>Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 21:08:50 +0100
>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>From: Ken Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: 52 events Ken Friedman [Book review from Scotland on Sunday]
>
>
>52 events
>Ken Friedman
>
>REVIEW BY sb kelly
>Show and Tell Editions, £25
>
>Scotland on Sunday
>January 27, 2002
>
>lllll
>
>THIS book was initially due to appear in Spring 1967, designed by George
>Maciunas, founder of the Fluxus art movement. Maciunas's untimely death
>meant the project was effectively mothballed, although it toured as a
>series of exhibitions during the 1970s. It is therefore a pleasure to
>possess, 35 years after its conception, Ken Friedman's 52 Events. The book
>at last exists, and in three formats: as a desk diary, beautifully designed
>by Paul Robertson; as a free internet version
>(http://www.heartfineart.com/Images/Friedman.html);
>and as a £195 deluxe edition in a hand-crafted box, painted by the artist
>and containing various artefacts required to stage the Events.
>
>Fluxus, whose membership famously included Yoko Ono, can be seen in
>retrospect as one of the key postwar art movements; a continuation of
>Surrealism and Dadaism, and the launching pad for Conceptual, Installation
>and Anarcho-dandyist Art. Indeed, Turner Prize-winner Martin Creed's work
>is barely conceivable outside of the Fluxus perspective; and Tate Modern
>are currently showing an exhibition of Friedman's work. The pieces of the
>Fluxus Group were minimal, provocative and witty - famously described as
>"Zen Vaudeville" - and were preserved as 'scores' that could be re-enacted
>by others. Most importantly, Fluxus spanned Europe, America and Asia;
>drawing on traditions as diverse as Norse Sagas and Japanese Noh-plays.
>That very internationalism goes some way towards explaining the endurance
>of this genre of avant-garde art.
>
>Perhaps the best way to illustrate Fluxus is in their own words, with two
>of Friedman's Events. "Flow System: Anyone may send an object or a work of
>any kind to the exhibition. Everything received is displayed. Any visitor
>to the exhibition may take away an object or work." "Deck: Collect playing
>cards found in the street until a complete deck of found cards is
>assembled."
>
>Fluxus was, as these examples show, a two-pronged attack; a debunking of
>the spaces where art is displayed, and a celebration of the possibilities
>of normal locations. If you could put urinals into galleries, conversely
>you could find art in the street. Whereas the Situationists, almost exact
>contemporaries, were railing against everyday life, Fluxus wanted to turn
>the everyday into an ongoing art-work. Of course, one might level the
>accusation that it's all rather self-indulgent. Nonetheless, I tried one of
>the events (sending a postcard a day to a friend, with just one letter on
>it, until it spelt a phrase; then receiving a reply in like fashion) and
>the effect was weirdly charming. There is a certain innocence in the sense
>of participation. Actually following the suggestions each week may be
>impractical, but I would strongly advise any reader to try one or two.
>
>Although with some of the other Fluxus artists, such as Ay-O or Ben
>Vautier, the mischief teeters over into cruelty - audiences locked in
>theatres - the overwhelming feel of Friedman's 52 Events is a gentle
>melancholy. The notes offer not only some valuable insights into the
>history of the movement, but a delightful sketch of his genuine
>bewilderment about the separation of 'art' and 'life', musings on
>publishing, and personal explication of the meaning of the works.
>Robertson's typography for the diary is beguiling; a non-linear ebb and
>flow of days, rather than the strict and regimentalised schedule.
>
>My only regret about the book is that it doesn't include one of my
>favourite Events from the previous "30 Events" exhibition: "Explain Fluxus
>in five minutes or less, using a few simple props." Shoes, ice-cubes and
>telephones would be my choice. I look forward to the diary for 2003.
>
>--
>
>Heart Fine Art Web site
>
>http://www.heartfineart.com/
>
>--
>
>Scotland on Sunday Web site
>
>http://news.scotsman.com/
>
>
