Fluxus was a loose and diverse group of artists most active in the 1960s and 1970s in America, Europe and Japan.
Before today, had you ever heard of Fluxus?
Mieko Shiomi (born in 1938) is a Japanese Fluxus artist - or composer - who co-founded the Group ‘Ongaku’ with Takehisa Kosugi and Yasunao Tone. The Group’s aim was to explore “improvisation and action”.
Shiomi is best known for her event pieces and objects, such as Disappearing Music for Face (see below).
Would you call this music or art?
Fluxus embraced chance, the incidental, the unimportant, the unintentional, the nonsensical, in a free mix of artistic forms and media. The major influences on Fluxus are listed below.
Do you like any of these?
Please check all the ones you like…
In “Cut Piece”, Yoko Ono (born 1933) invited members of the audience to cut off (and keep) any parts off her clothing they wanted with a pair of scissors she provided, and in the first performance she ended up naked.
If you had been in the audience, would you have gone up on stage and cut off a piece of her clothing?
Over the years, many have attributed specific meanings to this piece, including that it represents violence against women. But Ono resisted any particular interpretation, and later added in her instructions that the performer could be male or female.
Fluxus very rarely has a ‘meaning’. It is usually neutral, avoids discernible intention, embraces chance or indeterminacy.
Do you find this 'neutralist' attitude…?
Please check all that apply.
Fluxus was especially interested in the relationship of artist and audience, blurring the distinction between the two, making the interaction the main idea. Ono said of 'Cut Piece'...
"It was a form of giving, giving and taking. It was a kind of criticism against artists, who are always giving what they want to give. I wanted people to take whatever they wanted to, so it was very important to say you can cut wherever you want to."
What about your own response to art?
Do you see yourself as more a viewer or more of a participant?
George Brecht (1926-2008), one of the most influential members of the Fluxus group, enjoyed games, puzzles and exercises, like the ones below.
Do you find the ones above to be…? (please check all that apply)
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was friendly and artistically engaged with several Fluxus artists. He made films like the 5-hour “Sleep”, in which an unmoving camera simply recorded his lover John Giorno sleeping, and “Eat”, in which fellow artist Robert Indiana eats mushrooms for 45 minutes.
Do these films seem to you to be more like Pop Art or Fluxus?
Below are some stills from Benjamin Patterson (1934-2016) performing his “Solo for Double Bass” in 1962. Instructions for performing the piece include the use of a comb, corrugated cardboard, feather duster, eatables, toilet paper, tin foil and many other materials, with great freedom in how to deploy them.
Do you think you would have enjoyed this performance?
Fluxus was coordinated by George Maciunas (1931-1978), who was also the major driver in turning SoHo from a depressed industrial area into a thriving artistic hub (though because he never got a realtor license, he died penniless.)
Maciunas said of Fluxus, “we came out a bunch of jokers…” producing “art of no financial value”. Fluxus was largely a performance art that had nothing to sell. It was almost the inverse of Pop Art and very obscure at the time, passing virtually unnoticed, but has proven hugely influential in contemporary art.
From what you’ve seen so far, do you like Fluxus?
If you would like, please make a comment below about your response to Fluxus. 💬