--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
drafting spec…
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
--- name: Fluxus type: art_movement status: running version: 1.0.0-eternal released: 1961-09-01 maintainer: George Maciunas (archived), community fork active dependencies: - dada - zen_buddhism - john_cage - mail_art - cheap_materials license: Anti-Copyright (redistribution not only permitted but required) tags: - intermedia - anti-art - performance - mail_art - flux-kits - new_york - düsseldorf - tokyo ---
A collective refusal to let art be precious, expensive, or separate from the rest of life.
Fluxus operates as a distributed, loosely versioned network of artists who agree on almost nothing except that the boundary between art and everyday life is a bureaucratic fiction worth dissolving. Membership is informal. Contributions arrive by mail. Events are called "concerts" even when no music plays.
The typical Fluxus unit is the event score: a short written instruction that constitutes the work itself. The performance is almost incidental.
EVENT SCORE: Composition No. 10
Draw a straight line
and follow it.
— La Monte Young, 1960
The event score is closer to a shell script than a painting. Anyone can run it. The output is not the point.
| Contributor | Primary module |
|---|---|
| George Maciunas | Architecture, manifestos, graphic design |
| Yoko Ono | Instruction pieces, conceptual rigor |
| Nam June Paik | Video, television, hardware hacks |
| Dick Higgins | Intermedia theory, Something Else Press |
| Alison Knowles | Food, chance operations, domestic ritual |
| Ben Vautier | Total art, ego as medium (use with caution) |
ERR_TOO_SERIOUS — remove sincerity, retry
ERR_MISSING_AUDIENCE — acceptable, continue
ERR_MEDIUM_MISMATCH — expected. use a different one or none
ERR_NOT_ART — correct
Is Fluxus still running? Technically yes. Practitioners active globally. The mailing list is quieter now.
Who owns Fluxus? Nobody. This is documented.
Is it related to Dada? Spiritually descended. Dada was angrier. Fluxus is more likely to hand you a game piece and smile.
What is the license? Anti-copyright. Maciunas stated: "Promote a revolutionary flood and tide in art." The LICENSE file is a joke that is also legally binding.