Biography - John Noestheden

John Noestheden was born in Amsterdam in 1945 and moved to Canada in 1951. He received his BFA in 1973 from the University of Windsor and his MFA in 1975 from Tulane University in New Orleans. Monumental drawing obsessed him for 4 years and in 1979 and 1980 he produced two Skywriting drawings - a four mile diameter "Halo Piece" over Toronto and a four mile diameter equilateral triangle over Kingston, Ontario. Noestheden supported his family and art practice as a self employed furniture maker and designer until 1990 when he accepted a position at the University of Regina teaching sculpture and drawing.



Noestheden has had three major sculpture commissions. The most recent public sculpture was in 2001 for the Asper Jewish Community Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he installed a 6x6x12ft bronze piece.  "ALCYONE" is a representation of a four star cluster in the Seven Sisters Constellation.

In Noestheden’s aluminum sculpture, he regenerates two dimensional illustrations of star formations into inflated three dimensional objects. The artist surrenders control of the design of the work as the relative sizes and locations of component parts are laid out in the tiny diagrams. He regains control by revealing interpretive perceptions of the spatial relationships implied in the illustrations. The artist relies on the initial camera recording, the illustrator's interpretation of the photograph, the accuracy of the publisher, the reliability of the photocopier and then the variables related to his own perceptions of the image at hand by translating the two dimensional model into an inflated three dimensional form.

Noestheden’s two dimensional work is made with a variety of media such as paint, ink, silver crystals, titanium ore, aluminum, gold leaf, vibration and light. In the Diamond Drawings, silver crystals reference both star formations (light) and the man-made (hubris). The compositions are determined by vibration and random dispersion of the various sized elements on the paper surface. The crystals are further manipulated by controlled interference: frequency and duration of vibration as well as manual interference such as gathering and edging. These works reveal how nature controls apparent randomness through patterned behaviour (Chaos theory). The complex surfaces sparkle randomly for each viewer depending on eye level and light conditions. Each work is considered a unique "spectacle" by the artist. Even the slightest amount of light in a darkened space will activate the silver crystals but they are most opulent with an intense light source.

John has generated performative works with Pi, the Square Root of Two and historical representations of the universe as motivation. He has worked with mathematician Dr. Stephen Kirkland of the University of Regina, dancer and performance artist Robin Poitras of New Dance Horizons, sound, movement and theatre artist Michele Sereda, and the artist collective ONO (One Night Only). His most recent performances incorporate discreet monetary gifting (an act of love) that generates rumor and story telling. The rumor or story is the only evidence of the actual piece.