In Latin fluxus means "to flow", while the English word flux can also be translated as "leak", or "to flow". For the Lithuanian-American artist George Maciunas, Fluxus meant above all anti-art, a new current of heterogeneous practices and visions ready to revolutionize the privatized and museum-based art scene of the 1960s. The open movement that arose from his 1963 manifesto transformed Fluxus into a hybrid and powerful concept, at the same time synonymous with interdisciplinarity, vagueness and, above all, error. In a conversation with the scholar Marco Maria Gazzano, the artist and exponent of the Nam June Paik movement indicated the attempt to install the Atlantic telecommunication cables to connect Washington to London in 1880 as the first Fluxus event in history. As Paik recounts: “The ships were supposed to meet in the ocean and “join hands” to attach their respective cables (…) But when they were about to join, one of the two parties, I think the American one, lost its cables and the long-awaited event, vanished. Thus 4000 km of work were lost. I really consider this episode a Fluxus event: a perfection that becomes error, that turns into error. Getting to the end and having to start over.”
Now, how many times has something so said perfect needed to be started over? I think about it incessantly these days as the rehearsals are tightening and we still have one month until “Losing your Ears” but it seems insufficient! I started with a good “Fluxus”. Now I find myself dealing with my imperfections and my errors and I’m ready to start again. I have to figure out a new way of approaching the canvas because I will have more time to create the pieces than in the previous performance, and I know that every time I touch them, I will produce a video interaction too that you will be able to see and experience. It has to be perfect! But is this perfection destined for failure? And isn’t failure the synonym for moving forward? Failure is not inherently bad. On the contrary, most failures provide amazing opportunities to gain new insights about yourself or your work. And some failures even create the opportunity to be triumphant. And that’s what I want to achieve!
Here’s the event link where you can book your free drink! (It rhymes…). To access the performance area instead, you need to hire headphones with GotoBeat here. It will be a special night dedicated to art in all its forms. From projections and immersive performances to laser installations and designer clothing, Gotobeat is happy to team up with YMX x Wappart to bring to life an exceptional immersive video/audio experience on Friday, March 24th named 'Losing Your Ears'.
The featured artists (and many more TBA!): Susie Olczak, Me!, Ch2o, Vanessa Pagano, Akane
You will have wireless headphones on you, able to cancel any other sounds coming from the outside so that the combination of touch, sound, and video animation of "Losing your Ears" will create a sense of depth and dimension that you have never experienced before. By the end of the performance, you feel like you have been transported to a different world and the headphones experience will help you with it. The experience will be truly immersive and will leave you feeling both inspired and invigorated. What "Losing your Ears" is aiming for is to create a contemporary and distinct composition for every performance session engaging the viewers-listeners into a blending of all senses. With a tour starting soon, this will be a rare opportunity to catch this unique performance.
In March, I will also lead another session of “Liquid Sounds” at the SKT Gallery in Hoxton. The intuitive art-making workshop with music has been very important to me lately because I see people need it and this makes me incredibly happy. This class is shaped to encourage fun and confidence in an intuitive creative process. You’ll be directed through a series of painting exercises to pieces of music, designed to help you tune in and respond expressively as you listen. Each workshop will have a different playlist with varying types of music ranging from jazz to experimental electronic. Expect to get out of your comfort zone, and experience a new way of making art that challenges conventions and will help shake up your creative practice (or inspires you to initiate one!). Come meet other creative, open-minded people and have a blast making some art! All materials are provided and all artistic abilities are welcome. One glass of wine is included! Please, wear comfy clothes and bring your refillable cups for water or tea if you like. You can book your slot here.
I hope to see you soon, many other surprises are boiling in the pot but I will reveal them step by step.
I wish you to embrace the “fluxus” and subvert the failure! B.