zaterdag 11 juli 2020
Chronology (last update January 23 2024)
* All actions mentioned without location = The Hague
1964 - Born in The Hague, The Netherlands, from Indo-Dutch descent.
1965 - Diagnosed with severe asthma.
1973 - Family visit to California, USA. Discovers music as stress relief through a Magnus electric chord organ (model 300).
1975 - Produces two graphic novels (unpublished, lost) about Detective bureau Blokdijk & Roos.
1977 - Discovers Punk rock through the media (Sex Pistols @ Disco Circus TV show).
1979 - Second family visit to California. Buys an electric guitar in Los Angeles and back home starts his first band and fanzine, Art In Revolution. Correspondence with UK anarcho punk band Crass.
1980 - Volunteers at O'16, youth club in Voorburg. Collaborations with the Rotterdam based Red Rock collective (Rondos et al).
1981 - Starts playing drums in post-punkband NRA (Niet Reëel Aanbod). First involvement with cassette culture. Studying Cultural Work in Leiden.
1982 - Job experience at youth club Paard van Troje as video programmer. Writes for fanzine BOH (Binnenlandse OntwikkelingsHulp). NRA becomes support act for The Poison Girls during their Dutch tour. Correspondence with Fritz Catlin (23 Skidoo). Becomes a member of the Temple Ov Psychic Youth. Starts experimental music duo with Hans Boogmans called Des Duyvels Doedelsack and its label Pidoewa.
1983 - Organizes experimental art concerts, screenings and exhibitions at De Kapel, in the attic of the Paard (until 1985). Opening event with Laibach and The Last Few Days, followed by concerts and exhibitions with Club Moral, Michiyoshi Deguchi, Boyd Rice and many others.
1984 - Initiates musical project Salò Mentale. Experiments with drugs. Starts a series of visits to London, UK. David Tibet (Current 93) introduces him to Geff Rushton (aka John Balance from Coil). Regular visits to Coil until the late eighties.
1985 - Starts occultural fanzine Abrahadabra with several friends. Studying Psychology (in Leiden, for three months).
1986 - Writes a novel (destroyed) and takes up painting. Interviews British film maker Derek Jarman for Ambassade Festival (Amsterdam).
1987 - Birth of Stichting (foundation) Maldoror, an outlet for printed matter and cassette publications. Musical accompaniment of poet Erik Lindner (until approx. 1992).
1988 - Interviews William Burroughs in Amsterdam after translating and publishing his pamphlet 'Electronic Revolution' into Dutch. Performs (playback) drums in Diamanda Galás' video for 'Double-Barrel Prayer', recorded in London, directed by Peter Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle, Coil).
1989 - Interviews Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch at home through Gerhard Petak, published in newspaper Mondain Den Haag (Trespassers W).
1991 - De Kapel II, a series of multi-disciplinary art events organized by Maldoror in forementioned Paard Kapel. First showing of paintings at De Kapel II, with painter Victor van den Oever. Meets New York filmmakers Beth B. and Richard Kern.
1992 - More multi-disciplinary art events organized by Maldoror in Paard; 'You must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on', L'Autre Monde, Wiener Aktionismus / Wiener Heute, etc. Participant with a collection of drawings in the group exhibition 'Aids Related Arts' (Melkweg, Amsterdam).
1993 - Start of Maldoror Galerie (until 1997). Visiting Beth B. and Richard Kern in New York. More Maldoror events; De Kapel Literair, ACH Europa, Pier Paolo Pasolini - een programma. Publication of the novella 'Erzsébet' by Erzsébet Baerveldt through Maldoror publishers. Second public showing of paintings and drawings during group exhibition 'Exhibition II' for Maldoror Galerie.
1994 - Collaboration with Jan Duivenvoorden (Unit Moebius) on several musical projects (Radio Tonka, Cor Gout etc.). More multi-disciplinary art events organized by Maldoror in Paard; Zonegrens, Dichters Beeldend Kunstenaars (in association with Crossing Border festival), curator for Frank Starik's Starik Museum in The Hague.
1995 - Cunker Records, a music label for electronic/experimental music (until 1998), releases by KK, Willem Kloos Groep, Zen Faschisten, Syncom Data, Flash and more. Organizes 'De Dronken Boot', a group exhibition for Maldoror Galerie. Multi-disciplinary art event organized by Maldoror in Paard; Zonegrens.
1996 - Multi-disciplinary art events organized by Maldoror in the Korzo theatre; Zonegrens II. Assists Staalplaat music label at Sonderangebot festival in Berlin.
1997 - Involvement with Discorso, a series of literary events at Korzo. Break up of first generation Stichting Maldoror. Continues organizing art events at Casuariestraat 16 (Het Archief, SCSI Cell, The White Space) until 2005.
1998 - Voluntary work as new media (internet) librarian at Johan de Witt high school.
1999 - Voluntary work in various local community centres, teaching art and music to children and adolescents (until 2006).
2000 - Bass player for Guy Tavares' surf band The White Trash Minstrels.
2001 - Experimental musical project The Hatz, with several children at community center Painter's District. Editor, with Cor Gout, of the book and CD publication 'Scheveningen, op Locatie'.
2004 - Collaborations with Dutch/Moroccon musical ensemble Majmou3at l'Ambiance.
2005 - Visits to Morocco and Suriname.
2006 - Moving with partner to Paramaribo (Suriname). Helps out artist George Struikelblok with an artist in residence location and initiates a library for Nola Hatterman Art Academy.
2007 - Participates with ink drawings in the first Paramaribo Biennale, curated by Toon Verhoef. After returning to The Hague, participates with Stichting Maldoror in the Stroom Den Haag group show 'Empire of Islands', curated by Gerrit Jan de Rook.
2008 - Weekly therapy sessions at Centrum 45 in Leiden for second generation war trauma.
2009 - Diagnosed with ADHD. Runs Jan Huijgen Galerie with painter Roeland Langendoen for a year. Curator of group exhibition 'Multiculturalism' at Villa Nuts, with works by Surinamese artists Remond Mangoensemito, Sunil Puljhun, Ravi Rajcoomar and Raul Wongsodihardjo.
2010 - With Jan Duivenvoorden supporting Marcel Pinas opening his children's art center Tembe Art Studio in Moengo (Suriname). With Jan-Maarten Luursema curating the one night event 'Surb Retnug' at Villa Grijpsheert, about the Viennese art scene and Günter Brus in particular.
2011 - Maldoror Galerie II in his living room in Chinatown, The Hague. Volunteer work for mental health care organization Reakt (Parnassia), music lessons (until 2020).
2012 - Celebrating third generation Stichting Maldoror's 25th birthday in collaboration with Arya Jalu and Museum Dan Tanah Liat in Yogyakarta (Indonesia); showing 25 works of Dutch artists. Tour through Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Yogya) with Salò Mentale and Unit Moebius as SMVSUM.
2013 - Continuing celebrating Stichting Maldoror's 25th birthday, showing works of 25 Indonesian artists at Vrije Academie/Gemak.
2014 - First solo exhibition, curated by Yair Callender in collaboration with art collective In Your Living Room at Villa Ockenburgh. Several concerts with Blokdijk, Both, Callender, Duivenvoorden, Duijvestein OVB (percussion and electronics) until 2018. Participates with a painting in Baracca's group show 'Shit Is The New Gold'.
2015 - Collaborates with Ibrahim R. Ineke on bookshop Maldoracca, a fusion of Maldoror and Baracca. Participates in Staalplaat Soundsystem project 'Zeero' for Today's Art. Short-term music project 'Virage'.
2016 - Participation 'Inside Job/Ikonostasis' group exhibition, organized by Baracca at LocatieZ. Duo exhibition with Marie-Claire van der Heijden at Geknipt voor Kunst hairdressers. Discovers printing-on-demand and compiles a book on 100 Years Dada, with contributions from both 'normal' artists and artists with a specific psychiatric background.
2017 - Maldoror Galerie III, monthly exhibitions in the window display of daycare center Het Sterhuis of Reakt/Parnassia until today. Shows paintings at group exhibition 'Bohemien / Club Wave' at Hoop, curated by Nathalie Houtermans and Petros Orfanos.
2018 - Publication of poetry by Martijn Sluijter for Maldoracca/Parnassia.
2019 - Duo exhibition with Barbarizm at art space Trixie, curated by Robin van der Heyden and Petros Orfanos. Curator for Onze Ambassade music festival in collaboration with West Den Haag. Establishes Parnoisia Records for Reakt/Parnassia with a label on Bandcamp and monthly one hour programs for Radio Tonka.
2020 - Several new publications for Maldoracca on behalf of Parnassia. Struggle with Covid-19 / Long Covid.
2021 - Struggle with Long Covid continues. Maldoracca, Maldoror Galerie and Parnoisia Records continue at a slow pace. Joins group exhibition 'Fried!' at an abandoned church in Voorburg with nine paintings. Participates with a sound art collage in Justin Bennett's 'Radio New Babylon' project. Investigates the history and whereabouts of artist Arthur Berkhoff.
2022 - Struggle with Long Covid continues. Maldoracca, Maldoror Galerie and Parnoisia Records continue at a slow pace. Organizing the book collection of deceased art historian Evert van Uitert at West Den Haag's Alphabetum. Back to painting and to making art books for Parnassia. Recognized as an artist by Stroom Den Haag, center for visual arts and architecture in The Hague. Joins The Undergroundlings, an experimental art(music) group initiated by Chandor Glōomy and Dewi de Vree.
2023 - Functioning health wise for 50-75%. Exhibiting a large painting during a The Undergroundlings performance at KRAH #2. A painting gets published in Murw/Murf magazine #11. Participates with several paintings in Bermuda Open, open ateliers weekend. Contributes two paintings at Fever festival (The Grey Space In The Middle). Curator and participant of 'Je tikt er tegen en het zingt', an exhibition with artworks from Maldoracca artists at the Outsider Art Galerie (H'Art Museum, Amsterdam). Actor in the film 'Unfolding' by Anne Fehres and Luke Conroy, premiere during the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024. Continues working for Maldoror Galerie, Parnassia and West Den Haag.
Related links
https://www.facebook.com/anthonyblokdijk
https://www.instagram.com/a.blokdijk
https://maldoror.nl
http://stichting-maldoror.blogspot.com
https://maldoracca2.blogspot.com
https://anthonyblokdijk.bandcamp.com
https://salomentale.bandcamp.com
https://parnoisia.bandcamp.com
https://desduyvelsdoedelsack.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/stichtingmaldoror