Killing Art with a Samurai Sword and Fire

Watch William Hessian destroy his artwork with a samurai sword and fire in his Canvas Kill Live performance. The 20 minute performance took place in a basement show called Bombshelter After Halloween Party, in Brunswick Maine. William "the canvas killer" Hessian has been creating and destroying art all across the united states. You can see photos and videos on the official Canvas Kill Live website.

DON'T FORGET: this wednesday night!

Read all about my canvas kill live performance that takes place on December 7th, 2011.

You can also see videos and photos from past canvas kill live performances.

William Hessian kills canvas at Sample Night Live

Loungasaurus Rex will introduce me, the Smarts will play a mesmorizing improve accompanyment, and I, the CANVAS KILLER, will create and kill art. December 7th, 2011 is a Sample Night Live you will not want to miss. Dozens of other great local artists, musicians, theatre groups will be putting on a show as well. Tiny bite sized performances for your enjoyment.

For those that are unfamiliar with my art performances I create two works of art live on stage, and then let the audience decide which one survives and which one dies. I then destroy the losing painting. Each time I used different methods of destruction, and each time the work dies in a different way. My performances have been done at the History Theatre in St. Paul, the Red Hot Art Festival, the Adventure Festival and on web cam. You can browse other canvas kill live performances on this blog.



Here's my spiel and all the good info (including discount ticket code):

"William Hessian is proud to participate in Sample Night Live at 7pm on 12/7/2011 at the History Theatre in downtown Saint Paul. Sample Night Live presents a dozen short previews of upcoming performing arts events plus a visual arts installation on the first Wednesday of each month. Audiences use the playbill to opt in to the groups they love. It’s a great way to learn what is happening in the arts scene and discover something new! Everyone who shows up gets the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the Guthrie as well as many other prizes donated by the groups performing that evening. Use Discount Code MEMBERS and get $5 off admission online. Buy tickets, check out the line-up and see the complete list of prizes at http://samplenightlive.com/.”

Out in the lobby I will also be displaying some new paintings, zines and free stickers.




Here are a few photos from past Canvas Kill Live performances:

Canvas Kill Live performance at Sample Night Live

"The Canvas Killer William Hessian is proud to participate in Sample Night Live at 7pm on 9/7/2011 at the History Theatre in downtown Saint Paul. Sample Night Live presents a dozen short previews of upcoming performing arts events plus a visual arts installation on the first Wednesday of each month.

Sample Night Live is a great way to learn what is happening in the arts scene and discover something new! Everyone who shows up gets the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the Guthrie as well as many other prizes donated by the groups performing that evening. Use Discount Code MEMBERS and get $5 off admission online. Buy tickets, check out the line-up and see the complete list of prizes at www.SampleNightLive.com.”

I will be creating and destroying art in my 7 minute performance at Sample Night Live. Before, during the intermission, and after the show I will be displaying my artwork in the lobby at the History Theatre. On display will be my new paintings/drawing and an assortment of smaller affordable zines, prints and stickers.

You can watch video of my performance at last years' sample night live and see photos from past Canvas Kill Live performances. This performance will be much different.

killing canvas

you can watch video of me killing canvas or see my canvas kill live website. Sometimes I will do live web cam shows, create art, kill art, sell art, and then make videos of the results.

moving and killing

i create art, and i kill art. i also move a lot (10 times in 5 years)! luckily i have good friends and family who help me move from place to place. it does seem like an odd juxtaposition between being so careful when moving, and then savagely destroying the same object.

making art in minneapolis, killing art in minneapolis. making art in jamestown, killing art in jamestown. sometimes i make art, and then hide art.

William Hessian Sample Night Live videos

William Hessian at Sample Night Live from Kris on Vimeo.

William Hessin at Sample Night Live, Two. from Kris on Vimeo.

William Hessian at Sample Night Live, Canvas Killed. from Kris on Vimeo.

a big thanks to kris ericson for capturing and posting these for me.

William Hessian's performance at Sample Night Live

January 6th, 2010 the Smarts played some music while I spent 6 minutes speed painting two canvases. I then unsheathed my katana, and spent the next one minute asking the crowd to applaud for the best painting, the losing painting was destroyed by my sword. Right after the canvas killing, the audience was invited to enter the lobby and search for 10 of my original paintings hidden in the lobby of the History Theatre.

Thanks to those who came out and supported my work. Subscribe to this blog to get update about future canvas kill live shows, including the interactive webcam broadcasts.

Below are a few pictures from the event:




photo credit from matt semke's catswilleatyou dot com



photo credit Kris Ericson and his one photo a day blog.



close up of the winning painting. photo credit my grandma Helen, and her iphone



the history theatre lobby. photo credit my grandma Helen, and her iphone

Leaving Town

It is that time of year for me; leaving for Jamestown, North Dakota. For the last five years I have spent a portion of my year as an artist in residence in North Dakota. Before I go, I have one last art show, Sample Night Live:



At this show I will have a 7 minute art kill performance, I will be inviting the audience to an art hunt during intermission to find free miniature art, and also displaying new works in the lobby. Sample Night Live features 12 live acts from local groups and the whole thing takes place in the history theatre in St. Paul.

My 6 month residency in Jamestown will provide me a chance to do more Canvas Kill Live webcam shows and work on other projects. Make sure you are subscribed to my blog or on my mailing list to get all the updates. I have also been accepted to the North Dakota council on the arts roster, which makes me eligible for a wider range of residencies in North Dakota in the future.

As I begin packing and preparing for this Wednesday show, I hope you can make it out to Sample Night Live! It's is always best to leave Minnesota with a bang.

william hessian at SAMPLE NIGHT LIVE

]
I am one of the twelve performances at the January Sample Night Live show at the History Theatre in St. Paul:

Sample Night Live
Artwork and Performance by William Hessian
January 6th, 2010
Sample Night Live
History Theatre in St. Paul, MN

Art killing performance
Art hunt
New works

One night only

Read more about my show, and the radio interview I will doing about it at my sample night live page.

The Final Canvas Kill Live painting show

My 11 week experiment, Canvas Kill Live, comes to an end this Saturday. The live online painting show WITH A TWIST this saturday will mark the end of my painting shows. Due to the popularity of the shows, I hope to do another series of shows starting in January 2010.

If you are not familiar with my canvas kill project, you should looks at the gallery and watch the art kill videos which you can find on the Canvas Kill Live website. It has been a lot of fun communicating with people, while I create art and especially when I destroy art.

On Saturday, this painting will be destroyed, unless someone saves it. The painting theme for this show will be chosen by those that come and watch me on the webcam (free to watch).

The reason I am not continuing the show, is because I am moving back to Minneapolis and creating an art hunt, doing at art battle at the Red Hot Festival, and taking classes at the Center for Book Arts. The other reason, is that I may have very limited internet access at the new location.

Make sure to watch my final live art show Canvas Kill Live, and just to give you a visual taste of the flavor of the show, here are my favorite four photos from the previous shows:

ROBOPHANT painting

My newest 2 hour painting, ROBOPHANT is available for sale on my etsy shop. The robotic elephant only has a few days to live. If it is not purchased by May 9th at 3pm it will be destroyed live on my canvas kill live painting show. You can watch the painting show for free. May 9th is my 11th and final live painting show for this season. You can watch my canvas killing videos at vimeo.

Enjoy the pictures of the robotic elephant:

The Father of Immortality

Behold. Below is my painting from this weeks Canvas Kill Live show. Aubrey de Grey is the father of immortality. If you have not heard of him, you should see his TED talk. This is the first portrait in my 9 canvas kill live painting shows. You can buy this painting at my etsy shop, and if nobody buys it by May 2nd, 2009 at 3pm I will be destroying it on my painting show. Learn more about my live painting show at Canvas Kill Live.

Live forever, or die trying:

Blender Art Video

Blender Art from William Hessian on Vimeo.

See other art videos on my Vimeo account. Remember, you can watch the live feed of these painting shows on Saturday's at 3pm (shows end May 9th, 2009). Watch the live for free at Canvas Kill Live

New painting: Pheonix Cheese Brownie

The audience chose what to paint on Saturday, during my eight live online painting show: Canvas Kill Live. They picked: phoenix, cheese &; brownie (from the movie Willow).

Here's a detail of what I came up with:


click image to see the full picture

This painting will be destroyed on my painting show on April 25th, unless you or someone else saves it, for $100.

More pictures, videos of past art kills, and the final three show dates (for this season) can be found on the Canvas Kill Live website. Shows 9, 10 & 11 will be the last live painting projects until later this year.

Drinking Art

I sipped a mixture of my own art, after i destroyed my octopus painting and blended it up in a blender. Which indecently and predictably broke my blender. You could have watched this entire destruction live on my Canvas Kill Live painting show, which takes place at 3pm each Saturday.




Before the painting was blended into a dead art smoothie, I created a painting based on Wormtooth Nation, a great online web series. Here are three pictures of this painting which is available for sale on my etsy shop. If it doesn't sell by 3pm April 11th, you can watch me destroy 'Wormtooth' on my online painting show.

Live painting: Wormtooth Nation

This week's Canvas Kill Live painting show will be loosely based on a great web series I found on the internet called WormTooth Nation. I found the website on my own blog, as an ad, and I was intrigued by the image and wanted to check it out. 9 short episodes later I was a big fan and sending the link to everyone I know.

Wormtooth nation is a steam punk web series created by some film students in Iowa. The script is brilliant, the sets and the acting were far above average and the music and art direction blew me away. I am biased toward small budget projects like this, and the production value is outstanding.

The actual script of the movie had a lasting effect on me, as I pondered life as we know it. The staying power of this project has inspired me to use it as subject matter for tomorrow's live painting. I recommend WormTooth Nation to all, and I hope that either way you can stop by and watch my live painting show starting at 3pm tomorrow on Canvas Kill Live.

Twice the Octopus

Did you miss the show this weekend?



I killed my alien painting with an ax. I'll be posting that video later this week. I also painted this double octopus.



If you like it, you can save it, or else I will be destroying the double octopus this weekend, on my live painting show Canvas Kill Live.



I hope you can make the show.

killing an alien

In the last two months, I have been painting on canvas live in front of an online audience, and then destroying the canvases that do not sell (actually only one so far). The great thing about these shows are to be able to talk to friends and collectors of my work, while I create. I also turn these shows into videos, and have just decided to assemble some of the 'guts' of the destroyed paintings and frame them for people to purchase on my etsy shop. The idea is to give you a chance to purchase a part of my Canvas Kill Live series paying 100 big ones for the whole thing. Plus, by becoming a collector of this series you become a part of my monumental live birth/death destruction series called Canvas Kill Live.

Tomorrow, assuming no one buys the painting in the middle of the night, I will be destroying my alien painting. The painting is titled, "Big Fat Alien Puppet" and was created live on web cam last week, with a viewing audience of over 80 people.

You are welcome to come watch this destruction, and the creation of a brand new painting tomorrow at 3pm central by simply jumping over to my website at that time.

If you are curious about what other art projects I have done please make sure to explore my miniature art hunts, my art battles, and miniature art.

watch me kill a canvas

why they call me the "canvas killer"