Post by hi224 on Oct 7, 2020 22:22:35 GMT
Bas Jan Ader was a conceptual and performance artist who disappeared in unknown circumstances during an attempt to cross the Atlantic in a 13 foot sailboat.
Background
Bastiaan Johan 'Bas Jan' Christiaan Ader was born in Drieborg, Groningen a small Dutch town in 1942. Early in his life his father, a Minister, was executed by the occupying Nazi's along with six other conspirators for his work helping large numbers of Jews escape the Holocaust, during these attempts they had often been sheltered at the Ader home.
In his teen years he studied Art at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and also studied in the United States. Having graduated in the mid 60's he taught in several institutions including Mt San Antonio College and the University of California.
Artistic Work
Bas went on to create and become well known in the art community for a series of black and white photos and short films he made featuring only him.
His most famous work is likely 'I'm too sad to tell you' a work that consisted of 3 minutes of him crying, several black and white photos of him and a postcard he mailed to a friend with the inscription 'I'm too sad to tell you'.
Other notable works included a short clip of him hanging from a branch until he fell into a stream and another in which he drove a bike into a canal.
Earlier Transatlantic Crossing
In 1962 while travelling in Morocco, Bas had encountered an American man named Neil Tucker Birkenhead who was seeking someone to sail with him across the Atlantic aboard a small boat named 'Felicidad', not being a stranger to sailing Bas agreed to make the trip though it is not believed that he had made such long distant trips before with some who knew him describing him as a novice sailor while others stating he was competent enough.
The journey proved to be a disaster, Felicidad was caught in two violent storms and was taken under tow several times. Once he reached Los Angeles, Bas chose to settle there and become and american citizen.
Preparations for the Final Voyage
In 1975 Bas had already taken a series of photos in Los Angeles depicting a man searching empty streets by torchlight at night. This was to be the first part of a Tryptych, a work of art in three parts called 'In Search of the Miraculous'.
The second part was to be photos and film taken on a transatlantic voyage from Cape Cod to Falmouth and the third and final part was to be similar to the Los Angeles photos but this time taken in the Netherlands before he would arrive in time for an exhibition of his work at the Groninger Museum.
Disappearance
Bas had arranged a choir which included his own students to sing sea shanties at a Los Angeles Gallery around the same time he departed Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He set out on July 9th 1975 aboard a 13 foot modified Guppy pocket cruiser named 'Ocean Wave'.
The Ocean Wave had been modified with strengthened rigging and a reinforced fibreglass hull. However due to its size if he had been successful in the crossing it would have set a record for the smallest craft at the time to make such a voyage.
Against advice he had decided to make the west to east crossing solo and estimated it would take him 2 and a half to three months to successfully reach europe. His wife, Mary Sue Ader Anderson photographed him as he was towed out of the harbour, he was never seen again.
4 months after he had last been seen, his wife and his brother Erik alerted authorities on both sides of the Atlantic to his disappearance. His wife stated at the time that she still hoped it was part of her husbands plan and that he would soon reappear. His brother however was an experienced sailor and believed Bas had died at sea.
In April 1976, 9-10 months after it had last been seen, his boat was sighted some 150 miles off the coast of Kerry, Ireland. The find was made by the crew of a Spanish trawler named 'Eduardo Pondal'. At first they had been unsure what they were seeing but as they drew closer they found the sailing boat floating vertically in the water, its stern pointed to the sky.
The Spanish Crew hoisted the small craft aboard and a search turned up a large amount of spoiled canned goods and 4 forms of ID that identified the owner as Bas Jan Ader. The captain of the Spanish ship made a note in his log that the barnacles growth on the boats hull suggested it had been adrift for 6 months at least.
The Investigation
It was quickly established that Bas Jan Ader had likely drowned at sea, but some questions remained as to the circumstances of this. His camera and notebooks were all missing, items he likely would have held most dear and not left behind if he had abandoned the boat for any reason. This lead to speculation among many in the art world that he had staged a disappearance as an artistic publicity stunt.
Authorities went on to point out the title and nature of the art piece he was making at the time of his disappearance was possibly evident that he had intended to disappear or die at sea as some sort of grand vision to leave those who knew him 'searching for the miraculous'. His wife fervently denied any possibility Bas was suicidal and stated publicly she had asked him more then once if this had been the intention of the voyage.
Authorities also suggested that Bas Jan Ader had been unhappy living in Los Angeles, this was supported by a few of his friends and colleagues but disputed by many including his wife and brother. His best friend Gerrit Van Elk suggested in several interviews Bas had likely been suicidal. His wife also opened up about their relationship being difficult and spoke of struggling with open relationships, it's not known what way if any this would have affected him.
Others in the art world have also pointed out the emphasis of water in many of Bas earlier works and the risk of drowning inherent to some of them, particularly the fall into a stream and the bike ride into a canal that were mentioned earlier.
The Ocean Wave
The Spanish Fishing Trawler that had found the Ocean Wave at sea returned to the port of A Coruña with it. Spanish police observed upon inspecting the craft that the washboards had been ripped from their casings, this was suggested to be as a result of tension from a lifeline that Bas would have kept tied to himself at all times during the voyage.
The fact his camera equipment and notebooks weren't found onboard was explained away by spanish authorities as the fact they likely were out on the open deck at the time the boat had capsized while cans of food and other equipment was stored safely. The only lifejacket that had been aboard was also not recovered suggesting Bas had been wearing it when he entered the water, many believe this made suicide an unlikely theory.
Bas wife and his Brother Erik set out to visit A Coruña and see the Ocean Wave for themselves but in a bizarre twist the ship disappeared before their arrival. Police believe it was stolen from the port for salvage or less likely by an art collector.
Conclusion
There has been no sign of Bas Jan Ader since he set out on that voyage from Cape Cod. While his disappearance didnt make many headlines at first it began to become more well known during an artistic revival of his work in the late 80's and early 90's. Many have stated that his work and disappearance have become 'mythologised' by some who knew him and this appears to be the case as some interviews and documentaries about him made in the late 1990's are preoccupied by his disappearance rather then the life he lived.
What do you believe was his true intentions when he set out on the voyage?
Wikipedia Link
Article on his disappearance and works
Last Photo of Bas Jan Ader
Background
Bastiaan Johan 'Bas Jan' Christiaan Ader was born in Drieborg, Groningen a small Dutch town in 1942. Early in his life his father, a Minister, was executed by the occupying Nazi's along with six other conspirators for his work helping large numbers of Jews escape the Holocaust, during these attempts they had often been sheltered at the Ader home.
In his teen years he studied Art at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and also studied in the United States. Having graduated in the mid 60's he taught in several institutions including Mt San Antonio College and the University of California.
Artistic Work
Bas went on to create and become well known in the art community for a series of black and white photos and short films he made featuring only him.
His most famous work is likely 'I'm too sad to tell you' a work that consisted of 3 minutes of him crying, several black and white photos of him and a postcard he mailed to a friend with the inscription 'I'm too sad to tell you'.
Other notable works included a short clip of him hanging from a branch until he fell into a stream and another in which he drove a bike into a canal.
Earlier Transatlantic Crossing
In 1962 while travelling in Morocco, Bas had encountered an American man named Neil Tucker Birkenhead who was seeking someone to sail with him across the Atlantic aboard a small boat named 'Felicidad', not being a stranger to sailing Bas agreed to make the trip though it is not believed that he had made such long distant trips before with some who knew him describing him as a novice sailor while others stating he was competent enough.
The journey proved to be a disaster, Felicidad was caught in two violent storms and was taken under tow several times. Once he reached Los Angeles, Bas chose to settle there and become and american citizen.
Preparations for the Final Voyage
In 1975 Bas had already taken a series of photos in Los Angeles depicting a man searching empty streets by torchlight at night. This was to be the first part of a Tryptych, a work of art in three parts called 'In Search of the Miraculous'.
The second part was to be photos and film taken on a transatlantic voyage from Cape Cod to Falmouth and the third and final part was to be similar to the Los Angeles photos but this time taken in the Netherlands before he would arrive in time for an exhibition of his work at the Groninger Museum.
Disappearance
Bas had arranged a choir which included his own students to sing sea shanties at a Los Angeles Gallery around the same time he departed Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He set out on July 9th 1975 aboard a 13 foot modified Guppy pocket cruiser named 'Ocean Wave'.
The Ocean Wave had been modified with strengthened rigging and a reinforced fibreglass hull. However due to its size if he had been successful in the crossing it would have set a record for the smallest craft at the time to make such a voyage.
Against advice he had decided to make the west to east crossing solo and estimated it would take him 2 and a half to three months to successfully reach europe. His wife, Mary Sue Ader Anderson photographed him as he was towed out of the harbour, he was never seen again.
4 months after he had last been seen, his wife and his brother Erik alerted authorities on both sides of the Atlantic to his disappearance. His wife stated at the time that she still hoped it was part of her husbands plan and that he would soon reappear. His brother however was an experienced sailor and believed Bas had died at sea.
In April 1976, 9-10 months after it had last been seen, his boat was sighted some 150 miles off the coast of Kerry, Ireland. The find was made by the crew of a Spanish trawler named 'Eduardo Pondal'. At first they had been unsure what they were seeing but as they drew closer they found the sailing boat floating vertically in the water, its stern pointed to the sky.
The Spanish Crew hoisted the small craft aboard and a search turned up a large amount of spoiled canned goods and 4 forms of ID that identified the owner as Bas Jan Ader. The captain of the Spanish ship made a note in his log that the barnacles growth on the boats hull suggested it had been adrift for 6 months at least.
The Investigation
It was quickly established that Bas Jan Ader had likely drowned at sea, but some questions remained as to the circumstances of this. His camera and notebooks were all missing, items he likely would have held most dear and not left behind if he had abandoned the boat for any reason. This lead to speculation among many in the art world that he had staged a disappearance as an artistic publicity stunt.
Authorities went on to point out the title and nature of the art piece he was making at the time of his disappearance was possibly evident that he had intended to disappear or die at sea as some sort of grand vision to leave those who knew him 'searching for the miraculous'. His wife fervently denied any possibility Bas was suicidal and stated publicly she had asked him more then once if this had been the intention of the voyage.
Authorities also suggested that Bas Jan Ader had been unhappy living in Los Angeles, this was supported by a few of his friends and colleagues but disputed by many including his wife and brother. His best friend Gerrit Van Elk suggested in several interviews Bas had likely been suicidal. His wife also opened up about their relationship being difficult and spoke of struggling with open relationships, it's not known what way if any this would have affected him.
Others in the art world have also pointed out the emphasis of water in many of Bas earlier works and the risk of drowning inherent to some of them, particularly the fall into a stream and the bike ride into a canal that were mentioned earlier.
The Ocean Wave
The Spanish Fishing Trawler that had found the Ocean Wave at sea returned to the port of A Coruña with it. Spanish police observed upon inspecting the craft that the washboards had been ripped from their casings, this was suggested to be as a result of tension from a lifeline that Bas would have kept tied to himself at all times during the voyage.
The fact his camera equipment and notebooks weren't found onboard was explained away by spanish authorities as the fact they likely were out on the open deck at the time the boat had capsized while cans of food and other equipment was stored safely. The only lifejacket that had been aboard was also not recovered suggesting Bas had been wearing it when he entered the water, many believe this made suicide an unlikely theory.
Bas wife and his Brother Erik set out to visit A Coruña and see the Ocean Wave for themselves but in a bizarre twist the ship disappeared before their arrival. Police believe it was stolen from the port for salvage or less likely by an art collector.
Conclusion
There has been no sign of Bas Jan Ader since he set out on that voyage from Cape Cod. While his disappearance didnt make many headlines at first it began to become more well known during an artistic revival of his work in the late 80's and early 90's. Many have stated that his work and disappearance have become 'mythologised' by some who knew him and this appears to be the case as some interviews and documentaries about him made in the late 1990's are preoccupied by his disappearance rather then the life he lived.
What do you believe was his true intentions when he set out on the voyage?
Wikipedia Link
Article on his disappearance and works
Last Photo of Bas Jan Ader