Flux Concert

Larry Miller
1979, 81:45 min, b&w, sound

On March 24, 1979, The Kitchen hosted a concert of reconstructed historical Fluxus performances. Over forty short pieces by thirty artists and composers were performed (with occasional assistance from the audience) and are included in this documentation. Among the pieces featured were compositions by renown Fluxus artists Yoko Ono, Ben Vautier, La Monte Young and George Maciunus. Performers included Simone Forti, Dick Higgins, Yoshi Wada and Geoff Hendricks. The program includes One for Violin Solo, first performed by Nam June Paik in 1962. Over the course of five minutes, the performer slowly lifts a violin upwards from a white plinth, until the violin is held directly over his head. The piece abruptly ends with a loud crash as the performer smashes the violin onto the plinth. Incidental Music part 2, written by George Brecht in 1961, begins with the performer opening the hood of a grand piano and piling small wooden blocks on top of one another on the strings. The block tower finally topples, creating sounds as the piano strings are hit. Fluxus artists Ken Friedman and Larry Miller selected and arranged the reconstruction of the historical performances, and were also among the performers.

A concert of works by: Ay-O, Robert Bozzi, George Brecht, Phil Corner, Robert Filliou, Peter Frank, Ken Friedman, Geoff Hendricks, Dick Higgins, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Joe Jones, Milan Knizak, Alison Knowles, Takehisa Kosugi, Carla Liss, George Maciunas, Larry Miller, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Ben Patterson, Takako Saito, Tomas Schmit, Mieko Shiomi, Yasunao Tone, Peter van Riper, Ben Vautier, Yoshi Wada, Robert Watts, Emmett Williams, La Monte Young.

Performers: Phil Corner, Simone Forti, Peter Frank, Ken Friedman, Geoff Hendricks, Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Carla Liss, Joan Matthews, Larry Miller, Yasunao Tone, Peter van Riper, Yoshi Wada, Robert Watts.

Courtesy of The Kitchen Archives.