What is Friedensreich Hundertwasser?
[[File:Hundertwasser hannover 1965.jpg|thumb|Hundertwasser (left) in Hannover, 1965]] [[File:Hundertwasser nz 1998 hg.jpg|thumb|Hundertwasser in New Zealand, 1998]] '''Friedensreich Hundertwasser''' (born 15 December 1928, died 20 February 2000) was an [[Austria]]n artist. He often called himself ''Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser'' (''Land-of-Peace Rainy-Day Dark-Colourful Hundred-Water'') . Hundertwasser became known for designing buildings, but he also created [[stamp]]s, painted, designed posters, and other works. He even designed a new flag for New Zealand, based on a local fern frond, called the Koru. [[File:Koru flag.svg|right|thumb|The Koru flag ]] == Biography == Hundertwasser was born in Vienna as Friedrich Stowasser. His mother, Elsa, was Jewish, so the Second World War was a difficult time for them. They pretended to be Catholic during the war, and to escape notice, Friedrich even joined the [[Hitler Youth]]. After the war ended, he changed his name from Friedrich Stowasser to Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Part of the meaning of ''Friedensreich'' is ''peaceful realm (country)''. He studied briefly at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, but when his money ran out, he started to travel a lot. He began to develop his own style, and in 1952, he exhibited his paintings for the first time. Hundertwasser married twice - in 1957 and 1962 - but both marriages ended in divorce. He had one daughter, Heidi Trimmel, who was born in 1982. In 1975, Hundertwasser left Europe and went to live in a small town called Kawakawa in New Zealand, where he could live mostly self-sufficiently. The artist bought several properties, joined them together to give himself enough access to nature, built solar panels and a water purification plant, and grew his own food. He lived there until he died of a heart attack in 2000. He was buried at home in New Zealand. On top of his grave, a tree was planted. Hundertwasser said in 1989, <blockquote>A dead person is entitled to reincarnation in the form of... a tr