Here comes FLUXUS!

I'm having one of those moments when my interests are being fed without effort on my part. First was the chance to play a zombie onstage in Louisville's Stage One production of Night of the Living Dead. And now FLUXUS is coming to town.

Here are the details from the Speed Museum's website.

6:00 PM – University of Louisville Lecture "Fluxus with Tools, or Bon Appetit" Alison Knowles and Hannah Higgins will present a lecture-performance at the Speed Art Museum in their North American debut. Fluxus was a dynamic network of international visual artists, composers, and poets who formed a shared interest in creating individual and collective artworks that emphasized elements of chance, Cagean indeterminacy, economy (both material and conceptual), experimentalism, experiential engagement, humor, play, and a democratization of media that combined poetry, theater, music, and art. Sponsored by the Marcia Hite Lecture Endowment of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Louisville. Admission is free. (Auditorium)

An article in the Louisville Courier-Journal by Diane Heilenman adds more details. Knowles, it turns out, was one of the original Fluxus artists; and Higgins, her daughter, is one of the foremost Fluxus scholars in the United States.

Fluxus Reader, at 300+ pages, may be able to fill any gaps in your knowledge. Or you could do what I'm doing and head for UofL this afternoon.

A second event, equally exciting, is scheduled for tomorrow night: The Art of Experience: FLUXUS works from the Collection of Michael Lowe. This exhibit is also at the University of Louisville. Call 502.852.0288 for the latest information.

The exhibits emerge from a seminar taught by Susan Jarosi at the University of Louisville. Here is her bio from UofL's website:

Susan Jarosi specializes in modern and contemporary art, critical theory, and trauma studies. Her current research projects include an edited anthology, entitled Working with Living Artists, that considers how the relationship between artists, art historians, and curators collectively shapes the discourse on contemporary art history; a book-length study that theorizes the representation of trauma in post-1945 art; and a critical monograph that examines the performance work of Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch. Dr. Jarosi was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Austria in 2001-02 to support her research on Nitsch. She is published in The Fluxus Reader, ed. Ken Friedman (London: Academy Editions, 1998).

Just a reminder: FLUXUS is alive and well and living on the 'net (as well as in physical locations). Click on OpenFluxus on my links to find your way there.