Hi @Parsifal - I have been a big fan of 'Hundertwasser" - he managed to shock the conservative City Council of Vienna (and some of the public) at times - appeared naked in front of an audience to present his art 'manifesto' - built a house (now a museum with many of his wonderful pictures in it) with uneven floors and with trees growing out of windows - had a boat, sailed it to New Zealand - built a house into the 'earth' for his stay there, took on New Zealand citizenship in middle age - installed a caretaker couple who complained that their roof, being soil, caused invasive pests in the home - etc - lived an amazing life - and there is a daughter, Heidi Trimmel, who is an environmentalist.
I love his paintings, so did my husband; - my husband had a 'thing for tiles' and tiled the downstairs toilet and bathroom in his own style, but loosely based on inspiration derived from Hundertwasser, but entirely his own design - now all gone and I have no photo - unfortunately.
He and his Mum (he was part-Jewish) managed to survive the Hitler years in Vienna - he even went to a 'Montessori' school - he would have been a teenager at the end of the war . . .
I have been surprised by finding Hundertwasser buildings in the strangest of places - for example - in Switzerland I found a service station plus shop, plus toilet in Hundertwasser style - there is an entire 'sanitarium' dedicated to water cures so beloved of Europeans in Austria - Blumau - (and I am thinking of copying some of the treatments of the corridors for my little corridor, but will stick to straight floors - haha - seems he stumbled over his own uneven floor when publicly dedicating the 'Hundertwasser House' in Vienna ) - the 'small' minds of the Viennese public found that highly amusing.
But his art is just so beautiful - even my totally non-artistic son-in-law (Sonia's husband) was bowled over when we dragged him - kicking and screaming - through the 2-story gallery in the 'Hundertwasserhaus' in Vienna - he loved it and was mesmerized. His paintings are much larger in reality than would appear (from the many postcards and ilustrations in booklets etc.) - they're mostly just lush colours and curves - no straight lines! - and fairy-tale-like themes - but with a depth which allows you to see what you wish to see, whilst trying to find meaning!
Above all Hundertwasser was an environmentalist - and found a new home in New Zealand - died - aged 68 - aboard ship (Queen Elizabeth II) during one of his many trips from and to New Zealand whilst docked in or around Brisbane. Taurisk
) - the 'small' minds of the Viennese public found that highly amusing.
