THING/THOUGHT: FLUXUS E DITIONS, 1962-1978
FLUXU
F L U X U S 1 I S A S I G N AT U R E E X A M P L E O F G E O B J E C T S I N T O H I S P U B L I C AT I O N S , M O V I N A MAGAZINE OR BOOK. ENVELOPES SERVING ARTISTS, INTERSPERSED WITH SCORES AND P WITH DETACHABLE METAL BOLTS AND HOUSED OF SEVEN YEARB OXES MACIUNAS HOPED TO FLUXUS ARTISTS IN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC JAPAN, FRANCE, GERMANY, SCANDINAVIA, A WITH THE INITIAL RELEASE TO TAKE PLACE SEPTEMBER 1962. FLUXUS 1 WAS EVENTUALLY IT REPRESENTS AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP O
XUS 1
G E O R G E M A C I U N A S ’ S I N C O R P O R AT I O N O F N G B E Y O N D T H E T R A D I T I O N A L F O R M AT O F NG AS PAGES CONTAIN WORKS BY VARIOUS PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTATION, ALL BOUND ED IN A MAILING CRATE. THIS WAS THE FIRST O RELEASE TO REPRESENT THE ACTIVITY OF C REGIONS. BOXES FOR THE UNITED STATES, , AND EASTERN EUROPE WERE ANNOUNCED, CE AT THE WIESBADEN FLUXUS FESTIVAL IN LY RELEASED IN 1964–65, AFTER DELAYS, AND OF ARTISTS RATHER THAN A SINGLE REGION.
Fluxus 1 is a signature example of George Maciunas’s incorporation of objects into his publications, moving beyond the traditional format of a magazine or book. Envelopes serving as pages contain works by various artists, interspersed with scores and performance documentation, all bound with detachable metal bolts and housed in a mailing crate. This was the first of seven yearboxes Maciunas hoped to release to represent the activity of Fluxus artists in specific geographic regions. Boxes for the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe were announced, with the initial release to take place at the Wiesbaden Fluxus festival in September 1962. Fluxus 1 was eventually released in 1964–65, after delays, and it represents an international group of artists rather than a single region.
Fluxus 1. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1962
AY-O Page from Fluxus 1, Fluxus copyright label. 1964. (Left) Ay-O. Page from Fluxus 1, Finger Envelope. 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced (Right)
GEORGE BRECHT George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of George Brecht. 1964. (Left) George Brecht. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Five Places and Direction. 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced (Right)
Takeshia Kosugi. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Theater Music. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1964. (Left) Shigeko Kubota. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Flux Napkin. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1966 (Right)
TAKESHIA KOSUGI
SHIGEKO KUBOTA
Page from Fluxus 1, documentation of Fluxus concert. 1964
JACKSON MAC
George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Jackson Mac Low. 1964 (Left)
Jackson Mac Low. Page from Fluxus 1, Drawing-Asymmetry No. 38. 1964 (Right)
George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1. 1964. (Left)
Page from Fluxus 1, The Grand Frauds of Architecture: Mies van der Rohe, Saarinen, Bunshaft, Frank Lloyd Wright. 1964 (Right)
GEORGE MACIUNAS
BEN VAUTIER Ben Vautier. Page from Fluxus 1, Gesture Piece (Turn this Page). 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced (Right)
Spread from Fluxus 1, documentation of Variations for Double-Bass. 1964
BENJAMIN PATTERSON
Spread from Fluxus 1, score and documentation of Variations for Double-Bass. 1964
Possibly by George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams. 1964. (Left)
Emmett Williams. Page from Fluxus 1, abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1964 (Right)
EMMETT WILLIAMS
Possibly by George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams. 1964 (Left) Emmett Williams. Page from Fluxus 1, various scores (Right)
FIRST ANNOUNCED DURING JUNE 1964 IN THE F I V E T H R E E , T H E F L U X K I T E N C A P S U L AT E S A ITEMS BY ARTISTS ORBITING MACIUNAS F E S T I VA L S A N D E V E N T S O R G A N I Z E D B Y T H E B E T W E E N E A C H K I T; H O W E V E R G E N E R A L LY, F L SIT STRAPPED INSIDE THE LID AND THE CE NOISEMAKER BY JOE JONES; MIEKO SHIOMI P A P E R C U B E S ; AY - O ’ S F I N G E R B O X , H A R B O R KNOWLES’S STUDY OF THE LEGUME, TITL T H I S A N T H O L O G Y, M A C I U N A S M A I L E D A N E X AMSTERDAM DURING THE SUMMER OF 19 I N V E N T O R Y O F T H E E U R O P E A N M A I L - O R D E R WA
FLU
HE FOURTH FLUXUS NEWSPAPER, FLUXUS CC A COLLECTION OF MULTIPLES AND PRINTED S AND THOSE WHO HAD CONTRIBUTED TO H E G R O U P S I N C E 1 9 6 2 . T H E C O N T E N T S VA RY FLUXUS NEWSPAPERS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS C E N T R A L C O M P A R T M E N T H O U S E S A B U I L T- I N MI’S ENDLESS BOX, COMPRISED OF NESTED ORING A TACTILE SURPRISE INSIDE; ALISON TLED BEAN ROLLS. EAGER TO DISTRIBUTE EXAMPLE TO ARTIST WILLEM DE RIDDER IN 1 9 6 4 , A N D I T WA S O F F E R E D A M O N G T H E WA R E H O U S E / F L U X S H O P D E R I D D E R F O U N D E D .
LUXKIT
First announced during June 1964 in the fourth Fluxus newspaper, Fluxus cc fiVe ThReE, the Fluxkit encapsulates a collection of multiples and printed items by artists orbiting Maciunas and those who had contributed to festivals and events organized by the group since 1962. The retrofitted attaché case, initially advertised for the price of $100, was among the most elaborate of the Fluxus Editions produced, packed with small objects to be held in the hand, read and manipulated. The contents vary between each kit; however generally, Fluxus newspapers and announcements sit strapped inside the lid and the central compartment houses a built-in noisemaker by Joe Jones; Mieko Shiomi’s Endless Box, comprised of nested paper cubes; Ay-O’s Finger Box, harboring a tactile surprise inside; Alison Knowles’s study of the legume, titled Bean Rolls; and approximately a dozen additional works—several of them performance score cards—kept in latched plastic cases. Eager to distribute this anthology, Maciunas mailed an example to artist Willem de Ridder in Amsterdam during the summer of 1964, and it was offered among the inventory of the European Mail-Order Warehouse/Fluxshop De Ridder founded. Fluxkits also appeared at performance venues, such as New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, displayed with other Fluxus Editions for the audience to handle and purchase.
Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
AY-O Ay-O. Finger Box from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
George Brecht. Games and Puzzles 1965, Fluxus Edition announced
Ball, Swim and Inclined Plane Puzzles from Fluxkit. 1964–65
GEORGE BRECHT
George Brecht. Games and Puzzles (Name Kit) from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1965
NAM JUNE PAIK Nam June Paik. Zen for Film from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
ALISON KNOWLES Alison Knowles. Bean Rolls from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1963
MIEKO SHIOMI
Mieko Shiomi. Water Music from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
Mieko Shiomi. Endless Box from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1963
BENJAMIN PATTERSON Benjamin Patterson. Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
Robert Watts. Printed Matter from Fluxkit. 1965
ROBERT WATTS
Fluxus ccV TRE Fluxus, Fluxus newspaper no. 2, from Fluxkit. 1964
Fluxus cc Valise e TRanglE, Fluxus newspaper no.3, from Fluxkit. 1964
FLUX
IN 1965, MACIUNAS SOLICITED FELLOW AR C O L L E C T I V E A N T H O L O G Y, F L U X Y E A R B O X 2 C O M P L E T E D . W I T H T H I S P R O J E C T, T H E A S S E M B WOODEN BOX DESIGNED BY MACIUNAS AND PRI ON ITS HINGED COVER. IN HIS REQUEST FOR W I L L B E “ L I M I T E D T O B O O K E V E N T S O N LY, I . E . A U T O M AT I C A L LY A S H E I N S P E C T S T H E B O O K O R C O N T A I N E D E X P E R I E N C E A R E A C C E N T U AT E D . Y E A R B O X 2 C O N TA I N S M AT E R I A L S F O R A C T I O VA U T I E R ’ S T H E P O S T M A N ’ S C H O I C E P O S T C A R FROM SHIGEKO KUBOTA’S FLUX MEDICINE
X YEAR
ARTISTS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANOTHER X 2, THE LAST OF THE PLANNED YEARBOXES MBLED WORKS NESTLE INSIDE A PARTITIONED R I N T E D W I T H A M AT R I X O F M I S M AT C H E D F O N T S R I D E A S , M A C I U N A S I N D I C AT E S T H E E D I T I O N E . E V E N T S T H AT A R E E N A C T E D B Y T H E R E A D E R O R B O X . ” R AT H E R , I M M E D I AT E S E N S AT I O N A N D D . A S O R T O F T O O L K I T O R S U P P LY C H E S T, F L U X TIONS, SUCH AS CORRESPONDING USING BEN A R D , M E D I C AT I N G O N E S E L F W I T H C A P S U L E S NE, AND SOWING A FLUX CORSAGE SEEDS.
In 1965, Maciunas solicited fellow artists for contributions to another collective anthology, Flux Year Box 2, the last of the planned yearboxes completed. With this project, the assembled works nestle inside a partitioned wooden box designed by Maciunas and printed with a matrix of mismatched fonts on its hinged cover. In his request for ideas, Maciunas indicates the edition will be “limited to book events only, i.e. events that are enacted by the reader automatically as he inspects the book or box.” Rather, immediate sensation and contained experience are accentuated. A sort of tool kit or supply chest, Flux Year Box 2 contains materials for actions, such as corresponding using Ben Vautier’s The Postman’s Choice postcard, medicating oneself with capsules from Shigeko Kubota’s Flux Medicine, and sowing A Flux Corsage seeds. In addition, during this period Maciunas produced film programs called Fluxfilms, and incorporated this audiovisual dimension into Flux Year Box 2, including numerous short loops and a hand-crank viewer with which to watch them.
Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1965
George Brecht. Games and Puzzles (Bead and Swim Puzzles) from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
GEORGE BRECHT
KEN FRIEDMAN Ken Friedman. A Flux Corsage from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1967
Shigeko Kubota. Flux Medicine from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1966
SH IGEKO KUBOTA
JAMES RIDDLE
James Riddle. E.S.P. Fluxkit, DOP from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1967
Benjamin Patterson. Questionnaire from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition announced 1964
BENJAMIN PATTERSON
Ben Vautier. The Postman’s Choice from Flux Year Box 2. 1967, Fluxus Edition announced 1967. (recto and verso)
Ben Vautier. Gesture Piece (Fold/Unfold) from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968
BEN VAUTIER
Ben Vautier. Total Art Matchbox from Flux Year Box 2. c.1968, Fluxus Edition unannounced
:T H G U O H T / G N I H T ,SNOITIDE SUXULF 8791-2691