Fluxus and after

Music by Marcel Duchamp 1991 Henning Christiansen John Cage in collaboration with Petr Kotik and the S. E. M. Ensemble Betrayal 1981 Compact disc, Edition Block EP record (17cm, 33RPM), screenprint on card, paper serviettes in cardboard box ed.450/500 Colection: Queensland An Galery box: 18.7 x 18.7 x 1.3cm Published by Borgen Records, Copenhagen Between 1912 and 1915, Duchamp composed two works of music and a conceptual piece which suggested a musical happening. Presenting a radical departure from anything done until that Verena Vogelzymphon/Schafe start Geigen (Verena Bird Symphony/Sheep instead of Violins) 1991 time, Duchamp's music, like his art, anticipated and exemplified the notion that the arts were for all to create, not justthe domain of skilled ortrained professionals. This compilation of works was Compact disc, Edition Bernd Kiuser, ed.501/800 performed by the S. E. M. Ensemble with the voice of John Cage. Colection Queensland Art Gallery Prepared box for John Cage Published by the Carl Solway Galery, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1987 Collection: Noreen Grahame, Brisbane A tribute to John Cage on his 75th birthday and coinciding with an exhibition on the composer at the Chicago International Art Fair in May 1987, this 'box' (designed in the manner of Flux-boxes) contains sheets of statements by Cage's numerous friends and colleagues. An important figure in intermedial activities in Copenhagen from the early 1960s, Henning Christiansen's work reflects one point of convergence between experimental music and Fluxus. Sharing the opinion of the new generation of X X 3W 3W Z c o m p o s e r s t h a t traditional music was at X30 3110 MW 31WX•AL 3 M X K 3M- an end, he introduced a personal version of 'minimal music' which collected unconventional sounds using animals, commonplace objects, fellow artists and, later, pre-recorded urban and industrial noises as instruments. Through the processes of reduction, repetition and variation, he produced endless combinations of simple musical structures. As a result of his direct involvement with Fluxus festivals during the 1960s, Christiansen began a series of collaborations with Joseph Beuys which continued until the latter's death some seventeen years later. The integration of visual elements into Fluxus concert performances prompted Christiansen to present his compositions in visual form as well. From this point on, the graphic aspects of the score assumed greater importance and works like Schottische Symphonie: Requiem ofArtwere produced, where an illustrated score elaborates upon the recorded sound, reflecting the artist's dual interest in the auditory and visual elements of music. In the watercolour portrait which stretches across the inside cover of the LP records, Christiansen playfully distorts his own facial features, emphasising both ears and their aural capacity. Henning Christiansen and Joseph Beuys (Germany 1921-86) Schottische Symphonie: Requiem of Art 1986/1992 2 LP records (30cm, 33RPM), watercolour, offset Edition Bernd Kluser/Jbrg Schelmann, Munich Record cover: 31.4 u 31.4cm Colection: Queensland Ann Gallery The recording was made at the College of Art, Edinburgh on 21 August 1970. It was subsequently released in 1973 and again in 1986. In 1992, a colour offset score and watercolour drawing by Christiansen were added to a number of the 1986 LPs. Extending his Fluxus productions beyond manuscripts, recordings and concert performances, Christiansen also produced editioned art-boxes which like Flux-kits contained a humorous selection of apparently unrelated objects. Emphasising the intermedial nature of his work, Betraya/functions to involve the eye, the ears, feeling and thoughts.