FLUXUS

With every revival of Fluxus pieces, the artist is confronted with the fundamental question of how much will or may be lost through the revival. Certainly, one makes it no easier by sophistically arguing from a position of relative security that it is impossible to revive Fluxus. The somewhat more subtle question, “which of the Fluxus activities should still be carried out today”? (...) was the question Die Maulwerker asked themselves when confronted with way over one hundred pieces. However, when the conceptual simplicity of several of the Fluxus activities compresses the roots of all intermediate approaches ranging from stagecraft, fine arts, music and performance, then the question of topicality does not arise. So Fluxus is not a temporary phenomenon but rather a surrogate of all connecting approaches in art, and is consequently now highly topical.” (Ariane Jeßulat)

The ZKM has taken the exhibition “Sound Art. Sound as Medium of Art” as occasion to bring together one of the few living Fluxus artists, Ben Patterson, and the Berlin Performer-Ensemble Die Maulwerker, which has specialized in Fluxus. In groups and solo pieces, the performers explore and demonstrate the broad spectrum of Fluxusian points.