Art begins with ‘a blank sheet’, but how do artists deal with it? Meet John Armleder, one of the most influential Swiss artists of his generation, who here discusses the connotations of the blank sheet and compares the process of making art to dancing.
Armleder feels that in his case “the blank page is full before it’s done.” The process of creating is not the main thing. The main thing is what happens before you begin the work – the inspiration – and what happens in the minds of people who interact with the finished work: “The event itself, producing, is like dancing – it’s the fun of it.”
John Armleder (b. 1948) is a Swiss performance artist, painter, sculptor, critic and curator. He is most commonly known for his engagement with the multidisciplinary Fluxus movement in the 1960s and 1970s, which was based around the Neo-Dadaist principles of creating work that is anti-art, anti-establishment and anti-commercialism. Much of Armleder’s work is based on his artistic activities of that time, which included performances, installations and other art happenings. In 1969 he co-founded the publishing house Groupe Ecart in Geneva, Switzerland, which introduced prolific artists such as Andy Warhol to Switzerland and other parts of Europe. John Armleder has exhibited internationally at prominent venues such as MoMA in New York, Serpentine Gallery in London, Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
John Armleder was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at the lithographic workshop and gallery space Edition Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark in September 2015.
Camera: Klaus Elmer
Edited by: Klaus Elmer
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2015
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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