1. FLUXUS
The start of Fluxus
The fluxus movement started in the late 60s and New York as seen
as the city of its origin. It was started by a group of international
experimental artists and musicians. Fluxus was named by
composer George Maciunas and it means ‘flow’. They produced a
wide range of work such as public concerts, live performances and
actions, electronic music, theater, mail art, visual objects, and
written publications.
The meaning
The idea behind their new movement was to incorporate elements of daily life into their work and to
focus on audience participation to complete a work. Their main goal was to convey their ideas over
to the public through creative acts.
To make the description of Fluxus more extended, we made five characteristics to define the art
movement:
- It is an attitude, not a movement nor a style
- They make a combination of different media like sound, text and image
- It’s simple
- Humor is important.
- They want to combine art and the society.
Effect on the public
The public often left the room confused, as could be seen in the videos we watched in class.
However, the reaction of the audience was not that important to the artist. The artist had an unusual
conception of art, because they regarded the moment of the performance as art.
Movements affected by Fluxus
Mail art was a new stream of art as an evolution of Fluxus. It is a form
of art where the artists are against the traditional world of art. An
example how they avoided the traditional world can be found in the
way they transported their pieces of art. Instead of the usual art
institutions, they exchanged art pieced by mail, therefore the name
mail art. This is influenced by Fluxus because they use a ‘daily’ way of
transport and they distinguish themselves from the traditional art.

2. Quiz fluxus
1) When did the fluxus art movement start?
a) In the 40s in New York.
b) In the 60s in New York.
c) In the 60s in London.
2) What was most striking in a fluxus performance?
a) The daily elements being used.
b) The audience participation.
3) What is more important in a fluxus performance: humor or a didactic lesson?
Humor.
4) Is art and society to be combined? Or must we see art and society as two separate things?
a) Two separate things.
b) Combined.
5) Is audience participation important?
a) Yes
b) No
The audience most often just had to watch and see.
6) What is the main goal of fluxus artists?
Combine art and society
7) The moment of the performance as well as the artist’s actions are regarded as art in the
fluxus movement.
a) True.
b) False.
8) What do Daniel Spoerri and Robert Watts have in common?
Eat art.
9) Is Robert Watts a popular fluxus artist?
a) Yes.
b) No.
He is often referred to as the invisible man of Fluxus and Pop. His work is held in numerous
collections all over America.
10) In what movement was Daniel Spoerri involved?
The New Realism movement.
11) What do the New Realism art movement and the fluxus art movement have in common?

3. a) Artists were always involved in both movements.
b) They started exactly at the same time.
c) They cover both realistic subjects.