Fluxus , an
international art movement of the late 1950s-‘60s that emphasized
process over finished product and interdisciplinary work. Lithuanian-born
artist George Maciunas is generally credited with naming the movement and
writing its founding “manifesto.” Influenced by the ideas of
Dada (particularly
the work of Marcel Duchamp) and the
compositional ideas of the composer John Cage, the movement had its beginning
among a group of artists and composers in New York City in the late
‘50s. Among the innovations that came out of the Fluxus movement were
happenings, event scores, intermedia, and video art. Maciunas also pioneered
the creation of Fluxkits (also called Fluxboxes), small wooden or plastic
boxes filled with brief instructions for the user to complete to create
their own artwork. Among the loosely affiliated artists who were part of
this movement were Yoko Ono,
dancer/performance artist Carolee Schneeman, author/publisher Dick Higgins,
video artist Nam June Paik, who often
created works and performed with cellist Charlotte Moorman, and
composer/performers George Brecht and La Monte Young. Fluxus festivals were
held primarily in Europe during the movement’s heyday.Fluxus is said
to have “ended” with Maciunas’s death in 1978, although
its various practitioners have continued to create works through today,
while others have been greatly influenced by its ideas.
See T. Kellein, Fluxus (1995), K. Friedman, ed., The
Fluxus Reader (1998), S. Owen, Fluxus: The History of
an Attitude (1998), H. Higgins, Fluxus Experience
(2002), J. Baas and K. Friedman, Fluxus and the Essential
Questions of Life (2011).
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