# Filip Noterdaeme

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**Filip Noterdaeme** is a Belgian-born American artist, satirist and writer best known for his creation of The Homeless Museum of Art, a conceptual artwork that encompassed installation, writing and performance. His work has been explored as part of two doctoral theses, both of which were later published as books.[1][2]

## Life and career

Noterdaeme was born in [Brussels](/source/Brussels) and is the son of Belgian Ambassador Paul M. J. Noterdaeme.[3] As consequence of his father's profession, he grew up in [Brussels](/source/Brussels), [London](/source/London) and [Geneva](/source/Geneva). He began his studies of visual arts at [LUCA School of Arts](/source/LUCA_School_of_Arts) in Brussels before moving to [New York City](/source/New_York_City), in 1987, where he first earned a [Bachelor of Fine Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Fine_Arts) degree at the [School of Visual Arts](/source/School_of_Visual_Arts) and then enrolled at [Hunter College](/source/Hunter_College) to pursue a [Master of Fine Arts](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts) (MFA).

During his time at Hunter, he frequently presented himself as an alter ego named Marcel Wasbending-Ttum, a name he concocted as an homage to [Gustave Courbet](/source/Gustave_Courbet) and [Marcel Duchamp](/source/Marcel_Duchamp).[4] He additionally would satirise the institution by dressing in a [Ratcatcher (attire)](/source/Ratcatcher_(attire)) hunting outfit, and bringing in his [Dachshund](/source/Dachshund) to the school, instructing it in front of faculty members to "go find a masterpiece!".[3] Inspired by artist duo [McDermott & McGough](/source/McDermott_%26_McGough), for whom he worked as an assistant painter, he also conceived and created works of appropriation, at times employing the services of other artists.[5] He was dismissed from Hunter following allegations of plagiarism when he exhibited a nude painting, signed as Marcel Wasbending-Ttum, that used the imagery of [Gustave Courbet](/source/Gustave_Courbet)’s [L'Origine du monde](/source/L'Origine_du_monde) and [René Magritte](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Magritte)’s [The Treachery of Images](/source/The_Treachery_of_Images), which was viewed as scandalous.[6]

Noterdaeme subsequently enrolled at the [Gallatin School of Individualized Study](/source/Gallatin_School_of_Individualized_Study), where he studied philosophy and comparative literature, and earned his MA.

In the 1990s, Noterdaeme worked for the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art)’s outreach program, subsequently becoming a gallery lecturer[7] and educator for their weekly children’s program, A First Look.[8] The program was terminated in 1999. That same year, Noterdaeme was hired by [The Guggenheim](/source/The_Guggenheim) museum as a gallery lecturer.[9][10]

In 2002, Noterdaeme created the Homeless Museum of Art (HOMU), a conceptual [Gesamtkunstwerk](/source/Gesamtkunstwerk) that aimed to expose and send up the practices of contemporary art museums.[4] Assuming the role of self-titled museum director, he presented a first version of the museum as a pop-up exhibit in an art studio in Chelsea[11] and wrote letters to leading figures of cultural institutions, offering tongue-in-cheek critique and absurdist ideas for possible collaborations.[12] Noterdaeme’s second manifestation of the project, in 2004, was a public protest action[13] that raised awareness about the fact that the [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art), following its multi-million-Dollar expansion, had hiked its admission fee by 63%.[14] In 2005, the [Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York](/source/Swiss_Institute_Contemporary_Art_New_York) exhibited a new incarnation of HOMU at the Armory Show,[15] presented as a makeshift booth inspired by Lucy’s Psychiatry Booth from Charles M. Schulz’ Peanuts comic strip series. It included a tour of Noterdaeme's apartment in Brooklyn that he and his partner [Daniel Isengart](/source/Daniel_Isengart) had turned into a live-in pastiche of a contemporary art museum, including a guided audio tour, shop, café and a “Staff And Security Department,” where Noterdaeme, wearing a fake beard, and introducing himself as HOMU's Director, held court in the style of [Louis XIV's lever](/source/Levee_(ceremony)#Louis_XIV's_lever), using a [Taxidermy](/source/Taxidermy) [Coyote](/source/Coyote) to represent his press secretary.

Noterdaeme and Isengart continued to hold monthly, semi-public openings at the apartment for several years,[16] until their landlord found out about it via a New York Times article and notified the couple that they were not legally entitled to use their rental apartment as an art museum.[17] Noterdaeme closed down the museum[18] and subsequently created an updated mobile booth version of the museum that he regularly took to the streets of Manhattan from 2008 to 2012,[19] culminating with a residency at the [High Line](/source/High_Line) in Chelsea.[16]

In 2013, Noterdaeme wrote a memoir,*The Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart*, an adaptation of [Gertrude Stein](/source/Gertrude_Stein)'s *[The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas](/source/The_Autobiography_of_Alice_B._Toklas)* which was published by Outpost 19.[3] In drawing parallels between his life with his husband [Daniel Isengart](/source/Daniel_Isengart) and the life of Stein and Toklas, Noterdaeme explored the concept that a person's life in of itself can be a work of art. He terms the writing of the memoir, “homoplagiarism”, combining homosexuality with an illicit form of writing.[5] The following year he published a literary adaptation of [Howl (poem)](/source/Howl_(poem)), [Allen Ginsberg](/source/Allen_Ginsberg)’s legendary first collection of poems, which Noterdaeme titled "Growl: and other poems", dedicated to writer [Andrew Solomon](/source/Andrew_Solomon).[20] Noterdaeme detailed his creative process of writing the adaptation in an essay published on the Queen Mob's Teahouse blog.[21]

Noterdaeme wrote a series of articles about the contemporary art scene for The Huffington Post, now [HuffPost](/source/HuffPost) which were published in 2017.[22]

Noterdaeme is presently an [Adjunct professor](/source/Adjunct_professor) at [New York University](/source/New_York_University), where he teaches the [Art of Europe](/source/Art_of_Europe). He continues to be a gallery lecturer at [The Guggenheim Museum](/source/The_Guggenheim_Museum) and is an assistant professor of Art History at the [John Jay College of Criminal Justice](/source/John_Jay_College_of_Criminal_Justice), a senior college of the [City University of New York](/source/City_University_of_New_York).[10]

## Published works

- Noterdaeme, Filip (2011). *Lettre à un religieux*. New York: La Bibliothèque Fantastique.
- Noterdaeme, Filip (2012). *Madame Bovary*. New York: La Bibliothèque Fantastique.
- Noterdaeme, Filip (2012). *Cat - A log - Raisin - "A" [Catalogue raisonné]*. New York: La Bibliothèque Fantastique.
- Noterdaeme, Filip (2013). *The Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart*. 1 ed. Outpost19. ISBN 9781937402488.
- Noterdaeme, Filip (2016). *Growl : and other poems*. Paris: antoine lefebvre editions. ISBN 9782555838215.
- Noterdaeme, Filip (2020). *Dear Professor: A Chronicle of Absences*. Baltimore, Maryland: Punctum Books. ISBN 978-0998237589.

## See also

- [LGBT culture in New York City](/source/LGBT_culture_in_New_York_City)
- [List of LGBT people from New York City](/source/List_of_LGBT_people_from_New_York_City)

## References

1. Daugaard, Solveig (2018). *Collaborating with Gertrude Stein : Media ecologies, reception, poetics*. Linköping: Linköping University Department of Culture and Communication. pp. 416–423. ISBN 9789176853092.

1. Lefebvre, Antoine (2018). *Artiste éditeur*. [Saint-Malo]: Strandflat. ISBN 979-1096141081.

1. Noterdaeme, Filip (2013). *The Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart*. 1 ed. Outpost19. ISBN 9781937402488.

1. Topol, Samantha (1 January 2007). ["Homelessness Begins at Home"](https://believermag.com/homelessness-begins-at-home/). *Believer Magazine*. No. 40. Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. Copenhafer, David (5 February 2014). ["The Homoplagiarism of Filip Noterdaeme"](https://brooklynrail.org/2014/02/books/the-homoplagiarism-of-filip-noterdaeme). *The Brooklyn Rail*. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Seresin, Indiana. ["An Entirely Queer Plane of Existence"](https://emilybooks.tumblr.com/post/88377118631/an-entirely-queer-plane-of-existence). *Emily Books*

1. Ferla, Ruth La (17 February 1999). ["A Talented Tailor Can Cut a Fellow a Lot of Slack"](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/17/health/a-talented-tailor-can-cut-a-fellow-a-lot-of-slack.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. ["For Children"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1992/02/21/778792.html?pageNumber=54). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. ["The Eye That Writes: From Modern to Contemporary: Museums in New York"](https://theeyethatwrites.blogspot.com/2011/04/from-modern-to-contemporary-museums-in.html). *The Eye That Writes*. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2022.

1. ["Faculty Profile: Filip Noterdaeme, Adjunct Instructor | NYU SPS Professional Pathways"](https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/431-filip-noterdaeme.html). *www.sps.nyu.edu*. New York University. Retrieved 13 March 2022.

1. Robinson, Walter (30 June 2003). ["Weekend Update"](http://www.artnet.com/magazine/reviews/robinson/robinson6-30-03.asp). *Artnet Magazine*. Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. Brown, Brice (12 January 2007). ["The Museum About Museums"](https://www.nysun.com/arts/museum-about-museums/46540/). *The New York Sun*. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. Vogel, Carol (18 November 2004). ["What Is the Value of Priceless Art? Debate Continues on $20 Admission"](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/arts/design/what-is-the-value-of-priceless-art-debate-continues-on-20.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. ["THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART REOPENS ON NOVEMBER 20, 2004 IN EXPANDED AND RENOVATED NEW BUILDING DESIGNED BY YOSHIO TANIGUCHI"](http://press.moma.org/wp-content/press-archives/PRESS_RELEASE_ARCHIVE/reopen_Release.pdf). The Museum of Modern Art. 15 November 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. ["SI Events - Armory Show 2005"](https://www.swissinstitute.net/2001-2006/News/2005/homu.htm). *www.swissinstitute.net*. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

1. Frank, Priscilla (27 July 2012). ["Homeless Museum Of Art"](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/meet-filip-noterdaeme-leg_n_1701412.html). *The Huffington Post*. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Shaw, Dan (7 January 2007). ["A House Museum That's Part Serious and Part Sendup"](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/realestate/07habi.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. ["This is HoMu BKLYN"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QInBpjXK_PI&t=9s). *YouTube*. HoMu. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Koppel, Lily (3 November 2008). ["A Museum With No Exhibits, but Plenty of Ideas"](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/nyregion/03homeless.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Noterdaeme, Filip (25 March 2015). ["'Growl' by Filip Noterdaeme"](https://www.berfrois.com/2015/03/growl-filip-noterdaeme/). *Berfrois*. Berfrois Magazine. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Noterdaeme, Filip (25 March 2015). ["Howling and Growling"](https://queenmobs.com/2015/03/howling-and-growling/). *Queen Mob's Tea House*. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. ["Filip Noterdaeme | HuffPost"](https://www.huffpost.com/author/filip-noterdaeme). *www.huffpost.com*. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Filip Noterdaeme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filip_Noterdaeme) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filip_Noterdaeme?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.