Life on a Leaf
In this intriguing book, Finnish artist Jan-Erik Andersson writes about his experience of dwelling and living in a “total artwork”. By addressing seemingly naive questions like: Why don’t we build houses shaped like flowers, shoes, or a leaf? Andersson intentionally challenges the invisible borders guarding the conventional definitions of architecture. The vision he has shared through many projects with his collaborator, architect Erkki Pitkäranta, led him into a long and successful journey to build
A leaf-shaped family house, Life on a Leaf, based on his own art and stories. This extraordinary house, in Turku, Finland, was completed in 2011. Stressing the important role of art in the design of buildings, the book describes different ways of bringing contemporary art into architecture – not primarily as free-standing objects but as an integrated part of the structure of the house.
The book is based on Andersson’s Doctorate in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki.