fluxus

Fluxus is not: a movement, a moment in history, an organization. Fluxus is: an idea, a kind of work, a tendency, a way of life, a changing set of people who do Fluxworks.

—Dick Higgins

Dick also described Fluxes as 'intermedia'.

    Caroline, our tour guide, was; incredible.  I know a lot of people didn't like being told what to think, or what the artist intended.  a lot of people wanted to be able to roam around the gallery aimlessly.  i am grateful that caroline was kind enough to share her knowledge with us.  before the tour, i found most postmodern art to be distasteful, and obnoxious. now that i know it's objective and purpose.. i value it.  i value the fact that our society is constantly changing the norm; the standard.  it forced me to contemplate about what the next possibly art movement could be? anti-art?  hmmmm.  i have a completely different prospective about postmodernism and its purpose now.  i believe i am going to write about fluxus, but i want to get more external information before i begin my reassessment.

     I think this piece at the Walker could be easily looked over, which is a shame.  The more I learn, the more I want to learn.  now that's powerful.  upon first glance, it looks like a glass case of 'stuff.'          precisely!  Fluxes emerged in the late 1960s.  Artists, writers, performers, and filmmakers sought to break down the barriers between art and life.  I would consider Yoko Ono as the most popular, well-known reluctant Fluxes member, however John Cage and George Maciunas are accredited for starting it.

     Most of the fluxes pictures i was able to find online was that of Gilbert and Lila Silverman.  It appears that they must dedicate most of their lives to collecting.  it is the 'only major collection in the world that holds uncompromisingly to the Maciunas-based paradigm for Fluxus (Higgins).  Event performances and Fluxkits are the common denominator of Fluxus practice.  Event performances typically consist of simple, everyday actions, which may seem puzzling.  Fluxus is all about rethinking.  It is a quite difficult concept to understand, and i think I will only understand more with more research.  To truly understand the movement, one must be aware of all the experiments, movements, and films.  It is an art of all of the senses, and sometimes even the lack of senses.   The persuasive argument that I am attempting to cajole is simply that of awareness.  For those who don't know about this fascinating movement to know.  Not to understand, not to love, not to hate.  Just to be aware.  It is an attempt to find something significant in the insignificant.

    I think the Walker Art Center is privileged to have a piece of this history.

http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/8730

MCA: Interpreting Art

i'm finding it very hard to choose one particular piece to interpret.

but; the mission impossible is suddenly possible.  i evoked a memory i knew i could not forget.  a stunning work of art.  it is that of Chiharu Shiota.  from my quick research, i am unable to tell if Chiharu is a man or a woman, and i think that makes this piece more beautiful.  there is no forced sexism regarding the artist's name.  i truly cannot tell if a man or a woman did this piece, and i think that makes it more wonderful.  i am not saying that incorporating an artists partiality is bad, but i am saying that no bias can be good.  i do however hope that by the end of writing this blog i will know if Chiharu is a lad or a lass.  maybe it's both.

the piece displayed at the midway was entitled Trauma (Mother and Child). 2008. it was crafted from plexi glass, string, and and 'object.'  i hate to admit that i don't exactly know what the object was?  does anyone? anyone?  bueller?  additionally, i'm having a very tough time locating an image of the exact piece located in the MCA.  i hope that the images i post within this blog do justice.

within the first few clicks of my research, i was able to find Chiharu's website.  it turns out he/she did an entire exhibit in 2007 called Trauma / Alltag in the........... ( must go to english conference! will return..... sometime)

return.  The exhibit in 2007 called Trauma / Alltag was in the Kenji Taki Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.

i find it very interesting that this show took place only 2 years ago, and it became a part of Darwin and Geri Reedy's collection. i took it upon myself to do further research on their collection, to see if it had any relationship with this piece.  the immediate answer.  below are a few pictures i have gathered from their collection.

i can't really get any cohesive theme from their collection except; expensive.  i wonder what they do for a living? from what i can tell darwin has a gallery @ 51 Peninsula Rd.  in Dellwood, MN, and he's a republican.  oh, the power of the internet....i actually just attempted to contact mr. reedy to inquire about his interest in Chiharu Shiota..  he did not answer.  i will try again later.

...i tried again.   still no answer.  i also went to the CVA library to look up some books about Chiharu Shiota.  of course they didn't have any.  and i would love to travel back to the midway; but lack of transportation forbids me.  chiharu sure is making this difficult for me.  but she ( yes, she! ) certainly has progressed over the years.

"What's under my feet, what I eat, whom I meet - all that influences my art"

i find it interesting that the current installation @ western is Woven Portals: An Installation by Randy Walker.  very similar; i wonder if he's seen her work? 


chiharu shiota's work is open to interpretation, but she puts a lot of her own energy from daydreams to nightmares.  i'm looking forward to learning more about her.


her formal expression is almost obsessive-compulsive.  she creates manifests of unconscious anxiety that screams.  deep; reflective; fascinating.  the work references mental disorder.  loneliness.  solitude.  tension.




unforgettable.