A dedication to George Orwell. Someone Henning Christiansen was very fond of. In 1977 Henning Christiansen visited the USSR only to become a staunch anti Stalinist. A pro Trotskyite who, when visiting the USA, also saw Big Brother watching the US in the same way in the USSR through media and the journalists that worked for each side to manipulate the masses.
Henning painted his ear green that year because he wanted to listen to nature and not the media and politicians. Performed at the Møn Musikfestival in the green ear year, 1984 with his first son, Esben Christiansen , a local celebrity for his work in rock music. Encountering this performance people were very upset that Esben was not playing the rock music he was known for resulting in them setting fires and yelling at our trusty duo throughout the performance. Henning and Esben continued until the end. This was the last performance Esben did, he never played rock music or performed again after this.
The radio piece here was recorded on the Christiansen family farm on Møn and the also the local surroundings on Møn.
Henning Christiansen (28 May 1932 Copenhagen – 10 December 2008) was a Danish composer and an active member of the Fluxus-movement. He worked with artists such as Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Bazon Brock and Wolf Vostell as well as with his wife Ursula Reuter Christiansen. Other collaborators include Bjørn Nørgaard, Carlo Quartucci, Carla Tato, Ernst Kretzer, Ben Patterson, David Moss, Ute Wassermann, Andreas Oldörp, Christophe Charles, Bernd Jasper, Henrik Kiel, Vilem Wagner, Vladimir Tarasov, Niko Tenten, and many others.
Version 1. Esben and Henning Christiansen action tape First performed 11-12:00 duration: 44 min. Version 2. Esben and Henning Christiansen radio version duration: 43 min. 45 sec.
Completed 11th of October 1984m culture and society department Danish Radio
Broadcast on Danish Radio Program 1. 25.12.1984