Pindakaasvloer facts for kids

Peanut-Butter Platform (Pindakaasvloer) is a unique artwork by Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers. It's exactly what it sounds like: a floor completely covered with peanut butter, and nothing else!

What is the Peanut-Butter Platform?

This artwork is very simple yet thought-provoking. It's just a floor covered in a thick layer of peanut butter. The artist, Wim T. Schippers, created it to make people think differently about art. It's not a painting or a sculpture in the usual sense. Instead, it's an "installation" – meaning the art is the space itself, changed by the artist.

The Artist's Idea

Wim T. Schippers first came up with the idea for the Peanut-Butter Platform in 1962. He was known for making art that was a bit strange or even controversial. He liked to challenge what people thought art should be. For him, even something as common as peanut butter could become art when placed in a new way.

How Did the Idea Start?

The Peanut-Butter Platform wasn't Schippers' first time using unusual materials on a floor. In 1962, he had an art show at Museum Fodor. For this show, he covered the floor of one room with salt. In another room, he covered the floor with pieces of broken glass. These earlier works helped him develop the idea for the peanut butter floor.

Connecting with Fluxus

Around the time he thought of the Peanut-Butter Platform, Wim T. Schippers started working with a group called Fluxus. Fluxus was an art movement in the 1960s. Artists in this group believed that art could be made from everyday things and experiences. They often created performances or simple, surprising artworks. Schippers' peanut butter floor fits right in with the Fluxus idea of making art from unexpected materials.

Art and Television

During the 1960s, Schippers became famous for his unusual art. He also worked on short films with people like Wim van der Linden. However, he sometimes had difficulties with the traditional art world. By the early 1970s, he started focusing more on writing and making television shows for a Dutch broadcaster called VPRO. Schippers even called television "the greatest gallery in the world," showing how he saw art everywhere, even on TV.