Eric Staller
Encyclopedia
Eric Staller an American
artist
born September 14, 1947. He uses light and architecture as a medium to create and design works of art.
; he is the oldest of five children. His father is a real estate developer and his mother a homemaker. His father's avocation
has been architecture, this inspired Staller to study architecture himself.
1971 Eric Staller completed a Bachelor Degree in Architecture at the University of Michigan
. Toward the end of his tenure at the University of Michigan, Staller began to create sculptures and performance arts. Merce Cunningham
and John Cage
had performed at the university at that time and praised artwork that Staller had created. They were the first professional performers to make Eric Staller realize that he was truly an artist. In the fall of 1971, Staller moved to New York City and lived there until 1991. He had purchased an 1829-vingtage Lutheran Church, located in Lyons, PA. Staller used and renovated the church as a weekend retreat until 1991, then decided to move out of New York to live full-time in Lyons, PA.
Eric Staller had wanted to live in Europe
after he had visited Amsterdam
in 1988 to show his work at an opening of a gallery show. In September 1994 with his wife and son, Staller moved to Amsterdam. Soon after that Staller went through some personal changes with his family and focused on his work as an artist.
In January 1999, at the Schiphol Airport, he had met and then soon after married a Dutch filmmaker, Sietske Tjallingii http://www.misst.com. Eric Staller lived in Amsterdam for fifteen years before moving back to the United States to the city of San Francisco in 2010. Staller's Dutch filmmaker wife Sietske is producing a film using roadside attraction
s as backdrops. She will be traveling around the United States to these roadside locations.
Staller was invited by the director of the graduate painting department at the Maryland Institute College of Art
several times in the 1970s to lecture about his work, as well as to give student critiques. In the winter of 1978, he put his abilities to work to light up the Fox Building as it was in the process of being converted from a factory into a classroom building. With the help of students, he filled all the windows with timer-activated lights, which lit up the entire building. The following year he was artist-in-residence in the undergraduate sculpture department at MICA.
By the late 1970s Staller was called "The Light Master" where he made a name for himself using sparklers and other means of light to outline the streets of New York City. He used long-exposures to photos, creating the illusions of light art, which can also be called light painting
.
Eric Staller is best known for his Volkswagen Lightmobile, a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
covered with 1659 computerized light bulbs. It was completed in March 1985, 5 months after the project began. This work of art is well known and has traveled around the world.
The Volkswagen Lightmobile also appeared in the movie The Money Pit
(1986).
He has titled his mobile public artwork "urban UFO's".
He has been one of the pioneers of art movements, such as Performance Arts, Light Painting and Art Cars, as well as the inventor of the Conference Bike
, which is a seven-seat human-powered vehicle. The trade name is the ConferenceBike which was developed in the late 1980s. There are more than 250 ConferenceBikes in 16 countries. The ConferenceBike has become a powerful symbol and tool for bringing people together.
A book written by Eric Staller, Out of my Mind is an autobiographical illustrated novel with more than 150 color photos of his work and life experiences. He was moved by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a way that he felt a need to write this book. He had written "9/11 shook loose in me a need to write this memoir. I wanted to give the reader an intimate look at my creative process; to show how my life and loves, my places and times, have been inseparable from my 35 years of art making. Take my book to bed!""Out of my Mind"
He was also one of the many artists that made a submission to the World Trade Center Site, Memorial Competition. His design was silhouettes of the falling, with waterfalls flowing all around them.
Commissioned work
In 1990 Eric and Deborah Staller (his wife at the time) in collaboration with Paul Degen, Enno Wiersma and Mundy Hepburn exhibited the Magic Garden at Twin 21 Plaza, Osaka
, the second largest city in Japan. Many tourists and the people of Osaka enjoyed these delightful domes of artwork. This collaboration was commissioned work by Matsushita Investment and Development Co.
Anisse Gross of the Bold Italic web based news media, interviewed Eric Staller about his urban UFOs, published on September 21, 2011. The interview is entitled "We come in peace; Anisse Gross lights up faces with the man hehind urban UFOs".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
born September 14, 1947. He uses light and architecture as a medium to create and design works of art.
Biography
Eric Staller was born in 1947 in Mineola, New YorkMineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
; he is the oldest of five children. His father is a real estate developer and his mother a homemaker. His father's avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
has been architecture, this inspired Staller to study architecture himself.
1971 Eric Staller completed a Bachelor Degree in Architecture at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. Toward the end of his tenure at the University of Michigan, Staller began to create sculptures and performance arts. Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
and John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
had performed at the university at that time and praised artwork that Staller had created. They were the first professional performers to make Eric Staller realize that he was truly an artist. In the fall of 1971, Staller moved to New York City and lived there until 1991. He had purchased an 1829-vingtage Lutheran Church, located in Lyons, PA. Staller used and renovated the church as a weekend retreat until 1991, then decided to move out of New York to live full-time in Lyons, PA.
Eric Staller had wanted to live in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after he had visited Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in 1988 to show his work at an opening of a gallery show. In September 1994 with his wife and son, Staller moved to Amsterdam. Soon after that Staller went through some personal changes with his family and focused on his work as an artist.
In January 1999, at the Schiphol Airport, he had met and then soon after married a Dutch filmmaker, Sietske Tjallingii http://www.misst.com. Eric Staller lived in Amsterdam for fifteen years before moving back to the United States to the city of San Francisco in 2010. Staller's Dutch filmmaker wife Sietske is producing a film using roadside attraction
Roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road, that is frequently advertised with billboards to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere else, rather than being a final or primary destination in and of themselves. The modern...
s as backdrops. She will be traveling around the United States to these roadside locations.
Beginning years of career
1970sStaller was invited by the director of the graduate painting department at the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
several times in the 1970s to lecture about his work, as well as to give student critiques. In the winter of 1978, he put his abilities to work to light up the Fox Building as it was in the process of being converted from a factory into a classroom building. With the help of students, he filled all the windows with timer-activated lights, which lit up the entire building. The following year he was artist-in-residence in the undergraduate sculpture department at MICA.
By the late 1970s Staller was called "The Light Master" where he made a name for himself using sparklers and other means of light to outline the streets of New York City. He used long-exposures to photos, creating the illusions of light art, which can also be called light painting
Light Painting
Light painting, also known as light drawing or light graffiti is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. In many cases the light source itself does not have to appear in the image...
.
Life and works
1980sEric Staller is best known for his Volkswagen Lightmobile, a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
covered with 1659 computerized light bulbs. It was completed in March 1985, 5 months after the project began. This work of art is well known and has traveled around the world.
The Volkswagen Lightmobile also appeared in the movie The Money Pit
The Money Pit
The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film and remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Directed by Richard Benjamin and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house. The Money Pit was filmed in New...
(1986).
He has titled his mobile public artwork "urban UFO's".
He has been one of the pioneers of art movements, such as Performance Arts, Light Painting and Art Cars, as well as the inventor of the Conference Bike
Conference Bike
The ConferenceBike is a 7-seat human powered vehicle created by artist Eric Staller and manufactured by Velo.Saliko. One person steers and all may pedal . The bike has a circular jointed drive-shaft and rack & pinion steering. In most countries it has the same legal status as a bicycle. There are...
, which is a seven-seat human-powered vehicle. The trade name is the ConferenceBike which was developed in the late 1980s. There are more than 250 ConferenceBikes in 16 countries. The ConferenceBike has become a powerful symbol and tool for bringing people together.
"Out of my Mind"
1990sA book written by Eric Staller, Out of my Mind is an autobiographical illustrated novel with more than 150 color photos of his work and life experiences. He was moved by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a way that he felt a need to write this book. He had written "9/11 shook loose in me a need to write this memoir. I wanted to give the reader an intimate look at my creative process; to show how my life and loves, my places and times, have been inseparable from my 35 years of art making. Take my book to bed!""Out of my Mind"
He was also one of the many artists that made a submission to the World Trade Center Site, Memorial Competition. His design was silhouettes of the falling, with waterfalls flowing all around them.
Commissioned work
In 1990 Eric and Deborah Staller (his wife at the time) in collaboration with Paul Degen, Enno Wiersma and Mundy Hepburn exhibited the Magic Garden at Twin 21 Plaza, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, the second largest city in Japan. Many tourists and the people of Osaka enjoyed these delightful domes of artwork. This collaboration was commissioned work by Matsushita Investment and Development Co.
Mr Lonely and Urban UFO Creations
Eric Staller has said that "Mr Lonely is a quiet and subtle reminder of what ultimately awaits us all". Mr Lonely is a skeleton in the water that tips his hat to all that pass by. Mr Lonely and the Remote Controlled Lovers have been seen in the canals of Amsterdam for many years. The Remote Controlled Lovers have two ceramic heads, spaced 60 cm (24") apart and are attached to a radio-controlled submarine. The Lovers gently dance in the canal in circles and s-curves, mesmerizing people as they walk by.Anisse Gross of the Bold Italic web based news media, interviewed Eric Staller about his urban UFOs, published on September 21, 2011. The interview is entitled "We come in peace; Anisse Gross lights up faces with the man hehind urban UFOs".