Ken Friedman
Encyclopedia
Ken Friedman, is a seminal figure in Fluxus
, an international laboratory for experimental art, architecture, design, literature, and music. He had his first solo exhibition in New York
in 1966. He has also been involved with mail art
, and he has written extensively about Fluxus and Intermedia
. Friedman has edited several Fluxus publications and has been widely published in peer reviewed academic journals as well as in popular and small press publications. He has worked closely with other Fluxus artists and composers such as George Maciunas
, Dick Higgins
, and Nam June Paik
, as well as collaborating with John Cage
and Joseph Beuys
. He was the general manager of Dick Higgins Something Else Press
in the early 1970s.
Friedman received his Master of Arts
degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in education, psychology and social science from San Francisco State University
in 1971. He received his doctorate in 1976 from the United States International University. In 2007, Loughborough University
in the UK honored Friedman with the degree of Doctor of Science
, honoris causa, for outstanding contributions to design research.
In October 2007, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Design at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. From 1994 to 2009, Friedman was professor in the Department of Culture, Communication, and Language at the Norwegian School of Management
in Oslo
, as well as at the Design Research Center at The Danish Design School
in Copenhagen
from 2003 to 2009. In the 1970s he was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Contemporary Art, San Diego and during the mid 1980s he was President of the Art Economist Corporation in New York
.
Ken Friedman has done research in the philosophy of science
, the philosophy of design
, and doctoral education in design. He also works with national design policy projects in Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, and Wales
. He continues to develop international research networks and conferences for the design research community. He is an editor of the journal Artifact, and he serves on the Editorial Board of Design Studies. He has been the book reviews editor of Design Research News and the Communications Secretary of the Design Research Society. In 2000 He co-chaired the La Clusaz Conference on Doctoral Education in Design. He co-chaired the 2006 conference of the European Academy of Management in Oslo, and the 2006 conference of the Design Research Society in Lisbon
, and the 2009 conference on Design Thinking in Torquay, Australia.
Recent exhibitions of his work include Ken Friedman: 99 Events at Stendhal Gallery in New York, Ken Friedman Art(net)worker Extraordinaire at the University of Iowa
Museum of Art in 2000, and Twelve Structures at the Centre of Attention
, London
in 2004. His work is represented in major museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate Modern
in London, the Hood Museum of Art
at Dartmouth College
, and Stadtsgalerie Stuttgart. The University of Iowa Alternative Traditions in the Contemporary Arts is the official repository of Friedman’s papers and research notes. Archiv Sohm at Stadtsgalerie Stuttgart and the Mandeville Department of Special Collections at the University of California
also hold extensive collections of his work from the 1960s and 1970s.
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,...
, an international laboratory for experimental art, architecture, design, literature, and music. He had his first solo exhibition in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1966. He has also been involved with 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 he has written extensively about Fluxus and 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...
. Friedman has edited several Fluxus publications and has been widely published in peer reviewed academic journals as well as in popular and small press publications. He has worked closely with other Fluxus artists and composers such as George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
, Dick Higgins
Dick Higgins
Dick Higgins was a composer, poet, printer, and early Fluxus artist. Higgins was born in Cambridge, England, but raised in the United States in various parts of New England, including Worcester, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Concord, New Hampshire.Like other Fluxus artists, Higgins studied...
, and 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....
, as well as collaborating with 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...
and Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
. He was the general manager of Dick Higgins 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 the early 1970s.
Friedman received his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in education, psychology and social science from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in 1971. He received his doctorate in 1976 from the United States International University. In 2007, Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
in the UK honored Friedman with the degree of Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
, honoris causa, for outstanding contributions to design research.
In October 2007, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Design at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. From 1994 to 2009, Friedman was professor in the Department of Culture, Communication, and Language at the Norwegian School of Management
Norwegian School of Management
BI Norwegian Business School former name BI Norwegian School of Management is the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. BI has in total 6 campuses with the main one located in Oslo.-History:...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, as well as at the Design Research Center at The Danish Design School
Danmarks Designskole
The Danish Design School is an institution of higher education in Copenhagen, Denmark, offering a five-year design education consisting of a three-year bachelor programme and a two-year master in design as well as conducting research within the fields of arts, crafts and design...
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...
from 2003 to 2009. In the 1970s he was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Contemporary Art, San Diego and during the mid 1980s he was President of the Art Economist Corporation in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Ken Friedman has done research in the philosophy of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
, the philosophy of design
Philosophy of design
Philosophy of design is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. The field is defined by an interest in a set of problems, or an interest in central or foundational concerns in design. In addition to these central problems for design as a whole, many philosophers of...
, and doctoral education in design. He also works with national design policy projects in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He continues to develop international research networks and conferences for the design research community. He is an editor of the journal Artifact, and he serves on the Editorial Board of Design Studies. He has been the book reviews editor of Design Research News and the Communications Secretary of the Design Research Society. In 2000 He co-chaired the La Clusaz Conference on Doctoral Education in Design. He co-chaired the 2006 conference of the European Academy of Management in Oslo, and the 2006 conference of the Design Research Society in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, and the 2009 conference on Design Thinking in Torquay, Australia.
Recent exhibitions of his work include Ken Friedman: 99 Events at Stendhal Gallery in New York, Ken Friedman Art(net)worker Extraordinaire at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
Museum of Art in 2000, and Twelve Structures at the Centre of Attention
The Centre of Attention
The Centre of Attention is a London-based contemporary art organisation set up in 1999. Projects are shown internationally and constitute an ongoing enquiry into the phenomenon of art production, presentation and consumption....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2004. His work is represented in major museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the 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 London, the Hood Museum of Art
Hood Museum of Art
The Hood Museum of Art is a museum in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Dating back to 1772, the museum is owned and operated by Dartmouth College and is connected to the Hopkins Center for the Arts. The current building, designed by Charles Willard Moore and Chad Flloyd, opened in the fall of 1985. It...
at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and Stadtsgalerie Stuttgart. The University of Iowa Alternative Traditions in the Contemporary Arts is the official repository of Friedman’s papers and research notes. Archiv Sohm at Stadtsgalerie Stuttgart and the Mandeville Department of Special Collections at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
also hold extensive collections of his work from the 1960s and 1970s.
External links
- Ken Friedman: 99 Events at Stendhal Gallery
- Friedman Biography & Bibliography
- Ken Friedman Art(net)worker Extraordinaire
- Twelve Structures
- 2004 London Fluxus Concert by Ken Friedman
- Forty Years of Fluxus by Ken Friedman
- Interview Ken Friedman by Ruud Janssen
- Professor Ken Friedman
- Ken Friedman at The Danish Design School
- Creating Master Minds. Professor Ken Friedman. Interview published by Design Victoria