Bas Jan Ader

I stumbled across the amazing site of the Dutch conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader this afternoon. It opens with a full-frame version of Ader’s short film piece “i’m too sad to tell you.” I asked Slate designer Vivian Selbo how this effect was pulled off. She told me it’s a Flash movie sized to fill the browser window. (If you resize the window, you can watch the video adapt.) Ader disappeared in 1975 while attempting to cross the Atlantic in a small sailboat. The above video is one of Ader’s “falls,” an idea that has inspired many homages —though none HAS the élan of the original.