Warren Niesłuchowski, artist and nomadic figure, dies at 72
Warren Niesłuchowski passed away at the age of seventy-two. He was born in a refugee camp in Germany after World War II and later moved to the United States with his family. In 1968, he fled to Paris to escape the Vietnam War, where he performed with the Bread and Puppet Theater across Europe and Iran. He became part of a theater collective influenced by Jerzy Grotowski after 1968. After returning to the U.S. in 1974 due to Gerald Ford's amnesty, he attended Harvard but did not complete his degree. He assisted Alanna Heiss at MoMA PS1 and experienced homelessness, which influenced his artwork. Simon Leung created two films about him, and Barry Schwabsky featured his life in a 2011 essay.
Key facts
- Warren Niesłuchowski died at age 72
- Born in a Polish refugee camp in Germany after WWII
- Immigrated to the US with his parents
- Deserted the Vietnam War in 1968
- Exiled to Paris and performed with Bread and Puppet Theater in Europe and Iran
- Joined a post-68 theatre collective inspired by Jerzy Grotowski’s Teatr Laboratorium
- Returned to US in 1974 after Gerald Ford offered partial amnesty
- Enrolled in Harvard art programme but never completed it
- Became Alanna Heiss’s assistant at MoMA PS1 after meeting on a train
- Left job after losing East Village apartment and became nomadic
- Nomadic lifestyle considered an artwork
- Simon Leung made two films about him: Warren Piece (1993) and War After War (2011)
- Leung interviewed by Tyler Coburn for ArtReview in 2012
- Barry Schwabsky wrote 2011 essay for The Nation about him
Entities
Artists
- Warren Niesłuchowski
- Simon Leung
- Jerzy Grotowski
- Alanna Heiss
- Barry Schwabsky
- Tyler Coburn
Institutions
- Bread and Puppet Theater
- Teatr Laboratorium
- Harvard
- MoMA PS1
- The Nation
- ArtReview
Locations
- Germany
- Poland
- United States
- Paris
- France
- Iran
- Europe
- New York
- East Village