A Child's History of Fluxus Plenty of Others

A Child's History of Fluxus plenty of others. In Germany there were the book An Anthology which is a fun concerts there, so the newspapers would by Dick Higgins Wolf (Wolf Vostell) and Ben and Emmett word for a collection. No fancy name. write about them and people would find (Ben Patterson and Emmett Williams) who Not “A Fluxus Anthology”, because out about his books. So in September were visiting there from America, and Fluxus things weren't named yet. Just 1962 the first of the Fluxus concerts Long long ago, back when the world was there was another visitor in Germany too An Anthology. It was a beautiful book and happened in a little city where George young - that is, sometime around the year from a very little country on the other you can still buy it and look at the Maciunas was living, in Wiesbaden, 1958 - a lot of artists and composers and side of the world, from Korea - his name beautiful, simple things in it - ideas and Germany (you say that - "Vees’-bodd- other people who wanted to do beautiful was Nam June Paik. Oh there were more piles of words and ways for making your en"). Dick went there from New York, with things began to look at the world around too, there and in other countries also. own life more wonderful. Well, it costs Alison (Alison Knowles) his artist wife, and them in a new way (for them). They did “concerts” of everyday living; money to make books, and if you spend they took with them lots of pieces by and they gave exhibitions of what they your money on one thing you can’t spend other American people who had been They said: “Hey! - coffee cups can be found, where they shared the things that it on another. George Maciunas had finding and sharing Fluxus kinds more beautiful than fancy sculptures. A they liked best with whoever would rented a beautiful big room in the of things. kiss in the morning can be more dramatic come. Everything was itself, it wasn’t part fanciest part of New York City, and there than a drama by Mr. Fancypants. The of something bigger and fancier. And the he had an art gallery where Fluxus kinds The concerts certainly did get written sloshing of my foot in my wet boot fancy people didn’t like this, because it of things were shown and shared or about! They were on television too. Poor sounds more beautiful than fancy organ was all cheap and simple, and nobody allowed to happen. But when there was George Maciunas’ mother! She was an music.” could make much money out of it. no money to pay for all that, once the old-fashioned lady, and when the book was done, George Maciunas had to television showed all the crazy things that And when they saw that, it turned their But these people were scattered all over give up his AG Gallery, as he called it; her son George was doing at the Fluxus minds on. And they began to ask ques- the world. They sometimes knew about and he decided to go to Germany. concerts, she was so embarrassed that tions. One question was: “Why does each other, but they didn’t see each other With him he took some big boxes all she wouldn’t go out of her house for two everything I see that’s beautiful like cups much or often. And they spoke different chockablock full of leftover things that weeks because she was so ashamed of and kisses and sloshing feet have to be languages and had different names for La Monte and the others had collected, what the neighbors might say. Oh well, made into just a part of something fanci- what they were doing, even when they but which didn’t fit into the Anthology. you have to expect that kind of thing. er and bigger? Why can't I just use it for were doing the same thing. It was all Actually some of the neighbors really its own sake?” mixed up. George Maciunas’ idea was to get liked the Fluxus concerts. The janitor at together with the people in Germany the museum where the Fluxus concerts When they asked questions like that, they Well, La Monte had a pal - another who were doing the same kind of thing, were happening liked them so well that were inventing Fluxus; but this they didn’t George, George Maciunas: his name and to do something like a book and he came to every performance with his know yet, because Fluxus was like a baby looked strange but sounded easy something like a magazine - it would be wife and children. whose mother and father couldn’t agree enough- “Ma-choo-nuss”. And George printed every so often, and it would on what to call it - they knew it was there, Maciunas liked to make books. So always change, always be different, By and by other museums and public but it didn't have a name. La Monte said, “Let’s do a book of-our always be really itself. It needed a name. places wanted Fluxus concerts too. kind of thing.” And his friend Jackson So George Maciunas chose a very funny So Fluxus concerts happened next in Well, these people were scattered all agreed. And they did it. La Monte word for “change” - Fluxus. And he England and Denmark and France. And over the world. In America there were collected the things for the book, and started taking Fluxus things to the print- new pieces kept being found or done - George (George Brecht) and Dick (Dick George Maciunas put it onto pages, and ers in Germany, to make his magazine. Fluxus people sent things from Japan Higgins) and La Monte (La Monte Young) after a while, they were able to take it to To let people know about this kind of and Holland and all kinds of places. and Jackson (Jackson MacLow) and a printer and have it printed. They called book, he decided to give some Fluxus Fluxus got famous.