Fluxus movement

The Fluxus movement emerged in the early 1960s as a loose international network of artists, composers and poets. George Maciunas gave the network its name and became its main organiser. Fluxus rejected firm borders between music, performance, visual art and everyday life. A concert could involve breaking a piano, preparing food, opening a door or following a one-line instruction. The artistic act mattered more than the finished object.

George Brecht, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Mieko Shiomi and Wolf Vostell developed its experimental language. They used event scores, mail, cheap editions, performances and ordinary objects. Their work questioned artistic skill, private ownership and the commercial value of unique objects. Many Fluxus works invited anyone to perform, copy, carry or reinterpret them.

This archive gathers articles, exhibitions and critical views on the Fluxus movement and its continuing influence. Fluxus remains difficult to define because it resisted fixed membership and a shared visual style. That refusal became one of its greatest strengths. It changed performance, conceptual art, video and artist publishing. Its legacy survives whenever art enters daily life and asks for participation instead of passive attention.