31 December 05 - 21:10Fabulous Fluxus Event Resource
Anybody interested in Fluxus event scores will find this workbook of
550 scores to be invaluable. The workbook includes scores by Ken
Friedman, Ay-O, Yoko Ono, George Maciunas, Alison Knowles, Nam June
Paik, Dick Higgins and many others.
There are links to the workbook and several other performance score resources here;
http://www.thing.net/~grist/ld/fluxus.htm
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22 December 05 - 11:33Fluxus in Practical Terms
In previous articles, The Fluxus Blog has examined Fluxus in historical
and theoretical terms. I have posited that Fluxus "happens when one
feels that life and art must be taken so seriously, that it becomes
impossible to take life or art seriously." I have also previously
posted
several other ideas, theories, and views
about Fluxus. But how would "you know it when you see it"? What
characteristics of an artwork serve to identify the work as belonging
to or related to Fluxus?
Historically many artists working in different media have related their
work to Fluxus. However, there are really only two types of work that
are nearly always related to Fluxus. They are "
Event Scores" and
"
Fluxkits".
Event Scores:
Event scores are similar to short musical scores or theatrical setting
descriptions. Some are designed to be performed, and some are written to
be read and imagined without ever actually being performed. Of those
that are written to be performed, some may be designed to be performed
only once and recorded (through written, photo, or video)
documentation, while others are written so that they can be performed
repaeatedly. Fluxus associated artists who have made extensive use of
event scores in their work include
Yoko Ono and
George Brecht. The
musical compositions of
John Cage and the "Happenings" of
Allan Kaprow
are also closely related to Fluxus event scores.
Fluxkits:
Fluxkits, also sometimes call Fluxboxes are smallish (usually no larger
than a shoebox or briefcase) objects that are collections of other
objects that hold meaning to the artist and can be interacted with by
the audience. Fluxkits have been produced as multiples in editions, and as
unique, one-of-a-kind objects. Interactivity can consist of examination of the
contents, rearrangement of the objects, or games in which the rules
often resemble event scores. Artists who have received attention in the
art-oriented mass media for their fluxkits and fluxboxes include
George
Maciunas (who coined the word "Fluxus"), Ay-O, and George Brecht.
The first Fluxkits probably resulted from fresh interpretations of the
work of dada artist,
Marcel Duchamp, and have continued to influence present
day Fluxus and mail artists.
Fluxus as Intermedia:
A third indicator of Fluxus relatedness is the concept of "intermedia".
Fluxus artists and historians have sometimes used the terms Fluxus and
intermedia almost interchangeably. The important Fluxus artist,
Dick
Higgins, described Intermedia as a myriad of emerging genres that
spilled across the boundaries of traditional media. In the interseces
between the arts, mixed-media forms coalesced: Happenings, performance
art, kinetic sculpture, and electronic theater (
Higgins).
Higgins suggests that Fluxus artists explore the territory that lies
between art media and life media. The difficulty in using intermedia as
a determinant to identifying a particular artists or artwork as Fluxus
is that it is not easy to identify what kind of objects exist in "the
territory between art media and life media". However, performance art,
video art, installation art, mail art, and time-based artworks are
closely related to Fluxus even if not identified as such by either the
artist or art critics.
It is safe to say that any work that closely
resembles an Event Score or a Fluxkit/Fluxbox, is either Fluxus or is
closely related to Fluxus. But Fluxus isn't quite that simple. While
Event Scores and Fluxkits are Fluxus, so are many other types of
artwork. If a work is not an event score or a fluxkit, it can not be
automatically implied that the work is not Fluxus. While the historical-
theoretical core of Fluxus remains the strongest determinant to linking
work to Fluxus, many Fluxus artists would argue that the only
determinant of Fluxus "authenticity" is the artists "say-so".
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