FLUXUS NEVER STOPS 2010-09-10 HELLO EVERYBODY It is more then a year That I have sent out a Fluxus newsletter Why? I think it is that: I had nothing to say Why repeat myself Goggle is there to give all the information we need In fact Fluxus never stops I receive emails from everywhere and every body Thank you Fluxus anti ego super egos Anti prima Dona New prima donnas TWO IMPORTANT FLUXUS EVENTS LODZ AND MOSCOU LETS START WITH LODZ Got this nice letter from ANN NOEL It is s full of lively information I hope she Does not mind me putting it in My newsletter Dear Ben, How are you and Annie doing? I do receive your newsletter and it seems That you are having exhibitions and performances all over the place. You never did reply to the invitation I sent you last November. If you remember it was about taking part in the Lodz Biennale this summer. Ryszard Wasko is the director again this year and he appointed me as curator for the FLUXUS BANQUET II, which will begin all the events leading up to the final exhibition opening on September 11th. The dinner will be a kind of Mad Hatter's Tea Party and go on for two days, June 28-29th at the Poznanski Palace, the historical museum in Lodz. We wonder whether you would reconsider being a guest of ours then. You would receive the air fare to and from Lodz, hotel accommodation, meals and an Honorarium of $500. The other Fluxus artists attending the banquet are Alison Knowles, who's bringing Hannah Higgins with her, Geoff Hendricks, who's bringing Sur Rodneywit, Eric Andersen with his wife Dorte and Ben Patterson, most probably alone. Wolfgang Hainke will do an homage to Emmett Williams and Petra Stegmann will be giving a talk about Fluxus activities in Eastern countries. Everything takes place around the banquet table. Well, what a year it's been so far! Isn't it awesome that Mother Nature can still wreak havoc all over the world with bigger and better earthquakes everywhere and volcanic eruptions that can halt air traffic throughout Europe? Thank God I wasn't planning to travel anywhere this month. My idea of hell would be being forced to spend days at an airport, say in Frankfurt. Next month there is a show in Gorzow, Poland with Eric Andersen from Copenhagen and Charles Dreyfus from Paris, (opening May 15th). The city is only about 130 miles from Berlin and they are sending a taxi to bring us there and back. On Saturday evening there's the second anniversary of the opening of the "museum FLUXUS +" in Potsdam with live music, food and drinks. As an artist, who's work is in their permanent collection (yours is too), I can take friends to the party free of charge, which is just what I'm doing. Maria Wasko and another friend are coming along with me. Ryszard is heading off to Lodz this week to work full time on the Biennale. Otherwise I'm spending hours and hours every day making new pieces for an exhibition at the museum with Alison Knowles, which has the title "In and Out the Window" (opening June 25th). Four "Little People" by Emmett Williams, on the outside wall of the building, will be unveiled on that same evening. As I tell people, I seem to have become a Fluxus artist by marriage. Looking forward to hearing from you, Best wishes and love, Ann Noel Koblenzer Strasse 17 10715 Berlin Germany dear ann please forgive me I have a beginning of a fluxus alzeimer forgetting every thing important an just doing what is not important ben NOW NEWS ABOUT MOSCOU « Fluxus in Moscow « I don't have all the information But here is what I have « Soudain L'ete Fluxus « » 2009 « Was a great Fluxus show in Paris at the Passage De Retz people liked it So Jaqueline Frydmann the big chief of the passage de Retz decided with Olga Sviblova her friend To give the Fluxus show in Moscow Bernard Blistene who works at Beaubourg Was chosen by Jacqueline to be the curator Just to remind you; the Fluxus show in Paris 20008 was made up with pieces Of the collection of Luigi Bonotto ; Caterina Gualco Works from Paris collectors and my heteroclite collection So when they asked me If I accepted to lend part of my collection for Moscow Although (to tell you the truth) I was a bit afraid ;of tales from customs And difficult communication with the Russians When told That we were invited by ' The State Institution Of Culture And Education Of The City Of Moscow « Multimedia Complex Of Actual Arts » Director Olga Sviblova and that all works would be insured Nail to nail Luigi Bonotto Caterina Gualco and myself accepted So Blistene came to Nice with a young handsome Russian assistant Nicolai And they all three with Eva my daughter Chose in my collection documents and works for the show To tell you the truth I maybe would have preferred a new Fluxus out look With more humour less history With a real concert and all the Fluxus crowd invited To invent new pieces etc But since I was told ' not enough budget « And because the Fluxus spirit is In » something is always happening « I say take Fluxus as it comes I thought another experience? Why not? When in Nice Blistene asked me if I knew? Of any Russian Fluxus artists I said you should invite « The Blues Noses » they are not Fluxus but they are great I also proposed he get in contact with Petra Stegman for more information But why am I telling you all this? Getting older and maybe more stupid every day Just to be transparent And not feel ill at ease later on Believe it or not I am not sure but I suppose For all the following artists there will be works documents quotes Alison knowles - Arthur Koepke -- Ayo -- Ben Vautier- Benjamin Patterson- Charles Dreyfus -- Chieko Shiomi- Daniel Spoerri- Dick Higgins - Emmet Williams --Eric Andersen - George Maciunas -- Giuseppe Chiari- Jackson Mac Law Joe Jones- Joseph Beuys- La Monte Young - Milan Knizak -Nam June Paik- Robert Bozzi-- Robert Erebo - Robert Watts Robin Page - Serge 3 -Tagehisa Kosugi--Takako Saito Tomas Schmit- Willem De Ridder -Yoko Ono -Wolf Vostell Etc (I hope we get some ann noel ) So since Blistene wants to call the show "on verra bien")(wait and see ) A Filliou sentence I will if my health permits (I am loosing my mind slowly) Go to Moscow with Eva, my daughter and Ludo To help put up the show on the walls There if I have the choice Each artist like in Paris will have in his space With a mixture of documents works and quotes I put more importance on the philosophy and spirit I still don't know if there is going to be a Fluxus concert Blistene said maybe young Russian musicians would interpret Fluxus pieces Just noticed they did not borrow the banners « all is music « I suppose I should not worry and « take Fluxus as it comes » OTHER NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Blistene told me the Russians want everything Translated into Russian cyrillique . OTHER NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I think Eric Anderson is the only Fluxus artist Who performed in Russia (Petra Stegman told it to me) OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Flynt Xatrex says is Becoming a music star I also hurd that Flynt did not agree With what Keillen wrote about him He rarely agrees with anybody OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I find them all fantastic Allison with her bells Ben Patterson with his small midget Fluxus concert Eric with his impossible demands Yoko with her fantastic smile Philip corner with his hammer and saw to saw the piano etc Etc (I could go on for hours ) OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I wonder if in twenty years The work La Monte Young Will be considered less important Or more important if Connected or not to Fluxus OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I am collecting for Moscow Fluxus films For there five video plasma Maybe they would agree to give an hour Of Fluxus films So send me your DVD OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Guess who Powerful fascinator He is anti Jon Hendricks Because Jon Hendricks does not say « He is the best » HE is always upset with those who don't speak about him He is famous in Denmark but not in China Fluxus is going to the moon without him When he comes to participate in a show He spends a lot of his time asking for something That is one of his best Fluxus pieces He sees mistakes in all the Fluxus Books that don't speak about him He is against Bengt of Klinberg's book Because he says it is full of mistakes Bengt of Klinberg Knows so little l about Fluxus that he mistook Once Marianne of Roskilde With Marianne the wife of Filliou He says Tomas Kellein wrote a book "Maciunas Dream of Fluxus" full of mistakes he too did not speak of him no its not Ken Friedman OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I was told Larry Miller succeed in his Fluxus concert in Dublin Eric says that when he did his clasical piece of being draged in his white suite but while he did it he broke his ancle and could not walk for one month that said eric was very Fluxus OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Nice talk in tallin by Landberger who of course did not come to the concert. He said : Fluxus was ideas Fluxus is to injoy freedom Fluxus is generous Fluxus is life Fluxus is independant behavior Fluxus is not "routine" art Fluxus could be everything He said also Fluxus is nature coming into art I interrupt I said : No Landberger, Fluxus is also ego He smile and said : yes but ego is also life, and nature OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG A few years ago I decide That when give a Fluxus concert to title the scores not with « by » but « for » So a Piece by George Brecht, becomes piece for George Brecht, just not to feel too guilty if its badly iterpreted OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Conz died Do you think he took his camera to heaven Is there a bar open up there Did he tell god you know that performance of jesus on the cross is Very vienese action painting OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Gabor Toth Wrote To Me (extact of his letter ) hello my friend ! you can find below the links to the u tube documentations of my exhibition which is running now in Budapest there are 3 magnetic boards on the walls. each of them is containing 100 names of hungarian living artists. you can change the names and their positions on the boards as you can. take ofF some of them put on others and so on. Etc (it goes on ) the first board is : HUNGARIAN ART HALL OF FAME /you can see that hungarian "hall of fame" could be just an old house's trap on the wall of an other house/ drinking tea you can watch a short video of "how you can make a cup of tea". on the opening i gave a short noise-music concert during the time of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlzvtqdow http://www.flickr.com/photos/dromidriver/sets/72157623781800871/show/ OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG lots of books on Fluxus scores coming out Fluxus scores start in 1960 with La Monte Young's anthology Brechts Water Yam Yoko Onos Grapefruit but since then new ones have never stoped coming up filling up the rooms that Cage, Duchamp, Maciunas had opened if everything is music why not slap the wall says Chiari on the other hand we can also say even if many look like Fluxus taste like Fluxus but are not Fluxus but why care flusxus is like dada a way of the mind OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I must not forget to tell you about ST AUBY TAMAS his e mails are fantastic they contain the new fluxus spirit of scanning the world for curious spots uou must try to get on his news letter list OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I confess i dont like Fluxus concerts composed of pieces that last too long I don't call them Fluxus concerts but personal works of art a good classical Fluxus concert shoul be made of many small pieces When they aret oo long They contain ego And start being boring No Thats not true Sometimes I am amazed by some of the new scorses OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Met julia ROBERTSON this summer Agreable talking with on the sunny terrasse about brecht and cage OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES Anna Higgins is a best historian of her father'swork but dick Higgins was to lasy to fight he spent all his time ...trying to be himself another OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I get now and then a funny feeling That all theseFluxus art curators andFluxus specialists Are polite laugh a lot when they meet But in reality are all jealous of each other But of course all have the "Truth" In their conversations They skip from compliment to rumour And from a rumour to the joke that kills BetweenFluxus artists its often-even worse They laugh the way through A jungle of ego Who is Fluxus? Who is not Fluxus? in fact if we were to take Macuiunas central anti art anti ego statemnt as a base we are all Fluxus traitors even maciunas is a trator to maciunas OTHER FLUXUS NEWS FROM TALLIN AS IT CAME ALONG (as much as i can remember)in tallin The best room was Mieko Shiomi'spacial poem room but I d'int see many people reading them I did not see poeple looking at the videos, more then ten videos one in each corner OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG by the way whats happeed to Erics a Dick Higgins "intermedia" looks as if Fluxus beat Intermedia 5 to 3 " OTHER FLUXUS NEWS FROM TALLIN AS IT CAME ALONG OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Is Fluxus dying out or just been born both i suppose Paik is gone Cage gone Higgins gone Brecht is gone Emett is gone when they die we are sad or are we only supposed to be sad and as on the other hand the dead they camnnot contradict US any more and we start telling storys about them and of about how they were so fantastic a great genious OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I always and still havve a preference for BRECHT I never wanted to disturb him Some moths before he left us he asked me to phone I did not I still wonder what was the message OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG T for Takako Saito she gave a great show in paris at the Lara Vincy gallery i noticed that tas years go by she has become more sure of what she wants OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Allison Knowles what energy Fluxus history making She never stops OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I asked Petra: How did the east Fluxus show go in Budapest? She said we were expecting you but the French AFAA refused to pay for your Journey OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Some one told me about Cage there is a discussion going on in usa That 4m33 of Cage was never really played in those days OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Philip corner A real musician he Makes Sound and thought I enjoy Philips Corners Philosophy Way of looking at life At music At himself in a mirror His humour I think Philip said Fluxus is mutating from prima donnas into Mira Dona and mira donas into seconda donnas he sent me a marvellous book I have to send him something in exchange OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG Someone must tell the truth As an anti art non art movement Fluxus is a theoretical failure Just a bunch of spoilt brats Super egoists doing art Talking about non ego and life As said Levinas don't kill yourself trying to be Fluxus OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG After the passage de Retz Goef Hendriks sent me a nice letter Saying it was wonderful Takako wrote me a letter saying that « shaking hands « Was her piece not Goefs But that everything was ok OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG How is Anne Dezeuze I love her straight forwardness I wonder if she would translate into English some of my texts OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG I don't believe Fluxus has much to do with visual poetry I wrote this some years ago in French il faut séparer la poèsie visuelle de Fluxus Si Fluxus n'était que de la poèsie visuelle je lui donnerais un 2/10 sur le plan de son importance dans le monde George Brecht ne fait pas de poèsie visuelle George Brecht a inventé l'event et l'event est la suite du porte-bouteilles de Duchamp, c'est la vie devenue art tandis que la poèsie visuelle c'est une suite d'exercices d'une sténo dactylo qui s'ennuie. Et me re-voila en train d'écrire à nouveau sur Fluxus en français Personne ne va le lire, tout le monde ne lit que l'anglais. OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMMES Some one told me do you know that ken Friedman Wanted to attack Jon Hendricks because he has omitted to put ken in a Fluxus show OTHER FLUXUS NEWS AS IT COMES ALONG What is happening in the town of Lodz? Lodz has a historical reputation for radical art (suprematism etc ) so it looks as if Ryszard Wasko wants to perpetuate this radicalism and Fluxus is of course radical He wants to know all about Fluxus What is Fluxus made out of? Started this letter with nothing to say an now I can't stop so I will put all he rest on my site ps my automatic corrector put capital letters at the beginning of each sentence not my fault sorry also for my grammatical mistakes I usually write in French pss important pour mes nouveaux abonnes sachez que vous pouvez lire mes anciennes newsletter sur mon site http://www.ben-vautier.com/ a la rubrique « mes newsletter » et que vous pouvez aussi vous desabonner desuite en cliquant en bas de page merci ben sorry if this news letter does not concern you you can unsuscribe by clicking at the bottom of this page ben