Too old for Facebook?
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A few weeks ago 103 year old painter Hans Erni, with help from his family, tried to set up a Facebook profile to help publicise his paintings as well as publish an online resume. Midway through the process Hans Erni hit a complication, the Facebook registration only allowed users who were born at the earliest in January 1910 and he was born on the 21st February 1909. For Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook, the idea of a 102 year old user must have seemed unimaginable as Facebook only allowed people to register who were born at the earliest in 1910. The Erni family then contacted the European Headquarters of Facebook in Dublin, Ireland with their complaint. As would be expected, Facebook swiftly changed the settings making Facebook, not only the largest social network but also the social site with the largest age range, all thanks to Hans Erni whose 103rd birthday is on Tuesday and who is now surely the eldest of the 845 million Facebook worldwide users.
This story has prompted Jürg Lauber, Head of Communications for ‘Pro Senectute’, a company aimed at supporting seniors to consider, alongside the ipad and iphone courses, launching an ‘introduction to Facebook’ course.
Already Hans Erni’s Facebook page has received large interest from other Facebook users, particularly because it offers them an opportunity to comment and share his art as well as interact with Hans Erni himself. The Social media is bringing us closer to celebrities than ever before and there is no reason why the celebrities who are ‘ripe in years’ should not be part of this, hence why Facebook have now changed the date of birth settings all the way back to 1905.
Source: Neue Luzerner Zeitung
Photo source: http://www.hanserni.ch/
About Hans Erni
Hans Erni was born on the 21st February 1909 in Lucerne and is one of Switzerland’s most recognised painters, sculptors and designers. He is particularly known for illustrating postage stamps, lithographs for the Swiss Red Cross, designing murals, participation on the Olympic Committee and his activism. The Hans Erni Museum is based in the grounds of the Swiss Transport Museum and houses within a magnificent building several decades of his work. He celebrates his 103rd Birthday on Tuesday 21st February.
When he left school Hans Erni began an apprenticeship as a surveyor but it was in 1927 when he first entered the world of art and literature when he began to study art in Lucerne. In 1928 he travelled to Paris where he won the annual competition at the Academie Julian. However as a foreigner the prize was not awarded to him. Ironically ten years later he was on the judging panel of the very same prize. This example highlights how quickly his career progressed and demonstrates the talent waiting to come out. He organised the Order of the Kunstmuseum Lucerne, a large exhibition of artists which offered Picasso the chance to bring his art to Switzerland for the first time.
In 1938 Erni designed his first bank note which despite being printed never came into circulation as he was viewed as a communist and his work rejected. Following the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 he finally distanced himself from the Communists. His work has been on display all around the world, from Sao Paulo to San Fransisco. From designing postage stamps to winning the United States Sports Academy’s Sports Artist of the Year; Hans Erni, with over a hundred years to draw from, has created some incredible works of art not least his commemorative pictures of the 9/11 attacks and the 2004 Tsunami. His political works; promoting women’s suffrage or supporting anti - nuclear weapons campaigns again highlight the amazing life he’s lived and how he’s converted it into art, giving the public a glimpse into the incredible last 100 years.
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