7.3 Notable Fluxus Performances and Compositions

Fluxus artists pushed the boundaries of performance and composition, challenging traditional notions of art and music. From John Cage's silent piece 4'33" to Yoko Ono's interactive Cut Piece, these works redefined artistic expression and audience engagement.

Experimental compositions like George Brecht's Drip Music and La Monte Young's sustained sound pieces explored new sonic territories. These innovative approaches, along with audience participation works, transformed the relationship between artist, artwork, and viewer in radical ways.

Iconic Fluxus Performances

Pioneering Silent and Conceptual Works

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• John Cage's 4'33" challenged traditional notions of music and silence
  • Composed in 1952, consists of three movements of silence
  • Performer sits at piano without playing for duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds
  • Emphasizes ambient sounds in performance space as music
  • Revolutionized concepts of composition and listening
• Yoko Ono's Cut Piece explored themes of vulnerability and trust
  • First performed in 1964, artist sits on stage with scissors nearby
  • Audience members invited to cut pieces of Ono's clothing
  • Addressed issues of gender, cultural identity, and social interaction
  • Evolved over multiple performances, with Ono's reactions changing

Technological and Everyday Object Interventions

• Nam June Paik's TV Buddha merged technology with spirituality
  • Created in 1974, features Buddha statue facing its own image on closed-circuit TV
  • Explored relationship between traditional Eastern philosophy and modern media
  • Pioneered video art and critiqued passive consumption of television
  • Variations included using different objects or live performers as "Buddha"
• Alison Knowles' Make a Salad transformed mundane activity into art
  • First performed in 1962, involves preparing a large salad for audience
  • Elevated everyday actions to performance art status
  • Emphasized process and participation over final product
  • Reperformed multiple times, including at Tate Modern in 2008

Innovative Approaches to Sound and Language

• Emmett Williams' Counting Songs explored language and mathematics
  • Series of performances based on counting and numerical patterns
  • Included works like "Counting Song for La Monte Young" (1962)
  • Combined elements of poetry, music, and performance
  • Challenged traditional narrative structures in performance

Experimental Music Compositions

Minimalist and Conceptual Sound Pieces

• George Brecht's Drip Music redefined musical composition
  • Score simply instructs: "a source of dripping water and an empty vessel"
  • Performed various ways, from literal interpretation to metaphorical
  • Emphasized chance operations and everyday sounds as music
  • Influenced development of event scores and conceptual art
• La Monte Young's Composition 1960 #7 explored sustained sounds
  • Score consists of two notes (B and F#) with instruction "to be held for a long time"
  • Pioneered drone music and minimalism in composition
  • Challenged notions of time and duration in music
  • Influenced development of psychoacoustic phenomena in music

Provocative and Boundary-Pushing Works

• Dick Higgins' Danger Music series pushed limits of performance and safety
  • Included pieces with instructions like "Scream! Scream! Scream!"
  • Some scores intentionally impossible or harmful to perform
  • Questioned relationship between art, artist, and audience
  • Explored boundaries between music, performance art, and conceptual art
• Takehisa Kosugi's Theatre Music blurred lines between sound and action
  • Scores often consisted of simple actions or situations
  • Included works like "Micro 1" (1964) (keep a straight face)
  • Emphasized performer's presence and actions as musical elements
  • Influenced development of sound art and performance art in Japan

Destructive and Reconstructive Approaches

• Philip Corner's Piano Activities reimagined instrument as sculpture
  • First performed at 1962 Fluxus International Festival
  • Involved systematic destruction and exploration of piano's components
  • Challenged traditional reverence for musical instruments
  • Created new sounds and textures through deconstruction process

Audience Participation Pieces

Interactive Performances Exploring Social Dynamics

• Yoko Ono's Cut Piece invited audience to actively shape performance
  • Audience members cut clothing off artist, exploring power dynamics
  • Each performance unique based on participants' choices
  • Addressed themes of gender, violence, and trust
  • Reinterpreted by other artists, including Peaches in 2013
• Ben Patterson's Paper Piece engaged audience in collaborative sound-making
  • First performed in 1960, involves distributing paper to audience
  • Participants instructed to manipulate paper to create sounds
  • Created immersive, unpredictable soundscape
  • Challenged traditional roles of performer and audience

Collaborative Art-Making and Shared Experiences

• Alison Knowles' Make a Salad transformed audience into co-creators
  • Large-scale salad preparation involves audience in chopping, mixing
  • Blurred lines between art, performance, and communal activity
  • Emphasized process and participation over final product
  • Reperformed in various contexts, adapting to different spaces and cultures
• Emmett Williams' Counting Songs encouraged collective vocal participation
  • Audience members often assigned numbers or words to speak
  • Created complex soundscapes through simple numerical patterns
  • Explored group dynamics and collective sound-making
  • Performances varied based on number and enthusiasm of participants