Clemens Wilberger (Producing)
Sabina Mamedova (Kommunikationsdesign)
Olga Vogg (Film)
Christina Maria Ottoson (Audio)
What are Fluxus, Surrealism and Performance art? What are the distinctive characteristics of these art movements? Is it possible to combine them all into one project? If so, what would be the result? This assignment will examine all of these questions.
is an avant-garde interdisciplinary art movement that emerged in the early 1960s. It was founded by Lithuanian-American artist George Maciunas. Fluxus artists sought to blur the boundaries between different art forms, emphasising the idea that anyone can be an artist and that art can be found in everyday life.
Key characteristics of Fluxus art include:
● Interdisciplinarity
● Anti-commercialism
● Conceptualism
● Participation
● Humour and absurdityFluxus artists: George Maciunas, Nam June Paik, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, Dick Higgins, and Ben Vautier.
Fluxus had a significant influence on later movements such as conceptual art, performance art, and mail art.
is an influential art movement that emerged in the early 20th century, primarily in Europe, as a response to the traumatic experiences of World War I and a growing interest in the unconscious mind. Led by the French writer André Breton, surrealism sought to unlock the creative potential of the subconscious and explore the realms of dreams, fantasies, and irrationality.
Some key characteristics of surrealism in art:
● Exploration of the Unconscious
● Juxtaposition of Unexpected Elements
● Dreamlike Imagery
● Psychic Automatism
● Subversion of Traditional TechniquesSurrealism had a profound influence on various art forms, including painting, sculpture, literature, film, and photography. Its legacy can be seen in the works of artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and Frida Kahlo,
as well as in the development of later movements such as abstract expressionism and pop art.
Overall, surrealism in art remains a powerful and enduring movement that continues to captivate and inspire audiences with its exploration of the subconscious mind and its celebration of the irrational and the fantastic.
is a form of artistic expression that combines elements of visual art, theatre, dance, music, and often other disciplines such as poetry, film, and sculpture. It involves live actions performed by artists or performers in front of an audience, typically within a designated space or context. Performance art is often ephemeral, with the focus on the live experience rather than the creation of a permanent object or artefact. Here are some key aspects of performance art:
● Live Action
● Presence of the Artist
● Conceptual Focus
● Interdisciplinarity
● Audience Participation
● Site-Specificity
● Documentation
Overall, performances give artists a dynamic and multifaceted medium for creative expression, allowing them to engage with diverse audiences, explore new ideas, and provoke meaningful dialogue and reflection within society.
Fluxus performances blur the boundaries between art and everyday life and represent a radical departure from traditional forms of art, emphasising experimentation, interactivity, and conceptual exploration.
Surrealist performances challenge conventional notions of reality, often embracing absurdity, contradiction, and irrationality. Performers may disrupt linear narratives, subvert logical expectations, and create disorienting or hallucinatory experiences for audiences. These kinds of performances often delve into the depths of the unconscious mind, exploring themes such as desire, repression, and the uncanny. We as performers may draw inspiration from dreams, myths, and archetypal symbols, inviting audiences to confront hidden desires, fears, and anxieties. Although a serious exploration of the subconscious, surrealism in performance art often includes elements of playfulness, humour and satire, which is what we used most in our project.
Break an egg and cook it on your phone screen?
Put make-up on your lips or other body parts?
Take a bath and cook dinner at the same time?
What if we could eat anything right now through the screen?
Combining Fluxus and surrealism in a single project can result in a dynamic and thought-provoking exploration of creativity, expression, and the subconscious mind. All of the above can be seen in our video project. We as performers used wit, irony and absurdist humour to subvert expectations and critique societal norms. We experimented with random operations, accidental juxtapositions and everyday objects to create playful and thought-provoking works of art.
By bringing these art movements together in one project, we can create a rich and multifaceted exploration of the subconscious, creativity and the transformative power of art. Let’s use experimentation, spontaneity and collaboration to push the boundaries of traditional art practice and engage audiences in new and unexpected ways.
