GEORGE MACIUNAS | 1931-1978

‘Dreamer. Child. Utopian, Fascist, Christ, Democrat, Madman. A realist whose realism always needed another kind of reality. (His conceptions of reality never coincided with the accepted reality.) He was beautiful, foolish, dogmatic, charming. Impossible.’ -Milan Knizak

Lithuanian-born American artist

Founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers.

Fleed Lithuania to avoid arrest by advancing Russian Army in 1944, went to Germany and then Long Island, NY, in 1948.

Studied graphic design at Cooper Union, then architecture at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and landed on art history at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts.

Beginning of 1960s, influenced by John Cage’s Experimental Music Composition classes at the New School for Social Research and became increasingly interested in eastern philosophy.

Fluxus was an avant-garde movement that mocked previous art traditions; had a view of intermedia, that art should not be something put on a pedestal or commercial; wanted to blur lines between art with reality.

In 1963 composed the first Fluxus Manifesto, which encourages readers to:

"...purge the world of bourgeois sickness, ‘intellectual’, professional & commercialized culture ... PROMOTE A REVOLUTIONARY FLOOD AND TIDE IN ART, ... promote NON ART REALITY to be grasped by all peoples, not only critics, dilettantes and professionals ... FUSE the cadres of cultural, social & political revolutionaries into united front & action."

Attended composition classes of the electronic composer Richard Maxfield at the New School for Social Research in New York and there met many of the future participants of Fluxus.

In 1961 opened the AG Gallery, which only lasted a few months due to lack of funds.

Civilian graphic designer at a U.S. Air Force base in Wiesbaden, Germany, later that year. First Fluxus Festival held here. Scripted actions performed by Fluxus artists, interpreting others’ works. Interpreted Philip Corner’s Piano Activities – scratch, rub, strike, drag objects - destroyed a piano completely, which was on TV because scandalous.

Back to NY in 1963 to establish the official Fluxus Headquarters. He tried to make Fluxus into a corporation, but that was unsuccessful, like all his business ventures.

Converted tumbledown buildings into lofts and living space, pioneered Soho as a haven for artists.

Developed cancer of pancreas and liver in 1977. Died on May 9 of 1978 in Boston. With three months to live, married friend and companion, poet Billie Hutching. Performed a Fluxwedding in a friend’s loft in SoHo – bride and groom traded clothing.

Maciunas was the one who put a label on this group of artists that liked each other and each other’s works.

Reserved ‘his strictest judgments for those he saw as self-promoting egoists who played into the hands of ‘High Art’ barons.’ – Larry Miller

His death freed Fluxus – he was a difficult and fickle personality at times.

Example of work:
Piano Piece #13