as a connector of
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
movement between the West and East Pacts on each side of the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
. In 1966, he held a three-day event in Prague with the Fluxus artists Tomas Schmit and
Milan Knížák Milan Knížák (; born 19 April 1940) is a Czech performance artist, sculptor, noise musician, installation artist, political dissident, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art associated with Fluxus. Biography Early life Milan ...
. Those were the first
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...
events in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. In
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
he exhibited in Galeria Akumulatory 2 in
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
and in the Galeria Potocka in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. In 1985 he arranged the
Festival of Fantastics
' in
Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, Denmark. In the year in which Copenhagen was ''Europe’s cultural capital'', 1996, Andersen arranged a three-day event ''Margrethe Fjorden Intermedia festival''. Here he performed, among other things, the compositions: ''parachute-jumping'', ''helicopters'', ''mountaineering'', ''live sheep'' and ''500 singers walking on water''. 2017 appeared the boo
The Glorious Way of Unproductivity
by Per Brunskog. In the spirit of Eric Andersen's intermedia tradition, this book is not a biography, but takes the form of a textbook in intermedia, based exclusively on Eric Andersen's work. The book is so far only available in Danish. Eric Andersen opposes those who describe Fluxus as an: ''art movement'' or ''-ism'', as he points out that it was just a global network of artists, but that they had no common form of expression or goal. Or those who designate Fluxus with the term ''
neo-dada Neo-Dada was an art movement with audio, visual and literary manifestations that had similarities in method or intent with earlier Dada artwork. It sought to close the gap between art and daily life, and was a combination of playfulness, iconoclas ...
'', when he mean that
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
was obsessed with the definition of art; while those who participated in the Fluxus events were indifferent whether they were creating ''art'' or whether what they were doing was any other form of ''human activity''.


Footnotes


See also

*
Digital Art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...
*
Computer art Computer art is art in which computers play a role in the production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditio ...
*
Systems art Systems art is art influenced by cybernetics and systems theory, reflecting on natural systems, social systems, and the social signs of the art world itself. Systems art emerged as part of the first wave of the conceptual art movement in the 19 ...
*
post-conceptual Post-conceptual, postconceptual, post-conceptualism or postconceptualism is an art theory that builds upon the legacy of conceptual art in contemporary art, where the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take some precedence over traditional ...
*
Generative art Generative art is post-conceptual art that has been created (in whole or in part) with the use of an autonomous system. An ''autonomous system'' in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an ...


References

* Owen Smith (1998)
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...
: The History of an Attitude,
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
Press * Block, René, ed. 1962 Wiesbaden Fluxus 1982. Wiesbaden (BRD): Harlekin Art; Wiesbaden: Museum Wiesbaden and Nassauischer Kunstverein; Kassel: Neue Galerie der Staatliche, 1982. * Friedman, Ken, ed. The Fluxus Reader. Chicester, West Sussex and New York: Academy Editions, 1998. * Gray, John. Action Art. A Bibliography of Artists’ Performance from
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
to Fluxus and Beyond. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993. * Hendricks, Geoffrey, ed. Critical Mass,
Happenings A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" in t ...
, Fluxus, performance,
intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...
and
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
1958–1972. Mason Gross Art Galleries, Rutgers, and Mead Art Gallery, Amherst, 2003. Page 85 * Hendricks, Jon. Fluxus Codex. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1989. * Jon Hendricks, ed. Fluxus, etc.: The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Collection. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Cranbrook Museum of Art, 1982. * Higgins, Hannah. Fluxus Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. p. 150 * Kellein, Thomas. Fluxus. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995. * Milman, Estera, ed. Fluxus: A Conceptual Country, 'Visible Language'', vol. 26, nos. 1/2">Visible_Language.html" ;"title="'Visible Language">'Visible Language'', vol. 26, nos. 1/2Providence: Rhode Island School of Design, 1992. * Moren, Lisa. Intermedia. Baltimore, Maryland: University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2003. * Paull, Silke and Hervé Würz, eds. ''How we met or a microdemystification''. Saarbrücken-Dudweiler (Germany) 1977, Engl.-German, AQ 16, Incl. a bibliography by Hanns Sohm. * Phillpot, Clive, and Jon Hendricks, eds. Fluxus: Selections from the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Collection. New York:
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, 1988. * Schmidt-Burkhardt, Astrit. Maciunas’ Learning Machine from
Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
to a Chronology of Fluxus. Detroit, Michigan: Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection, 2005. * In the spirit of Fluxus by Elizabeth Armstrong, Janet Jenkins, Joan Rothfuss,
Simon Anderson Simon Anderson (born 7 July 1954) is an Australian competitive surfer, surfboard shaper, and writer. He is credited with the 1980 invention of a three-fin surfboard design, called the "thruster". Early life Anderson grew up in the Northern Beac ...
,
Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
. page 37 *
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
Going with the Flow - 7 Mar 1983 - v. 16, no. 10, Page 104 * The invisible masterpiece by
Hans Belting Hans Belting (7 July 1935 – 10 January 2023) was a German art historian and media theorist with a focus on image science, and this with regard to contemporary art and to the Italian art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Biography Be ...
, Helen Atkins * Happenings and Other Acts (Worlds of Performance) by M. Sandford Page 77 * Fluxus: today and yesterday by Johan Pijnappel Page 28 * The readymade boomerang by René Block, Art Gallery of New South Wales Page 138, 147 * New art examiner by Chicago New Art Association, Pennsylvania New Art Association, Washington, D.C. New Art Association. v. 21 - 1993 page 21 * Philosophy and love by Linnell Secomb page 138 * Upheavals, manifestos, manifestations By Klaus Schrenk, Städitsche Kunsthalle Düsseldorf page 26, 27 * Modernism since Postmodernism By
Dick Higgins Dick Higgins (15 March 1938 – 25 October 1998) was an American artist, composer, art theorist, poet, publisher, printmaker, and a co-founder of the Fluxus international artistic movement (and community). Inspired by John Cage, Higgins was ...
page 77,108 * Action art By John Gray page 106 * The cinema of Scandinavia By Tytti Soila page 225 * Networked Art By Craig J. Saper page 161 * The Fluxus constellation Sandra Solimano,
Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Rick Nelson, and many others. Early in his career, ...
, Villa Croce (Museum : Genoa, Italy) * Pop art Marco Livingstone,
Dan Cameron Dan Cameron (born February 12, 1956, in Utica, New York) is an American contemporary art curator. He has served as senior curator for Next Wave Visual Art at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), an annual exhibition of emerging Brooklyn-based artists ...
,
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...
Page 234 * Neo-avant-garde By David Hopkins, Anna Katharina Schaffner Page 158 * A flexible history of Fluxus facts and fictions By
Emmett Williams Emmett Williams (4 April 1925 – 14 February 2007) was an American poet and visual artist. He was married to British visual artist Ann Noël. Williams was born in Greenville, South Carolina, grew up in Virginia, and lived in Europe from 1 ...
, Ann Noël Page 40,120 * Berlinart 1961-1987 By Kynaston McShine, René Block,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art ...
Page 69 * Artistic Bedfellows By
Holly Crawford Holly Crawford (born 10 February 1984) is an Australian half-pipe snowboarder. She competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics and placed 22nd and 12th in her qualification runs. She ranked 19th out of 34 competitors and did not make the final. Crawfo ...
Page 159 * Not the other avant-garde By James Martin Harding, John Rouse Page 278 * Commentaries on the new media arts By Robert C. Morgan Page 5 * Annual Bibliography of Modern Art, 1991 By Museum Of Modern Art Library Page 176 * "The Computational Word Works of Eric Andersen and
Dick Higgins Dick Higgins (15 March 1938 – 25 October 1998) was an American artist, composer, art theorist, poet, publisher, printmaker, and a co-founder of the Fluxus international artistic movement (and community). Inspired by John Cage, Higgins was ...
" by
Hannah Higgins Hannah B. Higgins (born 1964) is an American writer and academic living in Chicago, Illinois. Higgins's research examines various post-conceptual art historical subjects (visual, musical, computational and material) in terms of two philosophical ...
in H. Higgins, & D. Kahn (Eds.), Mainframe experimentalism: Early digital computing in the experimental arts, pp. 279–287


External links


Archivio ConzEric Andersen
at
Ubuweb UbuWeb is a "a pirate shadow library consisting of hundreds of thousands of freely downloadable avant-garde artifacts." It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives. The site was created by ...

Until everyone gets their own KingdomFondazione Bonotto
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Eric (artist) Belgian contemporary artists Fluxus Danish conceptual artists Neo-Dada 1940 births Living people Artists from Antwerp