Chris Newman (artist)
Encyclopedia
Chris Newman is a contemporary composer
, painter
, author
and performance
artist.
, taking a Bachelor of Music
. During this time he met the Russian poet Eugene Dubnov and started to translate Russian poets (Osip Mandelstam
, Velimir Khlebnikov
), this process of translating proving important for his later work (e.g. from one medium to another / from life to art). Started writing own poems in 1979. Moved to Cologne
, Germany
, in 1980 to study with Mauricio Kagel
(New Music, Theatre / Video) at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
. First public performance singing own songs in 1982. Founded chamber-punk rock band Janet Smith in 1983; met Morton Feldman
in 1984. First concerts and video showings: Institute of Contemporary Arts
, London; Theater am Turm, Frankfurt
; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Cooper Union
, New York. Started to paint in 1989, which led (from 1994) to the two medium installations; in recent vears presented paintings in a more sculptural and installed manner, cutting the canvas and rearranging the parts to form a new relationship within the painting http://www.guardini.de/images/Newman_Ausstellung.JPG. These installations have been presented at (among other places): Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, (1994); Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, (1999); Diözesan Museum
, Cologne, Donaueschinger Musiktage; Limelight Kortrjk; Musée d'Art Moderne, Strasbourg, Arp Museum Rolandseck, Goethe-Institut
Budapest. His paintings and drawings are represented in the Diözesan Museum, Cologne, Neue Museum, Nuremberg
, as well as in the Neue Museum Weserburg, Bremen
, and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin.
Since the beginning of the 80's Newman's music pieces have been performed at concerts and festivals and recorded for radio productions (also orchestral commissions). These include songs, piano pieces and two piano concertos, the most recent of which Piano concerto No. 2 - Part 2, was premiered at the Donaueschinger Musiktage in 2006. He has published books of poetry and prose and issued a number of CDs. After the first phase in Cologne, he lived in Paris, London, again in Cologne and now in Berlin. From 2001 to 2002 he was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
artist.
Life and work
Chris Newman is an experimental interdisciplinary artist using the medium of music, painting, video, drawing and literature. From 1976 to 1979 he studied music at King’s College LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, taking a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
. During this time he met the Russian poet Eugene Dubnov and started to translate Russian poets (Osip Mandelstam
Osip Mandelstam
Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam was a Russian poet and essayist who lived in Russia during and after its revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school of poets...
, Velimir Khlebnikov
Velimir Khlebnikov
Velimir Khlebnikov , pseudonym of Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov , was a central part of the Russian Futurist movement, but his work and influence stretch far beyond it.Khlebnikov belonged to Hylaea,...
), this process of translating proving important for his later work (e.g. from one medium to another / from life to art). Started writing own poems in 1979. Moved to Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in 1980 to study with Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel was a German-Argentine composer. He was notable for his interest in developing the theatrical side of musical performance .-Biography:...
(New Music, Theatre / Video) at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
. First public performance singing own songs in 1982. Founded chamber-punk rock band Janet Smith in 1983; met Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
in 1984. First concerts and video showings: Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, London; Theater am Turm, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, New York. Started to paint in 1989, which led (from 1994) to the two medium installations; in recent vears presented paintings in a more sculptural and installed manner, cutting the canvas and rearranging the parts to form a new relationship within the painting http://www.guardini.de/images/Newman_Ausstellung.JPG. These installations have been presented at (among other places): Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, (1994); Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, (1999); Diözesan Museum
Kolumba
The Kolumba is an art museum in Cologne, Germany. It is located on the site of the former St. Columba church, and run by the Archdiocese of Cologne...
, Cologne, Donaueschinger Musiktage; Limelight Kortrjk; Musée d'Art Moderne, Strasbourg, Arp Museum Rolandseck, Goethe-Institut
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...
Budapest. His paintings and drawings are represented in the Diözesan Museum, Cologne, Neue Museum, Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, as well as in the Neue Museum Weserburg, Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin.
Since the beginning of the 80's Newman's music pieces have been performed at concerts and festivals and recorded for radio productions (also orchestral commissions). These include songs, piano pieces and two piano concertos, the most recent of which Piano concerto No. 2 - Part 2, was premiered at the Donaueschinger Musiktage in 2006. He has published books of poetry and prose and issued a number of CDs. After the first phase in Cologne, he lived in Paris, London, again in Cologne and now in Berlin. From 2001 to 2002 he was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
Publications
- Chris Newman, Drawing Strings & writing Thing, ed. by Gerhard Theewen, Cologne: 2006, ISBN 3-89770-257-6.
- Chris Newman, Godded. ed. by Reiner Speck and Gerhard Theewen, Cologne: 2004, ISBN 3-932189-44-2.
- Chris Newman, Gespenster von Ibsen, Köln 2002 [textbook on the occasion of the performance (28.11.1996) in the Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum for Contemporary Art, Berlin], ISBN 3-89770-163-4.
- Chris Newman, The 90's and notebooks, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-89770-082-4.
- Chris Newman, Recent Painting Mates. exh. cat. Olaf Stüber Gallery, Berlin 1999.
- Chris Newman, Me in a No-Time State, exh. cat. Erzbischöfl. Diözesan-Museum Köln, Cologne 1996.
- Norbert Prangenberg Zeichnungen / Chris Newman Poems, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-928989-07-3.
- Chris Newman, Integrated Blake Phrase Paintings. exh. cat. Galerie Poller, Frankfurt 1995, ISBN 3-9802858-2-0
- Chris Newman, It with itself, Ausst.-Kat. Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf 1994.
- C[hristopher] Newman, Eugene Dubnov. Poems/Gedichte 1979–90, Cologne 1993.
- Chris Newman / Norbert Prangenberg, Paintings, exh. cat. Galerie Poller, Frankfurt 1991, ISBN 3-9802858-0-4
External links
- Homepage Chris Newman
- CV Chris Newman, updated
- Portrait Chris Newman, ca. 2005
- Newman's studio, 2006
- Artfacts.net on Chris Newman
- Newman's CD New Songs of Social Conscience, 1990
- Chris Newman is singing
- Newman's CD Compassion, 1993
- Me in a no-time state, exhibition in 1996
- Rock-Videos, 1985-1987, Sei ruhig mein Herz, 1982, Morrow, 1988, in the New Media Encyclopedia.
