The Matchstick Traveller

On June 19th, 1995, New York born artist Al Hansen died in his studio in Cologne. It wasn't unusual for Hansen to disappear, and his body lay there until some time later. He was found under his desk, smothered in what many consider trash but what he called working materials. He was 67 years old, and working on a collage made out of matchsticks. "The Matchstick Traveller" portrays an artist who was everything at once: beat poet, pop artist, performer, Fluxus artist, author, porn editor, actor, composer, punk band manager - an axis for all post war movements, and still an outcast. The film looks back at his chaotic life, and examines the notion of failure. The Matchstick Traveller is a documentary collage that interweaves remarkable archival footage with the thoughts and memories of those who were there, featuring appearances by Fluxus artists Ben Vautier, Alison Knowles, Larry Miller, Ben Patterson, the Vienna Actionist Hermann Nitsch, and Hansen's friends and family.