The Photograph: Fluxus in Germany from 1962-1994

New Delhii 15th May 2008: The National Gallery of Modern Art and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan will jointly present Fluxus in Germany from 1962 - 1994 A long story with many knots. The exhibition, planned on a large scale, has first visited Mumbai in April before travelling to Delhi in May. The collaboration of the two institutions continues after showcasing in 2006 and 2007 the works of the eminent German artists Gunther Uecker and Video Art as well as Contemporary Art from Germany in 2001. Shri R.C. Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture will inaugurate the exhibition in The presence of The Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the Federal Republic of Germany Julius Georg Luy and renowned Fluxus artist Ben Patterson Ms Geeta Kapur will be the Guest of Honour.

Fluxus - in a free interpretation based on Lewis Carroll - means a long story with many knots. The roots of The Fluxus movement are to be found in the experimental directions of art in The early 20th century. Fluxus artists such as Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Robert Filliou, Nam June Paik, Gerhard Ruhm, Daniel Spoerri, and Wolf Vostell, among others have worked on and with forms of art which transcend the existing categories of art, ranging from music or language, fine arts or dance. The artist Dick Higgins coined the Term "Intermedia1' for Fluxus art works: "[...] visual poetry and poetic images, action music and musical action as well as happenings and events, provided that their concepts are committed to music, literature and visual arts.

In 1962, the first Fluxus Festival was held in the City Museum in Wiesbaden, Germany. George Maciunas, a Lithuanian artist trained in New York, had conceptualized a series of concerts under the title 'Fluxus International Festival of Most Recent Music' Germany has always played a crucial role in the growth of the Fluxus movement In the 1960s and 1970s, galleries and individual international artists made a beeline for Germany to take advantage of a climate that fostered experimentation; This period witnessed the first Fluxus festivals, performances and exhibitions. Initially, the important hubs were the German cities of Darmstadt, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Wuppertal, Wiesbaden and Berlin but then the movement spread to New York as well. Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Stockholm, Prague and Madrid also became part of the network.

Since then many art forms have emerged out of the Fluxus movement - video and media art as well as performance art. Worldwide There are art movements and individual artists who still follow the spirit of Fluxus.

Prof. Rajeev Lochan, Director, National Gallery of Modern Art feels: - Ideas can be hypothetical but they need to be governed by their own logic, have their own philosophical background and in turn derive their own meaning. The resonating impact of Fluxus can be certainly seen and felt in the experimental works of several contemporary Indian artists utilizing inter disciplinary modes of expression It is indeed surprising to note that a movement (hat provided such diversity of thought and freedom of expression was not accorded the relevance and importance that it has deserved..........much to our dismay. The National Gallery of Modern Art is extremely proud to collaborate with the Goethe-Institut /Max Mueller Bhavan to bring this extremely important and historical thought with its pioneering artists to our country.

To narrate, describe and present the story of Fluxus, the ifa exhibition documents more than 300 original works by Fluxus artists and their friends The works - objects, music scores, graphic works, installations, publications - are on display for the first Time in India. The exhibition also records the main Fluxus concerts That have been held in Germany. In addition to prints and photographic documents, rare films and manifold sound examples from the Fluxus music will be presented. The exhibition will also include Fluxus films released by the Fluxus initiator George Maciunas and radio plays.

The artists on show include Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Ben Patterson, Nam June Paik, Dieter Roth, Wolf Vostell, Daniel Spoerri and others.

The Photograph: Fluxus in Germany from 1962-1994
A long story with many knots

Künstler: Joseph Beuys, John Cage, George Maciunas, Nam June Paik, Benjamin Patterson, Dieter Roth, Wolf Vostell, Daniel Spoerri ...