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6/5/2009

D.I.Y.

Stendhal Gallery, New York

Maya Stendhal Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition D.I.Y., which will be on view from May 7 through July 25, 2009.

The concept of Do It Yourself began as a philosophy related to the American Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century in which a search for an authentic, meaningful style was carried out as a reaction to the “soulless” aesthetic that developed out of the Industrial Revolution. A DIY subculture soon followed, explicitly critiquing modern consumer culture while encouraging people to take technologies and civic responsibilities into their own hands to solve needs. The exhibition examines how the Fluxus movement of the 1960s applied the DIY philosophy to practice, establishing an interdisciplinary, anti-art approach directed towards bridging the gap between artist community and society. First coined by its charismatic “Chairman” George Maciunas in 1961, Fluxus described a movement with origins in Futurist Theater, silent film, Zen, comedy, Vaudeville, and Dada. Aiming to interrupt the rigidly hierarchal, formalist conventions of postwar art and the burgeoning commodity culture of the 1960s, Fluxus artists collectively viewed themselves as social catalysts carrying out communal projects directed towards merging together art and life. Often viewed as humorous, thrifty, ephemeral and spontaneous, the featured works reveal a deeper set of utopian ideals in which attributes of Efficiency, Economy, Form and Function could stimulate social change. On view will be works on paper, film, posters, diagrams, maps, charts, and documents by artists George Maciunas, Jonas Mekas, George Brecht, Ben Vautier, Yoko Ono, Paul Sharits, Henry Flynt, Shigeko Kubota, Ken Friedman, Chieko Shiomi, La Monte Young, and Paula Scher.

Influenced by the theories of American composer John Cage and Marcel Duchamp, Fluxus shifted the emphasis from what an artist makes to the artist’s personality, actions, and opinions. A progressive artist/theorist and inventor, George Maciunas rigorously instilled these views in his graphic work for Fluxus, and visionary architectural projects Prefabricated Building System and Fluxhouse Cooperatives in downtown SoHo, New York. Trained in graphic design and architecture at Cooper Union School of Art, he contributed to the work of many artists in the exhibition with his text-based designs. He developed a branded identity for Fluxus, defining its copyright, trademark, logos, letterheads, name cards, envelopes, posters, and three-dimensional announcements and displays. Unveiled for the first time will be a never fully realized graphic project by Maciunas. The works are based on medieval illustrations and etchings of cruelty and torture, also on view, revealing his conceptual process. Also presented will be a rare group of works and documents that Maciunas used in Fluxus graphic projects.

Fluxus’ international, interdisciplinary currents reached Japanese born artist Yoko Ono whose conceptual work also found inspiration in the teachings of John Cage and Zen. Ono first met Maciunas in 1959 and they formed a creative relationship. They carried out numerous collaborations that continued through her relationship with John Lennon, ending with Maciunas’ untimely passing in 1978. Featured is Do It Yourself Fluxfest (1966), a 20-piece collection conjoining short instructional texts by Ono with Maciunas’ graphic illustrations. First printed in “3 newspaper events for the price of $1,” the No. 7, February 1966 issue of the Fluxus magazine cc V TRE, the compilation underscores the Fluxus idea that anyone can make art. These amusing pieces find meaning in the humorous dialogue that exists between Ono’s instructions and Maciunas’ skillful treatment of text with relation to the pictorial motifs.

On exhibit for the first time in its entirety is a rare and extensive work entitled European and Siberian Art of Migrations (1955-60), consisting of 39 individual pieces that Maciunas created while studying at New York University. He produced a large collection of similar charts, diagrams, and atlases between 1956 and 1975, in which he scientifically compiled incredible amounts of information into geo-historical representations. Parallels are made between space and time and their dissolution into succession, establishing an orderly system that integrates historical and geographical knowledge. Maciunas’ system made clear not only political, economic, poetic, and aesthetic relationships, but also predetermined the geo-historical framework of Fluxus. By 1969, he had developed his theory of the “learning machine.” A criticism of the linear narratives of books, lectures, and traditional forms of learning, Maciunas’ theory called for improvements in methods of transmitting information and learning.

A 60 piece collection of George Brecht’s groundbreaking “event scores” will be on view. Designed by Maciunas in the 1960s using basic font, these minimal works consist of words and short instructional phrases printed in black ink type on small white card stock. Influenced by the theories of avant-garde composer John Cage, Brecht conceived of his “event scores” as an extension of music culminating in a multi-sensory experience that was open, generative, and undefined, rejecting any possibility of “authorship.” Mediating between language and performance, they bring to light perceptual phenomena, or “readymade” actions, that happen daily, often unnoticed. Maciunas regarded Brecht’s work for its inclusive, antihierarchal, and accessible attributes viewing it as the archetype of Fluxus performance.

Important to the history of Fluxus is An Anthology (1961-1963), a rare book that will be part of the show’s archival presentation. A pre-Fluxus publication designed and edited by Maciunas and conceived by La Monte Young, it contains works by artists who would later become a core part of the movement. Maciunas produced it using his IBM Executive Typewriter with the sans serif font that characterized his Fluxus typography.

Jonas Mekas, an artist, programmer, archivist, fundraiser, theoretician, and all around proselytizer for the moving image, will premiere his new interactive online project One Thousand and One Nights (2009). Following his monumental 365 Day Project, Mekas will release new short films through his website www.jonasmekas.com. Inspired by the classic folk tale from the Middle East, he invites filmmakers from all over the world to share their stories by uploading footage from multimedia devices to his website. Mekas states of his new cinematic venture, “I will be dealing with each night as it comes…. I want to incorporate into my Nights stories by other storytellers from all over the world.”

Recently on view at the Guggenheim Museum, Shigeko Kubota’s conceptual video sculpture Duchampiana: Video Chess, 1968-1975 pays homage to her mentor Marcel Duchamp. It is created from a freestanding plywood box, covered with sheet glass, in which sits a twelve-inch monitor directed upwards. Viewers/players look down at a monitor through transparent chess pieces, originally designed by Maciunas, and board to see a color-synthesized video of Kubota’s black and white photographs of Duchamp and John Cage playing chess at a concert in Toronto in 1968.

The exhibition will also feature Maciunas’ Name Tags (1964-68), playful interpretations of artists’ names expressed in Fluxus’ signature typography and design. Also on view will be Kubota’s Flux Napkins (1965) and Chieko Shiomi’s Spatial Poem no. 2: A Flux Atlas (1968), Fluxus graphic projects produced in collaboration with Maciunas. Screening through out the gallery is a selection of films from Fluxfilm Anthology featuring Paul Sharits’ Word Movie (1966), Sears Catalogue 1-3, Dots 1&3, Wrist Trick, and Unrolling Event and Ben Vautier’s Jen e vois rien Je n’entends rien Jen e dis rien (1966), La traverse du port de Nice á la nage (1963), Fair un effort (1969), Regardez moi cela suffit (1962). Henry Flynt’s pamphlet Communists Must Give Revolutionary Leadership in Culture (1965) makes a systematic evaluation of the political and social implications of contemporary design and its effects on culture spanning areas such as architecture, music, cars, and film. Also featured will be a rarely exhibited selection of works on paper by Paula Scher, an artist who has wholly extended
her role to the political and social spheres – she designed the “O” banner in support of the 2008 presidential campaign, and is an active member of the Art Commission of the City of New York. D.I.Y. will be accompanied with an original essay by artist and scholar Ken Friedman.

D.I.Y. marks the 31st anniversary of George Maciunas’ passing. The exhibition has been organized and produced by Harry Stendhal.

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 7, 6 – 8 pm

Maya Stendhal
545 W. 20th St. - New York
Free admission

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