Living the Dream

Many of us are familiar with the architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Austrian, 1928 - 2000). His whimsical, amorphous structures incorporating nature and colour are a delight to behold.

I remember the impression the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna made on me when I saw it for the first time as a teenager. It might well have been my first love! But did you know that Hundertwasser first achieved acclaim for his unusual, brightly-coloured paintings?

A non-conformist in life and art, Hundertwasser advocated a life in harmony with nature and individual creativity. He rejected rationalism, was fascinated by spirals, and spurned the straight line as “godless and immoral”, “drawn with a rule, without thought or feeling”.

Inspired by nature and the art of the Vienna Secession, especially Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Hundertwasser used bright colours and organic forms. His theory of art, “transautomatism”, focused on the viewer’s fantasy rather than on the artist or on an objective interpretation.

Hundertwasser challenged conventions in his life as well as his art. Even his name is non-conformist. Born Friedrich Stowasser, he adopted the pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser later in life. Friedensreich translates as “peaceful realm”, Regentag as “rainy day”, Dunkelbunt” as “darkly colourful”,  and Hundertwasser as “Hundred Waters”.

Hundertwasser is considered a forerunner of environmental protection and an advocate for a self-determined existence. He lived and worked internationally but his favourite abode was in Kaurinui, New Zealand where in 1974 he bought a vast barren farm which he transformed into a sprawling sanctuary, planting thousands of trees to restore the land. He lived in harmony with nature, converting the two buildings on the property - the pigsty and the milking shed - into whimsical and colourful living and working spaces, integrating both the buildings and himself into the landscape.

Hundertwasser’s vision, his uncompromising insistence on creating beauty and joy, and his strength of character to live his dream on his own terms is inspirational. I am grateful for the extraordinary legacy he left us.