In philosophy, “the Absurd” refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find these with any certainty.[1] The universe and the human mind do not each separately cause the Absurd; rather, the Absurd arises by the contradictory nature of the two existing simultaneously.
Wikipedia
The absurdist philosopher Albert Camus stated that individuals should embrace the absurd condition of human existence. Historically, Dada and later, Fluxus have also embraced the absurd—with Dada tending more towards a darker Nihilism, and Fluxus tending more towards a lighthearted, existentialist art praxis.
Absurdism in art overlaps Fluxus and Dada considerably, despite being philosophically different. Absurdism takes the philosophies of Dada and Fluxus further, since it exists independently of Art History. Of course, it is not possible for any artist to create work that is completely independent of art history, but unlike Dada and Fluxus, both of which arose in reaction to the art of the past, absurdism simply doesn’t care about the art of the past.
My own (Allan Revich) art practice has always had a nihilistic bent, one that alternated between the hopeless pessimism of Dada, and the optimistic, friendlier face of Fluxus. With my Black Blob series of artworks, I have chosen to simultaneously embrace both concepts. It is an art praxis that happily celebrates the essential meaninglessness of human existence.
It don’t mean nothing. Who cares? Be happy and make more more art!