Henning Christiansen - 180 Hammer Blows Against the War Monkeys (1966). Photo: Susanne Peters.
Opening event: 180 Hammer Blows Against the War Monkeys
It's hammer time
Showings and tickets
Showings and tickets
Thursday, 15/09
Ultima kicks off with a ringing, Fluxus call to action.
Henning Christiansen: 180 Hammer Blows Against the War Monkeys
Thorbjørn Christiansen – Hammer
In 1988 Danish Fluxus artist Henning Christensen performed his anti-war action, 180 Hammer Blows Against the War Monkeys, at a Berlin art gallery. The piece involved the artist repetitively striking an anvil with a large hammer, a total of 180 times. One year later, the Berlin Wall fell – thanks in part, he claimed, to his noisy, violent act of destructive creativity.
This year’s Ultima will open to the clanging sound of Christensen’s piece, revived in a new time of war in Europe.
In the space outside the Borggården/Fridtjof Nansens plass (City Hall), Thorbjørn Christensen (the son of Henning) will pick up a sledgehammer and perform this physically gruelling, aurally inspiring wake-up call. Shattering the harmony in the name of peace.
Duration: 15 minutes
Immediately following this performance, Ultima’s opening concert will take place inside the Oslo rådhus (Oslo City Hall).
Photo: Bent Ryberg.
Photo: York Wegerhoff.
