Remarkable artists: Bas Jan Ader

Bas Jan Ader was a Dutch conceptual and performance artist who disappeared in a mysterious way.

Bas Jan Ader – i’m too sad to tell you

Did you know…

• Bas Jan Ader disappeared during one of his performances:
  • His performance was titled In Search Of The Miraculous
  

  in search of the miraculous

  • For this performance he wanted to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo
  • In 1975 he left Cape Cod in a small sailboat
  • 6 months later his boat was found in Ireland. Bas Jan Ader was vanished. No-one has heard of him since then.
  • Some people believe his disappearance is part of a performance
  • His mother had a premonition of his dead and wrote a poem about it: From the deep waters of sleep
  • In Search Of The Miraculous is a tryptich:
    1. in part one he walked to the coast of L.A.; his wife took pictures of this performance
    2. in part two he wanted to cross the Ocean from Cape Cod to Amsterdam
    3. in part three, he wanted to wander through the streets of Amsterdam
• In the Seventies, Ader already performed Jackass stunts: in his performances he filmed himself falling from a roof or riding with his bike into a canal
• Today, the work of Ader is recognized in the contemporary art world