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…
Category: Commentary
15 Artistic Influences
As the result of a Facebook Challenge… 15 “artists” that had some influence upon me: per Jen Bradford‘s Rules – Monday, September 13, 2010 at 11:36am] The Rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen Artists who’ve influenced you and that will ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. List the first fifteen you can recall…
Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (United States)
The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), 17 U.S.C. § 106A, is a United States law protecting artist rights. VARA was the first federal copyright legislation to grant protection to moral rights. Under VARA, works of art that meet certain requirements afford their authors additional rights in the works, regardless of any subsequent physical ownership of…
Two Questions from Mark Bloch
My friend and colleague, Mark Bloch, has posited two very interesting questions, which I am reposting here. Answers are more than welcome, and can be posted here in the Fluxus Blog “comments” field, or sent directly to Mark. I am seeking comments on these two ideas: 1) When Alison Knowles spoke at CUNY earlier this…
Ben Patterson Quote
I was recently made aware of a statement made by Fluxus artist, Ben Patterson, about the state of Fluxus post-Maciunas. As most readers of the Fluxus Blog are aware, a debate continues to swirl in various Fluxus forums and communities about the status of Fluxus after the death of George Maciunas. I do believe that…
Fluxus Gallerist Harry Stendhal: From Fame to Infamy
In a lawsuit filed on behalf of well know Fluxus artist, Jonas Mekas, and designer Paula Scher, Harry Stendhal, proprietor the Stendhal Gallery in New York’s Chelsea district, is alleged to have misappropriated money and artwork. Mekas and Scher charge that Harry Stendhal sold their pieces without giving them their cut and is holding millions…
Fluxus and Judaism
OK… Let me begin by stating that I don’t think that Fluxus has anything whatsoever to do directly with Judaism. But… As someone who was born Jewish, became Israeli, and believes in no religion at all; and yet still identifies himself as “Jewish”, I can see some interesting parallels between Fluxus and Judaism. While for…
Something Else from Cecil Touchon
Over the course of the past few weeks a lively discussion about Fluxus has been taking place on Facebook. Recently, Cecil Touchon posted this interesting commentary to that discussion: Fluxus as a group, by keeping it open and alive is a new strategy that previous art groups have not been able to pull off in…
Fluxus and Flippancy
Over the past few days I’ve been reading some comments that were critical of the “flippancy” observed in discussions about Fluxus and on sites like Facebook and online communities like the Fluxlist. Some of this criticism has even come from Fluxus and avant-garde old-timers. I find this criticism to be, how can I say this…
Fluxus Needs a New Name… NOT!
Recently in response to an earlier post on the Fluxus Blog it was suggested that belonging to a “50 year old art movement” was absurd. My friend. colleague, and respected Ray Johnson authority, Mark Bloch, had this to say, …I am not sure why anyone would want to embrace a 50 year old art movement…
Photography and Fluxus: Brad Brace
I mentioned Brad Brace in my previous post about Photography and Fluxus. Below is a quote directly from Brad (from his Facebook page) in which Brad talks about his latest photo-pased project. dISCREET pROFILES (the Oregon collection): Thousands of enlarged and enhanced photographs, mostly low-res cellphone, web-cam, and low-end digital camera self-portraits, culled from dating/social…
Cecil Touchon and Fluxus
Recently, my friend and fellow Fluxus practitioner, Cecil Touchon, sent me a copy of an email that he had sent to a mutual colleague. I have excerpted a really nice explanation about how contemporary Fluxus fits in with historical Fluxus. I have addressed this issue from a similar, but different perspective, but I think that…