The Art of Hundertwasser
Ranked #346 in Arts & Design, #4,181 overall
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
"A painter should act as an example against the consumer society. He should be an example of how to live in a waste-less society."
I first discovered the art of Hundertwasser when one of my fellow students designed a costume project with strong influences from Hundertwasser's paintings. Later, when I was studying in Ohio, I found a book of his beautiful bright jewel-like paintings. Seven years later I finally read the book rather than just looking at the pictures.
On the page below I share some of Hundertwasser's paintings and insights into his life and art.
“Paintings should be shown as if they were jewels.”
Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser
Painter, architect, ecologist.
"One man has one name; when he has many names he is many persons."
Friedrich Stowasser was born on the 15th December 1928 in Vienna, Austria.
His mother was Jewish, but he was baptised in 1937. Converts from Judaism were often bigger targets for the Nazi party, so to protect her family, Friedrich's mother enrolled him into the Hitler Youth.
Stowasser's early artistic endeavors included pressing flowers. In 1948 he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Arts but left once he'd learnt the basics.
"Sto" or "Sta" means "one hundred" in the Slavic languages - hence the name change to Hundertwasser.
"I see water as a sort of refuge, an escape to which I can always resort."
He added the name Regentag, which means "rainy day" after he noticed how colours shine in the rain. Regentag is also the name of his boat.
The name "Dunkelbunt" means "dark colourful" and refers to his practice of surrounding saturated colours with black.
"I have many names and am many persons. I am a painter, an architect, an ecologist."
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hundertwasser_nz_1998_hg.jpg
Photo by Hannes Grobe
Quotes and research from Harry Rand's book "Hundertwasser".
- Wiki
- Wikipedia entry for Friedrich Hundertwasser.
- Hundertwasser
- Check out the official website.
- Hundertwasser on Hundertwasser
- What does Hundertwasser say about himself?
Written in Venice 1975. - Hundertwasser.com
- Includes some of Hundertwasser's tapestry work.
- Hundertwasser Stamps
- Website dedicated to Hundertwasser postage stamps.
Hundertwasser...
by Harry Rand.
Hundertwasser (Taschen 25th Anniversary)
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 05/31/2012)
This is the book I brought back from America (although my copy has the same cover as the one featured in the side bar). It's full of full colour images and is based around an interview with the artist.
Green Town
Painting by Hundertwasser c.1978.
I love this glorious bird's eye view of a town, especially the way the green lines of "grass" turn into blue lines of "water".
Money
"How little you need to live".
"What would happen if people instead of asking for more and more would ask for less and less? They would be happier, would be healthier, wouldn't eat rich food, they'd give up their cars for bicycles, grow vegetables in the garden; everyone would need less money..."
In Harry Rand's book, Hundertwasser describes how in Paris he would live off sacks of wheat that he bought directly from a farmer for a very small sum of money. When he went to Paris he only had $50 and after a year he still had that money. He lived with friends, used a borrowed bicycle for transport and painted.
"Strangely when you don't need money, money runs after you."
Hundertwasser didn't want to sell his paintings originally but the offers doubled and doubled.
“...everything is alive constantly, only transformed into other forms...”
The Blob Grows in the Beloved Gardens
Painting by Hundertwasser c.1975.
What is going on in this painting?
These are just my thoughts, I have no actual idea if I'm right.
To me, it looks like a head behind lollipop trees. The "head" seems to have windows built into it. The blue and red shapes along the bottom of the painting look like beach huts.
I love how the trees are translucent so that you can see the trunk of one tree behind the leaves of another.
What is this blob that grows in beloved gardens? Maybe it's some sort of apartment block - perhaps Hundertwasser is making a comment about green areas being taken over by manmade buildings.
We Live in Paradise
Painting by Hundertwasser c.1999
The "Kiss boat" is a frequently used motif in Hundertwasser's work. The "Kiss Boat" refers to the lips that look like red boats with two sails or sometimes more than two as shown below.
This painting looks a little like a collage sheet with faces along the top going horizontal as if to fit them in!
Paul Klee
In "We Live in Paradise" you can see "flavours" of Paul Klee.
- Wiki
- Wikipedia entry for Paul Klee.
“Everyone can and must be creative. That is a law of nature.”
Colouring Book...
...based on the art of Hundertwasser.
A Journey in the World of Fantasy with Hundertwasser (Colouring Book)
Amazon Price: $4.75 (as of 05/31/2012)
This is not just an ordinary colouring book - it includes spaces for your child to create their own Hundertwasser-inspired artworks.
Spirals
Images de la Folie.
Spiral first started appearing in Hundertwasser's work in 1953.
He'd seen a French documentary called "Images de la Folie" which was about the creativity of Schizophrenic patients.
Hundertwasser saw the patients making spirals and the image stuck with him.
The image of the spiral spoke to Hundertwasser of life and death. He even designed a "Spiral House" which would be an ecological building that recycled water.
Egon Schiele
Hundertwasser cites Schiele as a huge influence.
"...he painted them as if there were no difference between the skin of a naked girl and the skin of a house... when you look at these houses you feel that they are human."
Buy at AllPosters.com
Buy at AllPosters.com
Buy at AllPosters.com
- Wiki
- Wikipedia entry for Egon Schiele.
Harvesting Dreams...
...Hundertwasser for Kids.
Harvesting Dreams: Hundertwasser for Kids
Amazon Price: $12.91 (as of 05/31/2012)
"Painting is to dream, said Hundertwasser. When the dream
is over, I don t remember anything I dreamed about. The
painting, however, remains. It is the harvest of my dream."
A book of creative ideas for artistic projects based on the work of Hundertwasser.
Education...
...or lack thereof.
I don't think Hundertwasser thought a lot of education. He never stayed long for his own education - just enough time to learn the basics and then he was off on his own to experiment.
He later taught master classes, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, but would often be absent from the room thinking his presence would stop the students from exploring their own creativity.
"In the classroom there are plants and trees. They take my place, they are the teachers."
His one lecture at the Hamberg College of Arts consisted of him saying:
"...it is certain that many of you have no real talent for art, and should therefore not be here. It is equally certain that a few of you are born artists, and therefore in no need of my instruction... you would do well to return to your homes and get on with the business of developing your unique individual creativity, as I intend to do. That is the sum of my advice and teaching."
“I think the onion shape means richness and happiness and wealth and opulence and fertility.”
Kreative Architecture
Painting by Hundertwasser.
Above: Some of the onion shapes that Hundertwasser liked. I love the lines going through each "onion" - they also remind me of dollops of brightly coloured cream!
Kunsthaus
KunstHausWien is Vienna's art gallery, designed by Hundertwasser and painted black and white so as not to overpower the artwork inside the building.
“We possess three skins: skin, clothing and architecture.”
Hundertwasser Architecture...
...on Amazon.
Hundertwasser Architecture: For a More Human Architecture in Harmony With Nature
Amazon Price: $285.00 (as of 05/31/2012)
Find out more about Hundertwasser's architectural designs, from the first sketches to the completed projects.
Included are commentaries on all the paintings, models and buildings by Hundertwasser.
Hundertwasser...
...Complete Graphic Work.
Hundertwasser: Complete Graphic Work 1951-1976
Amazon Price: $11.44 (as of 05/31/2012)
This publication was originally created as an exhibition catalog and contains ninety-eight color illustrations.
“The straight line is completely alien to mankind, to life, to all creation.”
Dirt
Hundertwasser's reaction against sterile environments.
"The longer I live the more I have the feeling that I must contribute to restore the dirt, just being a little bit more dirty than others."
In Harry Rand's book, Hundertwasser talks about how our "world" is becoming more sterile and how this is making way for new diseases and cancer and poisoning the world.
In his architecture, as well as his paintings, you can see how he fights against the clean, sterile, white that's creeping into our world.
Find out what others think of Hundertwasser
Hundertwasser in Blogs.
- NO to referendum YES to Hundertwasser
- The question that has divided public opinion in Whangarei has been answered ? the Hundertwasser Art Centre will receive council funding. The question that has divided public opinion in Whangarei has been answered - the Hundertwasser Art Centre will ...
- Hundertwasser Project to go ahead
- District councillors today voted in favour of proceeding with the $13 million Hundertwasser Art Centre project - a project they admitted had divided the community. Last minute amendments, including one to hinge the project on the outcome of a binding ...
- Two thirds oppose art centre proposal
- Close to two-thirds of submissions to the Whangarei District Council's Draft Long Term Plan are opposed to the proposed Hundertwasser Art Centre. A count of submissions by the Northern Advocate found only 38.6 per cent of the 1263 submitters who voiced ...
- One-Bedroom "Quixote" Winery Estate Asks a Staggering $35M
- By guest All those exterior shots (including the onion dome) are of the winery, not the house, which was designed by the late, eccentric and not-very-prolific Austrian architect Friedrich Hundertwasser. That's what you're paying for.
Tender Dinghi
Paintings by Hundertwasser.
In this painting the water breaks the sunlight up into rainbow stripes. Hundertwasser's paintings often explore the water cycle and the connection of people to land and water.
Tender Dinghy is painted as if from a bird's eye view.
Costume Design Work...
...inspired by the art of Hundertwasser.
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Index
Quick links to important points.
- Bookmark this Page
- Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser
- Gorgeous Hundertwasser Website
- Green Town
- Money
- The Blob Grows in the Beloved Gardens
- We Live in Paradise
- Paul Klee
- End of the Waters
- Spirals
- Egon Schiele
- Imagine Tomorrows World (orange)
- Education...
- Kreative Architecture
- Kunsthaus
- Dirt
- The Crossroad
- Tender Dinghi
Share your thoughts
Reader Feedback.
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Chris Muth
Apr 13, 2012 @ 5:25 pm | delete
- I just viewed your website and liked the way you have made it so beautiful.
I am a big fan for special reasons, some one gave me a Mural called Paradise by him and we are doing a book and film about the project.Contact me at restoringparadise@gmail.com best wishes Chris Muth
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BiminiBahamas
Apr 10, 2012 @ 10:57 am | delete
- Thanks for the thoughtful lens ... btw ... have you ever visited the Hundertwasser Haus in Vienna? It is way cool!
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Upon-Request
Apr 8, 2012 @ 11:54 am | delete
- Artists are fascinating - love it when I learn something new!
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LizMac60 Apr 6, 2012 @ 6:18 am | delete
- Great lens of an exceptional artist. Blessed.
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brynimagire
Mar 26, 2012 @ 9:55 am | delete
- Interesting lens ! Nice information !
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Hundertwasser by Harry Rand
Hundertwasser
Amazon Price: $14.50 (as of 05/31/2012)
This book was my first experience of Hundertwasser's beautiful jewel-like paintings. The book is full of full colour pictures and lots of information about this extraordinary man.
