Benjamin Patersson Paintings

Benjamin Patterson was an American musician, artist, and one of the founders of the Fluxus movement. Born on May 29, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Patterson grew up in a family that appreciated the arts and encouraged his musical talents. He studied at the University of Michigan and later at the Cologne Music Conservatory in Germany, where he focused on the double bass and orchestration.

Patterson's early career was heavily influenced by his experiences in the classical music world, but he faced significant racial barriers in the United States due to being African American. This led him to move to Europe, where he found more opportunities to perform. However, his encounters with the avant-garde art scene in Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s prompted a shift in his career from traditional musician to avant-garde artist.

In 1962, Patterson participated in the International Festival of the Newest Music in Wiesbaden, which is considered the first Fluxus event. Fluxus was a radical, experimental, and interdisciplinary art movement that sought to break down the boundaries between art and life, often incorporating elements of music, visual art, performance, and literature. Patterson became known for his performance art pieces, which challenged conventional notions of musical composition and performance. One of his most famous works is 'Paper Piece' (1960), which involved the sounds of paper being manipulated in various ways to create an auditory experience.

Throughout the 1960s, Patterson continued to be an active participant in the Fluxus movement, performing and collaborating with other artists such as George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, and Nam June Paik. However, by the 1970s, he had become disillusioned with the commercialization of the art world and largely disappeared from the public eye. He moved back to the United States and took on a variety of jobs, including working as an arts administrator and a librarian.

Patterson re-emerged in the art world in the 1980s when renewed interest in Fluxus began to surface. He began performing again and exhibiting his work, which included not only performance pieces but also assemblages, sculptures, and works on paper. His contribution to the art world was recognized later in his life, and he participated in important exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale.

Benjamin Patterson passed away on June 25, 2016, in Wiesbaden, Germany, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering figure in the Fluxus movement and as an artist who pushed the boundaries of how art and music could be experienced and understood.