Al Hansen
Encyclopedia
Alfred Earl "Al" Hansen (5 October 1927 – 22 June 1995) was an American artist considered as one of the most important Fluxus figures. He was a Norwegian American
.
Born in New York City, he was a member of the Fluxus
art movement and friend to Yoko Ono
and John Cage
. While serving in Germany in World War II Hansen pushed a piano off the roof of a five story building. This act became the foundation of one of his most recognized performance pieces, the Yoko Ono Piano Drop and inspired artists like Nam June Paik
.
Hansen was a frequent visitor to The Factory
, Andy Warhol
's studio in New York. Hansen also studied with and worked with the composer John Cage
at the New School for Social Research in New York City. Hansen was perhaps best known for his performance pieces, his participation in Happenings, and for his collage
s in which he often used cigarette butts and candy bar wrappers as the raw materials, among them numerous variations of a sculpture referring the Venus of Willendorf
.
He wrote an important book about performance art, A Primer of Happenings and Time Space Art published by Something Else Press
in 1965. In 1977 Hansen managed Los Angeles punk bands the Controllers and the Screamers
in Hollywood. In the 1980s Hansen moved to Cologne, Germany where he established an art school, the Ultimate Akademie. Inspired among others by the Final Academy of Genesis P-Orridge
it became a meeting point for local and international performers of the time based arts.
He died in Cologne
, Germany
in 1995, with a number of friends celebrating a fluxus funeral according to his plan.
Al Hansen was the father of Andy Warhol
protege Bibbe Hansen
and the grandfather and artistic mentor of rock musician Beck
and artist Channing Hansen
.
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans are Americans of Norwegian descent. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the later half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans according to the most recent U.S. census, and...
.
Born in New York City, he was a member of the 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,...
art movement and friend to Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
and John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
. While serving in Germany in World War II Hansen pushed a piano off the roof of a five story building. This act became the foundation of one of his most recognized performance pieces, the Yoko Ono Piano Drop and inspired artists like Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
.
Hansen was a frequent visitor to The Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's studio in New York. Hansen also studied with and worked with the composer John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
at the New School for Social Research in New York City. Hansen was perhaps best known for his performance pieces, his participation in Happenings, and for his collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s in which he often used cigarette butts and candy bar wrappers as the raw materials, among them numerous variations of a sculpture referring the Venus of Willendorf
Venus of Willendorf
The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the...
.
He wrote an important book about performance art, A Primer of Happenings and Time Space Art published by Something Else Press
Something Else Press
Something Else Press was founded by Dick Higgins in 1963. It published many important Intermedia texts and artworks by Higgins, Ray Johnson, Gertrude Stein, George Brecht, Daniel Spoerri, Bern Porter, John Cage, Emmett Williams and others. The Something Else Press was an early publisher of...
in 1965. In 1977 Hansen managed Los Angeles punk bands the Controllers and the Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
in Hollywood. In the 1980s Hansen moved to Cologne, Germany where he established an art school, the Ultimate Akademie. Inspired among others by the Final Academy of Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
it became a meeting point for local and international performers of the time based arts.
He died in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1995, with a number of friends celebrating a fluxus funeral according to his plan.
Al Hansen was the father of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
protege Bibbe Hansen
Bibbe Hansen
Bibbe Hansen is a performance artist, musician, and former actress best known as the mother of Grammy award winning musician Beck.-Family:...
and the grandfather and artistic mentor of rock musician Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
and artist Channing Hansen
Channing Hansen
Channing Hansen is an American artist, best known as the son of Bibbe Hansen, brother of musician Beck , grandson of artist Al Hansen and married to The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Director of Publications Lisa Gabrielle Mark....
.