Fluxus…Art?
Visiting the Fluxus exhibit today was a new experience for me. I thought it was very enjoyable and unique, and I’ve never actually seen any art like it before. The tour made me question what art really is. In my own opinion, I don’t think many of the displays are actually “art,” or at least the type of art that normally comes to mind. For example, the “10-Hour Flux Clock,” with 10 hours instead of 12, is just a clock that someone reinvented. Anyone could have done that, but Robert Watts took action and did. He went against conventional art and, like all the Fluxus artists, did something new. Most of the art found in the exhibit was odd to me and made me question what the artists were trying to convey. It also made me realize that ANYTHING can be art. My favorite part of the whole exhibit was the event scores because viewers can interpret them however they choose and allow their imaginations to run wild without anyone telling them they are wrong. I also thought the “Fluxbox Containing God” was a very thought-provoking piece. We look at God as beyond our reach and I think Ben Vautier exposed that well. Our tour guide said, when a person is given the box, they tend to examine and then try to open it, but are unable to because it is glued shut. I think it relates to our relationship with God, because although we do have a connection to him, we can never fully understand, or see him. I also thought the “Revealing Fact” was interesting. It had a thermometer in the middle of a box and the words “good person” and “bad person” on opposite sides. I’m not sure what Jock Reynolds was trying to express, but I believe that the temperature on the thermometer would determine whether or not you were a good or bad person. All of the artwork I looked at, I interpreted in my own way, which I thought made the experience more fun. Instead of just looking at the artwork, the viewer is able to become a part of its meaning. I think art can often be boring, but Fluxus brought on a new set of emotions. Although it is different and unconventional, and some of it doesn’t look like art at all, it makes you think and question many things. I like the fact that the Fluxus artists did something new and didn’t follow the same, mundane rules of typical art.
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