Ben Patterson, American artist and musician, Died at 82

  Music

Benjamin Patterson was born on May 29, 1934, Pittsburgh, and died on June 25, 2016, in Wiesbaden (Germany).

He was an American musician, an artist and one of the founders of the Fluxus movement.

Patterson attended the University of Michigan from 1952 to 1956, where he studied the contrabass, Composition, and Film Direction.

Ben started out playing with Canadian orchestras, because as an African-American musician, it was impossible for him to get a job at a symphony orchestra in the United States.

Patterson worked from 1956 to 1960 as a double bassist at the Halifax Symphony Orchestra (1956–57), the US Army 7th Army Symphony Orchestra (1957–59) and the Ottawa Philharmonic Orchestra (1959–60).

During 1960, Ben relocated to Cologne, Germany where he became active on the contemporary music scene of the most radical, focusing its activities at the studio of Mary Bauermeister and “against the festival.”

From 1960 and 1962, Ben played in Cologne, Paris, Venice, Vienna and other places still participating in the first Fluxus Festival in Wiesbaden (1962).

Reportedly, Robert Watts, George Brecht and Dick Higgins was his greatest influences.

During 1988, Ben left his retreat, with a solo exhibition of new assemblages and installations at Emily Harvey Gallery in New York.

He took part in several Fluxus Festival and exhibitions of the group.

Ben Patterson passed away at 82 years old.