Bas Jan Ader is a performance artist born in the Netherlands in 1942. He made the majority of his work throughout the 70s before his tragic disappearance and death at sea in 1975. His work didn't gain much popularity until the early 1990s. I am really drawn to Bas Jan Ader's work because he was able to make sincere gestures that captured sentimentality through performance of the body. His performances are humorous on the surface, but ultimately depressing and reflective of the time period and in raw human emotion. My favorite performance by Ader was his last performance entitled In Search of the Miraculous, where Bas Jan Ader attempted to set sail across the Atlantic Ocean – alone – in a 13ft boat. Bas Jan Ader's boat was found 10 months after the performance had began. His body was never to be found.
good pick!
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