Paper

Jasmine Silver
Bertus 118 MW 630-920

Fluxus

If you asked me a year ago if I liked art history I would have told you no. Since the graphic design degree requires art history, I have now taken two different classes. I have fallen in love with it. To know about the history of art is so important because it can serve as a starting place for one’s own work. When you see good design and recognize it, I believe that become imprinted in you. One art movement that I feel is strongly pertinent to contemporary design is Fluxus because it is all inclusive, playful, and thrives in a setting of globalization.

Calling Fluxus an art movement would probably humor its participants. Fluxus is a way of doing things. It’s a way of thinking. It’s a philosophy. With Fluxus everything is art and everything should be considered as art, if you put forth the effort to think about it in that way. Though, it is ultimately without a definable purpose, the process of Fluxus is available to everyone and anyone. It is anti-elitist. Light a match and watch it burn to the end. Anyone can do that. The experience of doing is what Fluxus tries to embody.

I was initially drawn to Fluxus because of its playful nature. I think that Fluxus really personifies my outlook on life. I have some very strong tendencies toward debilitating episodes of anxiety. To be able to function like a normal person I just have to view things positively. Now, I’m not suggesting that I am the only one with problems. Everyone has some issue that they have to deal with on an everyday basis. But that is the point. Fluxus is a way of looking at the world and at life positively and playfully. The point is that everyone can look at life with the philosophy of Fluxus in mind.

While researching Fluxus, I found that Fluxus is currently a clothing brand commonly worn by celebrities. Their website states “Fluxus celebrates the relationship between everyday life and art. Creating it is an art, wearing it is an art.” They specialize in simple knits. This is an interesting manifestation of the ideas of Fluxus, but, besides the celebrity prices, it makes sense. Wearing clothing is an art experience. Feeling it on your body. Appreciating how it looks. For me, Fluxus is really about valuing everyday experiences and recognizing them as art because they deserve it. Fluxus is all about equality. Everything can be art and everyone can be an artist. All it takes is thought.

The all inclusive nature of Fluxus provides room for discussion and transformation. Not just the transformation of art, but also the transformation of art traditions. The definitions of paining or sculpting are fluid. They are not Greenbergian. Fluxus makes room for intermedia and globalization. It literally obliterates the line between art and life. Life is art and art is life. It’s all connected. Everything works together to create the reality that we live in.

Globalization is a word that gets thrown around a great deal in our world of fast transportation, cell phones, and the world wide web. Fluxus grew from a global tradition. It put importance on ideas rather than individuals. Today, globalization has been essentially achieved, so Fluxus has a better setting than ever to thrive again. The idea that everyone has the potential to create value and be valued is very attractive. And it’s not only attractive, but meaningful. Fluxus philosophy is so difficult to describe. When using Fluxus to consider life, a person gets to create and recognize meaning. And in that action is a feeling of empowerment. Not in a dictatorship sense of power, but in a humbling way. Like discovering something so obvious that seems like common sense, but you feel enlighten, not ignorant. Fluxus is gaining a new perspective.

Adding new perspective and new ways of looking at the world is the daily goal of my life. Fluxus lets me expand on that principal. With Fluxus in the background of my mind I can apply design to everything that I do. When I look at things I make compositions with my frame of view. If everything can be viewed as art then an artist is working everywhere all the time. That’s what I strive for. Everyday of my life I am practicing. I think that using the ideas of Fluxus helps me to be a better designer, a better artist, because I never stop viewing things as art.