Fluxus, anyone?
Published August 18, 2022
Fluxus was an anti art movement that was more about life and the fact that anyone can be an artist and any action could be art. It was inspired by the cultural upheaval and self-reflection of the mid-twentieth century. The name “Fluxus” was chosen to signal a state of creative flow as “in flux”. A wry conceptual practice, it ran from the 1950s to the 1970s and rejected the art market, intellectual theorizing, and museums.
Fluxus was considered an important avant-garde movement because it was able to expand the definition of art which led directly to the pluralism of visual art which we still see today. Its essence was centered on process and not the final product of the artists’ work. It also made sharp social commentary and rejected the elitism and narrow-mindedness of the art world at the time. Through the years, Fluxus included and inspired a swath of creatives including poets, musicians, composers, designers, as well as artists.
Some famous Fluxus works include “Total Art Match-Box” Ben Vautier (1965), “Listening to Music Through the Mouth” Nam June Paik (1962), “Optimistic Box no. 3” Robert Filliou (1969), “Cut Piece” Yoko Ono (1964), and “Flux Kit” George Maciunas (1964).
