In the 1960s, he was associated with the Fluxus movement and had gained a reputation for absurdist and controversial works of art, including the famous Pindakaasvloer (1962–1967), consisting basically of a floor covered with peanut butter.

He worked on short films as well, with Wim van der Linden and others, but his relations with the established art world were troubled and by the early 1970s he was working almost exclusively on writing and making television shows for the VPRO—Schippers referred to television as "the greatest gallery in the world".

This partly mysterious quality was Schippers' goal, and was supposed to bring life to the college campus.

[2] On the occasion of Schippers' seventieth birthday, a replica of the tower was revealed in Kortrickvijver, near the Willy Dobbeplantsoen in Olst.

[4] The University of Twente is proud of its extensive collection of art objects on campus, and the tower is the best-known of them all.