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There has been a renewed interest in the last few years for Fluxus, a radical movement in art since early in the sixties. A large group of graphic artists, musicians, philosophers, poets and composers of this movement were invited to Venice in 1990 for a Fluxus review exhibition in connection with the Biennale. The Dane Lars Movin, who, since 1984 has a large number of filmed artists' portraits to his credit, interviewed a large number of these artists in Venice: Yoko Ono, Willem de Ridder, Nam June Paik, Dick Higgins, Ben Vautier, Ben Patterson, Emmet Williams. The conversations were combined and interwoven with historical recordings, earlier interviews and other image material such as films and videos by Paik, Jonas Mekas, Larry Miller and with music by Yoko Ono. On the one hand, an image of thirty years of Fluxus is given in separate chapters, and on the other, the Fluxus spirit is integrated in the methodology of the production. This double aim can also be recognized in 'Die Rache der toten Indianer' (Henning Lohner, 1993), a documentary which sketches a portrait of John Cage, the composer who played such an important role in Fluxus. Fluxus' roots are actually formed by the Dada movement from the twenties: provocation in all sorts of areas to break free from the rules of art. Marcel Duchamp as grandfather, John Cage as father and George Maciunas as the son, who led Fluxus from 1961. In his gallery, the AG Gallery in New York, Maciunas sold Fluxuskits (boxes), he arranged publications and organized all kinds of activities there. Recordings of this historic site were made in 1992, but ironically enough, it is now occupied by a 'Christian Science Reading Room', and the man behind the counter, who purports to be an artist himself, has never heard of Fluxus. Images from the archives of the famous Silverman Fluxus Collection then follow which include films of performances from the sixties by Ben Vautier. Vautier is a celebrated artist, still very active in the art world and who is frequently given the word in order to clarify the fluxus mentality. His handwritten texts like "If life is art why hang this up?" and "C'est la vie" have since become world famous and worth quite a lot of money. Drinking a glass of water is life, and that is Fluxus. Many of those interviewed speak of George Maciunas who died in 1978 and there is the interview made by Larry Miller in 1978. This is followed by 'In Memoriam George Maciunas', a concert by Paik and Beuys in Düsseldorf. Fluxus as a very large group of Americans and Europeans, who worked together now and then and performed each other's works, officially ceased to exist on the death of Maciunas, but from Movin's video it appears that much was still being done until well into the eighties. Nevertheless, a number of the great spirits of the movement have since died, like John Cage and Joseph Beuys. Some recordings therefore underscore Fluxus' historical significance; ironing your shirt on a guitar, make a bow with a tuba full of balls, sitting still for 4 minutes and 33 seconds at a piano with the lid closed, or smashing a violin to bits, it has all been done and it all opened doors to other fields. The fact that Fluxus was more concerned with the mechanism than with the lasting object in no way prevented Fluxuskits from becoming desirable objects, for which a lot of money changes hands. The Dutchman Willem de Ridder, who appeared together with Wim T. Schippers, Misha Mengelberg and Bob Lens during Fluxus festivals, is critical about the exhibition in Venice: only relics remain to be seen of something you were possibly not present at.
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Ingrid van Santen
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Camera: Steen Moller Rasmussen, Editing, sound mixing: Torben Skjødt, Sound: Niels Plenge, Music: Tom Cora, Voice: David Hohnen, Graphics: Per Hendriksen, With: Jonas Mekas, Jon Hendriks, Alison Knowles, Willem de Ridder, Nam June Paik, Ben Vautier, Ken Friedman, Yoko Ono, Jackson Mac Low, Emmett Williams, Dick Higgins, Eric Andersen, Ben Patterson, Production: Lars Movin, Cinnamon Film for The National Film Board of Denmark
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