John Fischer was born in Belgium in 1930. He immigrated to America in 1940 and settled in New York. His Bread Sculptures were a major part of the arts scene in the 1960’s. His online gallery describes: “The years that followed abstract expressionist dominance saw Fischer making these objects and sculptures with real bread. Often, the artist at his favorite bakery in Boston made them.” In late 1974, Fischer transformed a loft of 5000 feet on Broadway at Broome into ENVIRON. This multidisciplinary gallery and performance space is now known as ENVIRON. Fischer was assisted by Perry Robinson, a clarinetist who is also his bandmate. Perry then introduced Fischer to Dave Brubeck, whose children Chris and Danny cofounded ENVIRON. Fischer was also the leader and pianist of INTERface at the time. Other collaborators were Mark Whitcage and Arthur Blythe as well as Robinson, the Brubecks, and Rick Kilburn. Ivan Black was asked to review INTERface by the New York Times. The article, which focused on the space as much the music, exploded the venue’s popularity and exposure. Environ was regarded as a pioneer in the field of loft spaces, and a host of ad-hoc venues started to appear throughout New York and around the world. These lofts were fertile ground for New York’s revived avant gardeism. Lofts-cum-concerthalls led to the birth of Loft Jazz, its attendant genre. Fischer closed the space after three years of intense activity and loud exhortations by his colleagues. He said that “what we did was historic” and that it had been a huge success in nurturing the avant-garde movement in New York City. You can take that to bank. However, cultural life in New York is bound to change and you have to be ready for it. Fischer’s forward-looking directive helps explain the momentum that he has maintained since then. Fischer performed recently at the Berlin Philharmonie where he was a guest on a George Russell bill. Fischer is also a pioneer in computer art, having created the first black-and white Mac and the MacPaint program. Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) featured the INTERface Ensemble. They commissioned original music and sponsored joint art-music concerts (The Loft in Wuppertal). John Fischer has performed all over the world, including in Russia, Lithuania and Germany, Switzerland, Italy Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Switzerland, Switzerland, Italy, Holland and Belgium. from http://corneliastreetcafe.wordpress.com
