Feminism in the Fluxus Movement By: Tanner Lunetta
Introduction: Both impactful and against harmful institutions in society, the feminist movement and Fluxus oftentimes fought on the same side. Due to their similar disdain of hierarchy, elitism, and desire to change the world, the movements often came together to create something powerful. Therefore, the Fluxus movement functioned as a vessel for feminist activism of the 1960’s and 1970’s. While both movements were very much separate with differing agendas, their movements were parallel and moved in the same democratic and revolutionary direction. Fluxus is nearly impossible to define as many artists feel that a definition is in opposition to the movements ideals as it is too limited and reductive1. What these artists did have in common was a disregard for the art institution and museum’s authority, disbelief that education is necessary for one to create or understand art, an emphasis on bringing art to the masses and breaking down the barrier between everyday life and art2. The notion of art as commerce was also regularly critiqued with artworks that were every day, invaluable objects, or performances that were impossible to sell to a museum or buyer. Spanning the globe, the Fluxus movement is international but had a particularly strong presence in New York and was most active during the 1960’s to the late 1970’s. Unlike most art movements, the goal of Fluxus was not just to change the world of art but to change the entire world. For this reason, it has been referred to as “anti-art” to truly underscore the revolutionary ideals and entirely new ways of thinking about and practicing art. The artists involved aimed to mock the world of “high art” to remove the hierarchy that prevents art from reaching the masses. This desire to change the balance of the art world began with an 1 “Fluxus,” The Art Story, Accessed October 22, 2017, http://www.theartstory.org/movementfluxus.htm. 2 Ibid.
irreverence for the museum’s authority to determine what and who constituted art3. The methods of breaking down this hierarchy include the usage of humor, the involvement of the viewer, and the element of chance. These methods all are part of the movement’s push for inclusivity. Inclusivity is defined as including everyone from all populations, embracing all regardless of difference in background. During this time of the 1960’s through 1970’s, the Fluxus Movement was more inclusive than any other Western Art group in history with more people of color and women than any other art movement. Feminism is the belief that all peoples of all genders, races, economic standings, religions, identities, ages, abilities and orientations deserve equal rights and for their voices to be heard and respected4. Of the 1960’s and 1970’s the feminist movement was most interested in dismantling workplace inequality and the refusal to let women have access to better jobs and salaries. While this was highly necessary and the success was hugely impactful, the lesser known side of the movement was just as influential regarding the social empowerment of women and other oppressed populations. The reclamation of women’s bodies, voices, sexuality, and redefining gender as not a binary, are things that feminist activists are still fighting for today. For this reason, those amongst the feminist community of this time who concerned themselves with these issues are considered ahead of their time. Furthermore, these issues were more inclusive as they effected members of different populations beyond middleclass white women which was the focus of the first wave of feminism.
3 Ibid. 4 This is the intersectional definition of feminism as opposed to the earlier versions or waves of feminism that were only concerned with the rights of able-bodied, straight, middle-class, white women.
The artists that were both involved in Fluxus and feminism were a distinct group of mostly women located in New York. There was something about this location that allowed for these instances to take place. New York is the trendiest and most progressive city in the U.S and one of the most forward-thinking in the world. This set up the proper cultural climate for these women to do things that at the time were very radical and extreme which would perhaps be dangerous in other locations. For this reason, these women possessed a level of privilege that they used to speak on the behalf of other women who did not have the same level of empowerment of voice that they did. This process of using their own social and artistic platform to give a voice to the voiceless is a possible explanation for why so many women took so strongly to the Fluxus movement. Yoko Ono used her aristocratic upbringing, artistic success, and social notoriety to convey messages about issues that affect many women of many different backgrounds. As previously mentioned, the Fluxus movement was the most inclusive art movement of the time as it included the most female and non-white artists. A fact particularly notable regarding that the movement started in the wake of the white-male dominated world of Abstract Expressionism5. Another explanation could be the body-text relationship that is a frequent theme of Fluxus, particularly in performance. In history, women have been more associated with the body while men were more correlated with intellect, but in Fluxus they were more free to create using both themes6. An easy example of this is Interior Scroll by Carolee Schneemann where text is used on the scroll which is symbolically produced by a woman’s body.
5 Kathy O’Dell, “Fluxus Feminus,” The MIT Press 41, no. 1 (1997): 43.
6
O’Dell, Fluxus Feminus, 45.
By pioneering space for women in the artistic world, these artists inherently communicated messages that women were effected by and able to relate to. This provided representation for women in the art industry beyond dance. While there is still a drastic discrepancy in the male to female representation of art in museums, there has been improvement. While many strong women artists are responsible for this positive change, the Fluxus movement was before its time and the artists associated had particular influence due to their novel and groundbreaking ideas. Furthermore, their notoriety has inspired many creative women to create regardless of their own personal glass-ceilings by creating art that embraces the personal and emotional and presents these thoughts in ways that display their femininity. By displaying the female body, genitalia, and even its functions in ways that were not sexual, they were normalizing the naked woman as opposed to the socially accepted female nude. Lastly, these artists began the long journey of exploring gender as opposed to the harmful male-female binary. Adrian Piper does this most explicitly by dressing in drag and literally trying on different identities to better understand them as well as herself. In less obvious ways, the other artists also break down gender confines by participating and displaying behaviors that are atypical of their assigned gender. The Fluxus movement was associated with gender exploration in general as well as a high level of acceptance for homosexuality. This accepting mentality is what allowed for so much creativity and innovation to take place within this group, particularly for women. By being an already receptive environment, feminist themes and activism were easily communicated through this movement.
Entry #1: Carolee Schneemann, Interior Scroll, 1975 While neither a self-proclaimed feminist nor directly part of the Fluxus movement Carolee Schneemann was an influential force in both. Born October 12th, 1939 in Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, Schneemann began her formal artistic career by focusing on painting in the style of Abstract Expressionism.7 While successful, she decided that the field of painting was a “boys club” and that the paintbrush itself was “too phallic”.8 It wasn’t much later that she began appearing in the avant-garde art movement Fluxus. While international, the Fluxus 1. Carolee Schneemann, Interior Scroll, performed in “Women Here &Now” program, East Hampton, Long Island, 1975. (Photos by Anthony McCall; courtesy of the artist)
movement emerged in the 1950’s with a particularly strong presence in New York where Schneemann was located. Based around a disregard for the art institutions, bringing art to the masses, and pushing back against oppressive societal norms, the Fluxus movement was in
stark contrast to the more elitist, fine art world of painting.9 It was from this movement that Schneemann began working with “kinetic art”, a combination of performance and installation
7 “Carolee Schneemann,” The Art Story, Accessed October 26, 2017, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-schneemann-carolee.htm#important_art_header. 8 Ibid. 9 “Fluxus,” The Art Story. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://www.theartstory.org/movementfluxus.htm.
art10. One of her most famous works that falls under this definition is Interior Scroll, performed at the Women Here and Now Conference in East Hampton, Long Island, 1975 for a women-only crowd. During Interior Scroll, Schneemann walked into the installation space wearing only an apron with a white sheet overtop and silently climbed upon a table holding a paint brush dipped in mud all while being watched by her mesmerized audience. She then announced that she would read from her book Cézanne, She Was a Great Painter, which she did for a moment and then seeming to lose interest dropped her sheet and began to paint on her body with the mud11. She then began to transition into a trancelike state while enacting a series of ritualistic poses ending with her removing the apron. Finally, Schneemann removed a small, rolled-up scroll from her vagina and read it aloud to the crowd. In summary, this piece functioned as one of the only female perspectives on the women’s place in the art world of the time and captured the central feminist themes of the 1970’s. The radical quality of Schneemann’s nudity and self-exploration of her own body was symbolic for the reclamation of women’s voices, wisdom, and bodies12. In a quote from Schneemann, in this
10 Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, The Power of Feminist Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, 1994), 161. 11 Duncan Ballantyne-Way, “Masterpieces #15 Carolee Schneemann, Interior Scroll,1975,” Fineartmultiple, Last modified 2016, https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/carolee-schneemanninterior-scroll-masterpiece/. 12 Broude and Garrard, The Power of Feminist Art, 161.
performance she was trying to present a way to show that “knowledge from within can manifest itself”13 Furthermore, she blatantly asserted that artist’s sexuality is an integral part of art and that women have the right to present themselves naked and erotic if they choose. This feminist exploration of the unclothed female body as both subject of art while being the source of its creation was in stark contrast to the normative practice of nude women being painted by men for the gaze of men14 Entry #2: Shigeko Kubota, Vagina Painting, 1965 A key member of the Fluxus Events in New York and one of the first practitioners of video art, Shigeko Kubota was born in Niigata, Japan in 193715. Due to Japan’s disregard for both avant-garde art and women artists in general, Kubota felt that relocating to New York would obtain her better career opportunities. Upon her arrival, she was adopted into the Fluxus movement and was eventually dubbed the 2. Shigeko Kubota, Vagina Painting, performed at Perpetual Fluxfest, New York City, 1965 (Photo by George Maciunas; courtesy of The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection, Detroit
“vice president of Fluxus” due to her
13 “Carolee Schneemann.” Youtube Video, 1:51, Posted by “Brooklyn Museum,” October 27, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmgERKy210o. 14 Geoffrey Hendricks, Critical Mass (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2003), 68. 15 “Shigeko Kubota,” MoMA, Accessed October, 27, 2017, https://www.moma.org/artists/3277.
assistance with organizing events and frequent participation in activities16. Kubota’s anomalous and infamous piece, Vagina Painting, was “hated” by her colleagues when she presented it at the Perpetual Fluxfest, Cinematheque, in New York, 196517. In this performance, she laid a large sheet of paper on the floor, attached a paintbrush to her underwear, dipped it into a bucket of red paint by squatting over it, and then waddled across the sheet of paper, creating a blood-like smear18. This blatant reference to menstruation was not well received but is renowned for its feminist content. First, this controversial piece pushed back against the social prescription of the behavior of women. By putting the subject of menstruation in front of an audience and calling it art, Kubota was questioning why something that is natural and experienced by all women is considered taboo and something to be ashamed of. Kubota was also critiquing the elitist world of Abstract Expressionism, particularly Jackson Pollock and action painting. By using the “phallic” paintbrush in such a distinctively female way, she was pointing out the lack of representation of women in the field and the hyper-masculine image of the movement19. Last, Kubota could have been influenced by her Japanese roots by making a reference to lower-class geishas who would entertain their clients by writing calligraphy with brushes inserted in their vaginas. This posed the question of why it is okay to use the vagina as a source of creation and entertainment when it is strictly for the sexual use of men, but not in a not sexualized art setting. These possible messages reflect a sense of reclamation of menstruation and the vagina as something to be
16 Ibid. 17 Hendricks, Critical Mass, 69. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.
treated as art itself, reminiscent of the Fluxus movement’s intent of removing the barrier between art and everyday life.
Entry #3: Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, 1964 Yoko Ono was born February 18th, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan to conservative, aristocrat parents. Although her childhood was turbulent Ono had success with education and the arts that eventually brought her to New York. During the 1960’s she began participating in “happenings” and quickly became associated with being on the cutting edge of trends and performance, even being referred to as the “High Priestess of the Happening”20. 3. Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, performed at Yamaichi Concert Hall, Kyoto, Japan, 1964. (Courtesy of Lenono Photo Archive)
Her most famous and perhaps most powerful piece, Ono’s Cut Piece has become one of the
most iconic and recognized pieces for the Fluxus movement. Considered the first piece of feminist art performance, this piece established Ono as one of the strong feminist voices of the 1960’s21. During this performance Ono sat quietly on the floor in nice clothes with a pair of scissors in front of her. She then instructed audience members to come up, one at a time, and cut 20 “Yoko Ono,” The Art Story, Accessed October 28, 2017, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-onoyoko.htm. 21 Ibid.
her clothing at their own discretion, even keeping the scraps of fabric if they choose22. Some of the members of the audience came up timidly, cutting a small piece of fabric from her sleeve; others came up boldly, cutting down the front of her blouse, or her bra straps. Regardless, Ono sat motionless and expressionless until all of her clothes were cut and the performance ended23. This performance is full of symbolism and discourse on the topics of sexualized violence, abuse, assault, rape, aggression against women, and many forms of victimization24. By giving the audience ambiguous instructions and essentially seeing how far they take them, Ono was creating a real-life display of the ways that women in our society are objectified and forced to give up everything while they suffer passively and in silence. Furthermore, Ono was reconstructing the violence against women that has been erased or never spoken of at all. Inherently in this performance Ono was putting herself at a level of risk by allowing herself to be acted-upon, yet she still had a regal presence and seemed to command the room. Ono was creating a space to discuss the abuse against women as well as the strength of women by presenting a sense of strong femininity without flaunting overt female heterosexuality, in the face of oppressive patriarchal forces25. By placing the audience in the position of perpetrator, Ono causes one to reflect upon what is considered appropriate and where boundaries lie; this functions as a spark for feminist discussion and raising awareness for issues of consent. Cut Piece is symbolic of what it is like to hold a position in society that perceives you as an object with a purpose of something to be done with or done to. This is further emphasized by her societal role as a woman of color in an industry predominantly run by white, males. Ono was 22 “Cut Piece,� MoMALearning, Accessed October 28, 2017, https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/yoko-ono-cut-piece-1964. 23 Ibid. 24 Hendricks, Critical Mass, 69. 25 Ibid.
in many ways giving a voice to the voiceless victims. Acknowledging the hierarchy of privilege within society and using her artistic platform and notoriety to speak out about an issue that effects too many, too often and points to larger institutionalized issues of sexism, racism, classism, and rape culture.
Entry #4: Adrian Piper, The Mythic Being, 1973-1975
Adrian Piper was born September 20, 1948 in New York. A highly successful and educated individual, Piper has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard along with multiple other 4. Adrian Piper, The Mythic Being, performed in streets of New York, 1973 (adrianpiper.com)
degrees, and has spent
a total of 27 years of her life in formal education26. She is also known for her success work in the world of Conceptual Art that explicitly addresses issues of prejudice with her politically charged pieces of varying mediums27.
26 “Biography,” Adrian Piper, Accessed October 28, 2017, http://www.adrianpiper.com/biography.shtml. 27 “Adrian Piper,” African American Art, Accessed October 26, 2017, http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/aaa/artist.php?artist=8.
The Mythic Being was a series of street performances, drawings, and videos that explore stereotypical personas and merges a male alter-ego with her own personal experiences28. Piper had herself filmed walking the streets of New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts appearing as a light-skinned, African American man with an afro and mustache, wearing sunglasses. This gained her notoriety for the messages regarding race and gender, issues that had not before been addressed in the world of Conceptual Art. While dressed in her male alter-ego, Piper no longer occupied the isolated and ambiguous space of being a mixed race, light-skinned, highly educated woman in a time when she was truly an anomaly. Recast as a working class, black man, Piper participated in stereotypical behaviors such as ogling women and exhibiting other typically male behaviors29. This double-identity was liberating for her and enabled her to better understand not only a different perspective but also developed a further understanding of her own that she dwells within daily. Viewers of The Mythic Being were also forced into reanalyzing their own prejudices and preconceptions. The different ways that people would perceive Piper’s character, says a lot about what viewpoints and stereotypes the viewer holds. By creating an identity that appears to fit within society’s expectations but in fact does not at all, Piper raised awareness about individuals who do not with within the constructed societal labels regarding race, sexuality, and gender. Creating an ambiguous character allowed Piper to deconstruct the societal norms that we are all inherently effected and oftentimes limited by.
28 “Adrian Piper,” MoMA, Accessed October 27, 2017, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/130862?locale=ja. 29 Ibid.
Bibliography: 1. “Adrian Piper.” African American Art. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/aaa/artist.php?artist=8. 2. “Adrian Piper.” MoMA. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/130862?locale=ja. 3. “Biography.” Adrian Piper. Accessed October 28, 2017. http://www.adrianpiper.com/biography.shtml. 4. “Carolee Schneemann.” The Art Story. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://www.theartstory.org/artist-schneemann-carolee.htm#important_art_header. 5. “Carolee Schneemann.” Youtube Video, 1:51. Posted by “Brooklyn Museum,” October 27, 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmgERKy210o. 6. “Cut Piece.” MoMALearning. Accessed October 28, 2017. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/yoko-ono-cut-piece-1964. 7.
“Fluxus.” The Art Story. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-fluxus.htm.
8. “Fluxus.” The Art Story. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-fluxus.htm. 9. “Interior Scroll.” Brooklyn Museum. Accessed October 24, 2017. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/168941. 10. “Shigeko Kubota.” MoMA. Accessed October, 27, 2017. https://www.moma.org/artists/3277. 11. “Yoko Ono.” The Art Story. Accessed October 28, 2017. http://www.theartstory.org/artist-ono-yoko.htm.
12. Broude, Norma, and Mary D. Garrard, The Power of Feminist Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, 1994. 13. Duncan Ballantyne-Way. “Masterpieces #15 Carolee Schneemann, Interior Scroll,1975.” Fineartmultiple. Last modified 2016. https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/caroleeschneemann-interior-scroll-masterpiece/. 14. Hendricks, Geoffrey. Critical Mass. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2003. 15. O’Dell, Kathy. “Fluxus Feminus.” The MIT Press 41, no. 1 (1997): 43-60.