Johnny van Doorn (1944-1991) was a Dutch writer, poet, and performer and a cult hero of the sixties. He called himself Johnny the Selfkicker, referencing his adrenaline-fueled kicks on “the self.” This nickname best captured his wild, exhibitionist, and often haphazard performances, in which he worked himself into a frenzy, often collapsing in front of an astonished audience.
Dutch vocal artist-actress-theater director Joske Koning is a great fan of van Doorn’s electrifying poetry and performance. She was fascinated by van Doorn’s visionary art, who, as the Selfkicker, embodied the transcendental surrender to language, freeing itself from vanity and linear logic. Van Doorn found this freedom
