In the Spirit of Fluxus May 12 – July 17, 1994 EXHIBITION FACT SHEET

EXHIBITION FACT SHEET

In the Spirit of Fluxus May 12 – July 17, 1994

DESCRIPTION

Fluxus has been called the most radical art movement of the 1960s, and its theories and practice have proven critical to the development of subsequent visual and performance art in the United States and abroad. Anarchic and energetic, Fluxus was a loosely knit, international group of artists, writers, composers, filmmakers and performers who shared sensibilities about the function and practice of art. During the group’s influential heyday (1962-1978), Fluxus artists created works ranging from spare, ephemeral performance pieces (the origin of “happenings”), experimental films and musical compositions to artists’ bookes, posters, newsletters, clothing, “intermedia” installations and boxed objects produced in editions.

Placing this vibrant, multifaceted movement in its historical and artistic context, this exhibition will include approximately 500 objects and documentary materials by some 40 artists including Ben Vautier, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, George Brecht, Yoko Ono, Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Ay-o, Robert Filliou, Takako Saito, Shigeko Kubota, La Monte Young, Larry Miller, Yoshi Wada, Claes Oldenburg and Wolf Vostell. The exhibition focuses on a core group of works produced from 1962 through 1978 in association with George Maciunas, the group’s practical and ideological architect.

ORGANIZATION

In the Spirit of Fluxus was organized by Elizabeth Armstrong and Joan Rothfuss of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. The San Francisco presentation of the exhibition will be coordinated by Robert Riley, SFMOMA media arts curator.

SPONSORSHIP

In the Spirit of Fluxus is made possible in part with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency. Additional support has been provided by the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection, Detroit.

PUBLICATION

Thee exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue.