Frans Huisman was born April 4th 1960 in the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
In 1984, he finished his study of Medicine at the Radboud University of Nijmegen with a Master of Science. In 1988, he graduated from the Academy of Art and Design, Arnhem (ArtEZ), with the equivalent of a Master of Education in Fine Arts. His master thesis was 'La Ténébreuse', a multidisciplinary NEO-DADA performance converging dance, theatre, music, fine art, and graphic design. Between 1988 and 1998, more initiatives for multidisciplinary theatre projects followed:
'OBRAZ, anatomy of movement', a mixture of dance, music, fine art and graphic design. 'Obraz', is a Russian word used by Sergei Eisenstein to express the notion that in Art form and function converge.
'Krazy Kat', visual theatre inspired by the surrealistic comics of George Herriman, which was reprised as 'Krazy Krazy Kat' for a tour in Egypt. Herriman invented almost solely the graphical language of comics and is considered the american popculture answer to DADA.
'Jason', visual theater inspired by the classical tale 'Argonautica' by Apollonius of Rhodes. Production partners were theaterwerkplaats InDependance, Arnhem, stichting Sequoia, Arnhem, and stichting Bonheur, Rotterdam, all in the Netherlands
From 1987 onwards, Huisman has created in commission site-sensitive and site-specific outdoor multimedia art projects. The most well known of these is the project 'DOEK!', 1999 – 2007, a large scale maritime multimedia spectacle which was implemented 8 times. It included multiple film projections on the sails of historical long boats, artist performances, and multimedia installations and attracted up to 20,000 visitors per evening, in the cities of Lemmer, Schiedam, and Arnhem.
DOEK! was nominated for the Bob Verbiest Cultuurprijs, Fonds Schiedam Vlaardingen e.o.
Other projects include in 2007 – 2009, the video installation 'Bookmountain/Imagefountain', Public Library Spijkenisse, a pilot study for the dome of this architectural landmark by MVDRV, the Netherlands. With full access to the image library he combined found historical footage with images from pop culture in a blend of live action and stop motion animation.
In 2008, 'Waterfall', an illusionary 15 meter high waterfall falling from the top of a tree, video-installation in Park de Plantage Schiedam.
In 2009/2010, 'Huis te Riviere', two panoramic videotryptics, size 2,5 x 12 meter, showing two film loops, duration 52 minutes each, a collage of found footage and stop motion animation inspired by and based on the history of the former castle 'Huis te Riviere' (House on the River), Schiedam.
In 2010, 'Springbrunnen', during a nightlong event, digitally altered footage of fountains was projected on the surface of a white trampoline (4 meter diameter) and the audience was invited to jump through the projected imagery. A celebration of life. (Stichting van Het Park, Schiedam).
Connected to his studio 'Atelier Frans Huisman' in Schiedam is an exhibition space in which his drawings, paintings, image projections and sculptures are on permanent display. Over the years, his work has been shown in many solo and group exhibitions.
An influential period was the time he spend in 1994 as artist in residence at Cemeti Gallery, Yogjakarta, Indonesia, where he was invited based on the multicultural influences in his work, and the subsequent exhibition series in Cemeti Gallery; Erasmushuis Jakarta, Indonesia; Art Foundation WTC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Other key projects in his oeuvre are ' The Gatehouse/het Poorthuis', 2000, and 'Cyclone', 2006 . The Gatehouse was an architectural folly that Huisman created for the aula of the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. The construction converges the features of an observatory, a bridge, a gate, and a theatre. In drawings, light projections and sculpture the idea was explored of a building equivalent to a body, constantly raising awareness and connecting this awareness to the outer world.
'Cyclone' is a large indoor installation consisting of wooden sculptures covered with deep cut in marks, and wall covering projections of drawings and video works. The changing light of the projections evoked actual pictures and suggestions of organic signs and symbols. It was first on display in Pand Paulus, Stichting Kunstwerkt, Schiedam, where it attracted the attention of dancers of the Codart institute Rotterdam and of musicians of the Royal Conservatory the Hague who independently asked to create performances interacting with the works on display. This led to a combined series of performances, both in Pand Paulus, and in an outdoor setting , Park Ravenstein, Spijkenisse, the Netherlands.
Changing the perception of drawings and images through the manipulation of light and their evolution in time is also a major theme in five stop-motion animation works he made between 2009 and 2010. They address the Passage of Time and are titled: 'Hoh River Sink', 'Light and Time', 'Labyrinth', 'Afscheid/Departure' and 'Moiré'. The films show from a single camera point of view, in a slow paced time loop, the perpetual evolution of an object or a drawing, growth and decay.
Huisman likes to counterbalance the time consuming process of making stop motion animation with making live action drawings on stage. The creative process is recorded and instantly projected on screen. Important is the Dadaist concept of serendipity and coincidence. In 2011, in 'Science 4 You', live action drawing was part of a collaboration with scientists in a lecture series for the Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Frans Huisman's artistic role and involvement is diverse, according the needs of the projects at hand. To name a few activities:
1989 – 2013, Founding member and artistic director of Stichting Sequoia, a multidisciplinairy art foundation converging art and science, Arnhem/Schiedam.
1989 – 1995, Course development and lecturer 'Art and Performance', Academy of Art and Design, Arnhem (ArtEZ), Theatre faculty, department of performing arts.
1999 – 2004, chairperson Stichting 'de Vier Gebroeders', foundation with the objective to bring music, fine art and theatre together in large scale projects, Alkmaar, the Netherlands.
2003 – 2009, member of the executive board Stichting Kunstwerkt, foundation/guild for professional artists, Schiedam. 2006 – present, member of Stichting BBK, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
2009 – 2012, course development and teacher, special art program for children in difficult social environments in Schiedam, commissioned by stichting Woonplus, Stichting Kunstwerkt and the city of Schiedam.
2011 and 2012 guest lecturer Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Alfter, NRW, Germany
Since 2012, he solely works in his studio on a series of drawings and large paintings in which he uses his delicate and recognizable style of handwriting to construct images with brocade layers of transparent ink and paint.