instrumental Fluxus

The international Fluxus movement produced seminal experimental artworks in interdisciplinary and new media. performance grew out of music tradition # conceptions intermedia conceptual art … or another manner appropriate. An audience engagement in performance a shift in focus from content to contex rejects material art objects creative process physical material set of rules for an open game, the role of an audience, a spectator, the vouyer childish sense of play puncuated with violence, agency conservative and even consumerist conception of art and artists anti-establishment and anti-consumerist revisionary view of art, often taken literally as events of destruction against the institutions and instruments of high art. with instructions of a scale that could (and were) fit on postcards (and later Tweets) his position was not binding on all participants. For example, Ben Patterson’s attitude was that it was a question of the musicalization of noisy sounds, that he found anticipated by Edgard Varèse. For him the performance as destruction was nothing more than an incidental sideshow. # responses To work over a piano with saws, hammers, drills, stones, and kitchen utensils could hardly be taken as anything other than an attack on sensitive artistry. (repro 39) “Just like children do it”, art of the mind rather then the senses, it should not be seen as the plaything of a “destruction art” at the heart of some convivial anti-art movement. “Their program became allthemore gleeful the more assiduously they performed their concert pieces.” Not least, the necessity for improvisation and short-term seeking out of new performance opportunities was the cause of more and more space being taken up by the comical and senseless works. According to the description given by Dick Higgins in 1964, the concerts were pure carnival, where eggs and cakes were thrown, toys and light bulbs smashed, and boring “anti-music” played. varied according to Dick Higgins “from explosive (we had two riots) to docile and indifferent to sympathetic.” [14] Reading the reaction of the regional press at that time one does not get the same impression as that described by the artists (“Wiesbaden was shocked.”[15] ) and by Fluxus historians. [16] In spite of outraged outcries from the culturally conservative side, ironic but friendly commentaries were dominant, and did not keep quiet about the public’s “amusement” by this “great fun”. We read in the Allgemeine Zeitung “What is that about? Was it supposed to shock? In that case its purpose failed since it was an obvious lighthearted success.”[17] Bazon Brock took a decidedly critical stance, writing of himself as a “friend of the participants”. He expressed his boredom by what he saw and remarked, that the performers had obviously just as vague an idea of what they really wanted to demonstrate. Otherwise would it not be possible to explain that, for example, someone gently hit the legs of the piano with little hammers or loosened the strings with screwdrivers, instead of holding up this new proven concert grand with a cleverly circular saw which then would cut the creature through in the right direction. By this it seemed that all the participants knew that in these days bare protests and dull provocations will no longer set right what is wrong with us.[18] Therefore, one need not necessarily consider the demonstration of destruction decisive for the artistic paradigm change; aggressive intention is more important. In the case of Piano Activities the aim was to question the unity of musical instrument and conventional playing techniques. It is incontrovertible that on the basis of this intention the performance possessed a central propaganda value; with it –a paradox formulated – the anti-art art intentions of Fluxus can be effectively realized. Whatare thesetexts?They can be read (have been read) under a numberof rubrics:musicscores,visual art,poetic texts,performanceinstructions,or propos- als for some kind of action or procedure. Most often,when theyare read at all, these "shortform"scores are seen as tools forsomethingelse, scriptsfora perfor- mance or projector musicalpiece whichis the "real"art chance operations, like performaces indexed by shuffled decks of cards, recording technology Orchestra, where each musician given a recording of a symphony and must coordinate its playback, a fluxversion, more restrictive than a more poetic thematic versions, expanded from Trumpet. puts the concept within a performance context audience Concerto for Audience by Audience (Vautier), influential in its introduction of conceptual art into music performance practice short setups for slapstick like Friedman and Vautier just plain destruction in Maciunas Brecht's Fluxus pieces are imbued with a sense of slapstick, of conceptual and situational humor. Fluxus Piece for GM,

2 events are advertised at 2 adjacent locations.
Audience is brought into the same hall by separate entrances.
The audiences are separated from each other by a curtain.
For the performance, the curtain is raised. Albert M. Fine

Instrumental Fluxus, the Event inspired by Cage, art works and performances in musical forms. poetic language, slapstick specifically relating to sound production and within the conventional performance parameters of a symphony orchestra concert. subversion re-framing symphony orchestra solist intruments, the violin and especially the piano

References

@textscoreaday (x.com via nitter.poast.org)
Philip Corner. Piano Acitivies. 1962. MoMA (moma.org)
Score for Piano Activities. fluxartists (fluxusartists.tumblr.com)
Fluxus Performance Workbook, ed. Ken Friedman, Owen Smith & Lauren Sawchyn, Performance Research e-Publications, 2002
Events (Theater), (radicalart.info via archive.org)

Piano Activities

Keyboard Player(s):

plays in the orthodox manner, or another manner appropriate or possible.

Pedal Player:

crouches underneath to control the pedals, or manipulates dampers by hand.

Players on other parts of piano:

mute strings with fingers and hand
strike or damp (fingers and hand only)
pluck or tap with

fingers (flesh and nails)
knuckles
pluctrum (any material)
scratch or rub with
fingers (flesh, nails)
cloth sandpaper sticks glass metal rubber
drop objects on strings or other parts of piano
draw chains or bells across strings
act on strings external objects
(hammers, drum sticks, whips)
strike soundboard, pins, lid or drag various kinds of objects across them
introduce preparations into the strings
move such objects to different places lay material (silently) on them
or remove them
bring objects producing their own noise in contact with parts of the piano
(do not allow them to sound independently)
act in any way on underside of the piano

To all participants:

Show restraint and extremity in both active and inactive aspects of your participation. Be constant — exaggerate limitations. Make diverse changes. Continue surprises at their limit. Be moderate as well. Regard others, ignore or relate to them. Enhance and destroy or transform their actions.

Robert Bozzi

Choice 5

Two pianists sit behind two pianos. They
depress the pedals and crash the pianos
into each other several times.

Choice 10

Four performers are divided into two
teams. They draw lots for one violin. The
winning team plays the violin while the
other team tries to gain possession of it.

Choice 15

A performers executes the following
actions in succession:

nails down the great cover of a piano
plays an extremely extended low note
strikes the keys with his fists alternating 4 low note strikes with 4 high note strikes
nails down the keyboard cover
lifts the end of the piano with the low notes and lets it drop
kicks at the end of the piano with the high notes
opens both of the piano covers with the claws of a hammer

George Brecht

Saxophone Solo, Fluxversion 1

The piece is announced. Performer enters
stage with an instrument case, places it
on a stand, opens it and pulls out a
trumpet, realizes the mistake, puts it
quickly back in the case and exits.

Concerto for Orchestra

(exchanging)

Symphony No. 3, Fluxversion 1

(on the floor)
Orchestra members sit down on the very
forward edge of the chair and hold
instruments in ready position. Upon signal
from the conductor, all players slide
forward and fall smoothly off their chairs
in unison.

Albert M. Fine

Piece for Ben Patterson

Construct a piano with the treble on the
left ascending to the bass on the right.
Play all the old favorite classics.

Ken Friedman

Orchestra

The entire orchestra plays phonographs.
The orchestra tries to play a well-known
classical masterwork. Instead of an
instrument, every member of the
orchestra has a phonograph. Some of the
ways this can be performed are:

All have some recording. All try to start at same time.
Each has different recording or version of piece. All try to start at the same time.
Different sections of the orchestra are given different passage to play, rotating through entire piece in sequences.
Each member of the orchestra starts and stops playing different sections of the recording at will.

Finland, Wake Up!
for Jaana Kortelainen

Arrange a performance of Jan Sibelius’s
symphony, Finlandia, orchestrated for 120
tubas and 80 kettle drums.

Homage to Mahler

A symphony is performed. The different
sections of the orchestra march on and
off stage as they perform.

Toshi Ichiyanagi

Music for Piano No. 5, Fluxvariation

An upright piano is positioned at center
stage with its profile toward the audience.
The pedal is fixed in a depressed position.
A performer, hidden from view in the
wings, throws darts into the back of the
piano according to the time pattern
indicated in the score.

Alison Knowles

Piece for Any Number of Vocalists

Each thinks beforehand of a song, and, on
a signal from the conductor, sings it
through.

Takehisa Kosugi

Distance for Piano
(to David Tudor)

Performer positions himself at some
distance from the piano from which he
should not move. Performer does not
touch piano directly by any part of his
body, but may manipulate other objects to
produce sound on piano through them.
Performer produces sounds at points of
piano previously determined by him.
Assistants may move piano to change
distance and direction to directions of the
performer.

Jackson Mac Low

Piano Suite
for David Tudor
and John Cage

(any number of persons may participate in one or more or the movements)

… carefully disassemble a piano.
Do not break any parts or separate
parts joined by gluing or welding
(unless welding apparatus &
experienced welder are available for
the 2nd movement). All parts cut or
cast or forged as one piece must
remain as one piece.
… carefully reassemble the piano
… tune the piano
… play something

George Maciunas

Solo for Violin

Old classic is performed on a violin.
Where pauses are called, violin is
mistreated by scratching the floor with it,
dropping pebbles through f hole, pulling
out pegs, etc.

Solo for Violin
for Sylvano Bussotti

play any sentimental tune
scrape strings with a nail
loosen strings and pluck
break string by over tensioning peg
insert bow between strings & sound
board & oscillate bow
hold bow to shoulders & bow with violin
strike with bow over sound board
scrape inside of sound box with bow
blow through sound holes
put pebbles inside sound box and shake
violin
scrape floor with violin
push-pull violin over table or floor
scratch violin with sharp tool
saw violin or part of it
drill violin
drive a nail into violin
hammer violin with hammer
bite violin
step over violin and crush it
rip violin apart
drop violin over floor
throw violin or parts of it to the audience

12 Piano Compositions
for Nam June Paik

Let piano movers carry piano into the stage.
Tune the piano.
Paint with orange paint patterns over the piano.
Using a straight stick the length of the keyboard sound all keys together.
Place a dog or cat (or both) inside the piano and play Chopin.
Stretch the 3 highest strings with a tuning key until they break.
Place one piano on top of another (one can be smaller).
Place piano upside down and put a vase with flowers over the sound box.
Draw a picture of a piano so that the audience can see the picture.
Write a sign reading: piano composition #10 and show the audience the sign.
Wash the piano, wax and polish it well.
Let piano movers carry the piano out of the stage.

Ben Vautier

Monochrome, Fluxversion II
for Yves Klein

An orchestra, quartet or soloist, dressed
in white, plays a favorite classic. A fine
mist of washable black paint rains down
during the performance. Performers
continue to play as the scores and music
stands, their instruments and clothes
slowly turn from white to black. The
performance ends when no performer can
read the notes.

Piano Concerto No. 2
for Paik

Orchestra members seat themselves and
wait for the pianist. The pianist enters,
bows and walks to the piano. Upon
reaching the piano, he jumps from the
stage and runs to the exit. Orchestra
members must run after him, catch him,
and drag him back to the piano. The
pianist must try his best to keep away
from the piano. When the piano is finally
returned to the piano, the lights are
turned off.

Concerto for Audience
by Audience

The audience is invited to come to the
stage, take instruments that are provided
to them, sit on the orchestra seats and
play for 3 minutes. If the audience does
not respond to the invitation, instruments
should be distributed to them.