Fluxus Forms

“PURGE the world of dead art, imitation, artificial art. . . . Promote living art, anti-art, promote NON ART REALITY to be grasped by all peoples,” writes artist George Maciunas in his Fluxus manifesto of 1963. Reacting against an elitist art world, Fluxus encouraged playfulness, chance, irreverence, and viewer involvement. The Fluxus collective—including George Brecht, Robert Filliou, Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Benjamin Patterson, Takako Saito, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier, and Robert Watts—embraced humble objects and everyday gestures, finding freedom and excitement beyond traditional forms of art-making. 

While today the Fluxus collective is recognized for its radical works of performance, publishing, relational art, and ephemeral practice, it was not seriously studied in its own time. With Fluxus Forms, Natilee Harren uncovers the history of Fluxus that emerges at the intersections of art history, performance studies, music history, and literary theory. The book offers insight into the nature of art in the ’60s and traces the international development of the collective’s unique intermedia works—including event scores and Fluxbox multiples—which radically expanded the boundaries of contemporary art.