Thing/Thought: Fluxus Editions, 1962-1978

September 21, 2011–January 16, 2012

  • Introduction
  • Selected Works
    • Fluxus 1
    • Fluxkit
    • Flux Year Box 2
  • Exhibition Views
  • Other Resources
    • Exhibition Checklist
    • Blog
    • Video
  • Credits
MoMA

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.

Selected pages can be viewed in this slideshow.

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Fluxus 1
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Fluxus 1. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1962

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Fluxus 1, Finger Envelope
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(Left) Page from Fluxus 1, Fluxus copyright label. 1964. (Right) Ay-O. Page from Fluxus 1, Finger Envelope. 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced

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Page from Fluxus 1 untitled portrait of George Brecht
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(Left) George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of George Brecht. 1964. (Right) George Brecht. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Five Places and Direction. 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced

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(Right) Page from Fluxus 1, documentation of Fluxus concert
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(Right) Page from Fluxus 1, documentation of Fluxus concert. 1964

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Page from Fluxus 1 containing Theater Music
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(Left) Takeshia Kosugi. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Theater Music. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1964.
(Right) Shigeko Kubota. Page from Fluxus 1, containing Flux Napkin. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1966

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Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Jackson Mac Low
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(Left) George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Jackson Mac Low. 1964
(Right) Jackson Mac Low. Page from Fluxus 1, Drawing-Asymmetry No. 38. 1964

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Page from Fluxus 1, The Grand Frauds of Architecture: Mies van der Rohe, Saarinen, Bunshaft, Frank Lloyd Wright
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George Maciunas. (Left) Page from Fluxus 1. 1964. (Right) Page from Fluxus 1, The Grand Frauds of Architecture: Mies van der Rohe, Saarinen, Bunshaft, Frank Lloyd Wright. 1964

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Spread from Fluxus 1, score and documentation of Variations for Double-Bass
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Benjamin Patterson. Spread from Fluxus 1, score and documentation of Variations for Double-Bass. 1964

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Spread from Fluxus 1, documentation of Variations for Double-Bass
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Benjamin Patterson. Spread from Fluxus 1, documentation of Variations for Double-Bass. 1964

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Page from Fluxus 1, Gesture Piece (Turn this Page)
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(Right) Ben Vautier. Page from Fluxus 1, Gesture Piece (Turn this Page). 1964, Fluxus Edition unannounced

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Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams
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(Left) Possibly by George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams. 1964.
(Right) Emmett Williams. Page from Fluxus 1, abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1964

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Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams
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(Left) Possibly by George Maciunas. Page from Fluxus 1, untitled portrait of Emmett Williams. 1964
(Right) Emmett Williams. Page from Fluxus 1, various scores

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