Monday, March 28, 2011
Party Blowers Test
Archie's latest playful test for his A level art project. His art teacher thinks he's wasting his time but I think it's great! Made from 200 party blowers and leaf blower.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thanks for the suggestion Ruud! I should spend more time here. I get the best mail in Texas (I'm pretty sure) and it would be a great idea to share it. I've slowed down a little and I was never that fast, but I'm easily distracted by my groovy grandson who just turned 6. How did that happen??? Seems like he just got here...although sometimes it seems like he's always been with us. Fluxus Bucks still flow (sometimes trickle) and my heartbeat quickens when I see mail in my post office box...and I loved being at a Fluxfest in January 2011. Good stuff.
Monday, March 21, 2011
FLUXUS MANIFESTO FOR THE 21st CENTURY
FLUXUS MANIFESTO FOR THE 21st CENTURY
Allan Revich, March 21, 2011
Once again a subset of The Fluxus Establishment (as if there could be such a thing as a Fluxus establishment!) have got their knickers in knots about the idea of new artists calling themselves Fluxus and/or calling their activities Fluxus. This has happened before. It might happen again. But I doubt it.
Today's Fluxus artists continue to respect the work and legacy of Fluxus 1.0, but we no longer feel that there is a requirement for acceptance by the remaining vestiges of that generation. It is no longer a matter of whether or not THEY accept US. The 21st Century Fluxboat has already left the dock. We would love to have the original group of Fluxus artists on board with us. In fact it would be an honor. But the boat is sailing, and it's not going to wait at the dock any longer. Those who don't jump on board will simply be left behind.
There are no more questions for the new Fluxus artists to answer. We ARE Fluxus. We welcome the support of those who preceded us, but we don't need their approval. The only remaining question for those of the original generation of Fluxus is, "Do you want to be on the boat, or do you want to be left behind on the dock?" We have room for you. We will welcome you with open arms. We will give you all of the respect and admiration that you deserve. But we will not wait for you.
This is what Fluxus is today. It is pretty much the same as what Fluxus was, but the old actors have been replaced by new ones. And behind our generation Fluxus artists there is already a new generation ready to displace us. We welcome them.
FLUXUS TODAY:
Fluxus today is built on the solid foundations of Fluxus yesterday. The artists may be new, but the work they are making is as much a part of Fluxus tradition as the work that came before. Here is what Ken Friedman wrote in 2002. A version of his essay was first published in 1989 by the Emily Harvey Gallery as "Fluxus and Company".
We, the Fluxus artists of the 21st century have taken these words to heart. We are Fluxus and we are making Fluxus work. Friedman, building on previous work by Dick Higgins, described Fluxus as a "laboratory characterized by twelve ideas".
FOUR FLUXUS PRINCIPLES
I have used ideas from Friedman, Owen Smith, Maciuanas, and Higgins, along with direct observation of Fluxus work past and present, to create an even more concise set of Four Fluxus Principles:
As with Friedman's 12 ideas, my four principles are flexible guidelines, not commandments carved in stone. They are meant to help people understand and work with Fluxus, not to confine them or restrain their creativity.
We, the Fluxus artists of the 21st century, know that we owe George Maciunas, Dick Higgins, Ken Friedman, and all of the original Fluxus artists a debt of gratitude for building the ship that we are now sailing on. Anyone, anywhere, is welcome aboard. Just remember that the ship has already started to sail.
Allan Revich
March 21, 2011
Allan Revich, March 21, 2011
Once again a subset of The Fluxus Establishment (as if there could be such a thing as a Fluxus establishment!) have got their knickers in knots about the idea of new artists calling themselves Fluxus and/or calling their activities Fluxus. This has happened before. It might happen again. But I doubt it.
Today's Fluxus artists continue to respect the work and legacy of Fluxus 1.0, but we no longer feel that there is a requirement for acceptance by the remaining vestiges of that generation. It is no longer a matter of whether or not THEY accept US. The 21st Century Fluxboat has already left the dock. We would love to have the original group of Fluxus artists on board with us. In fact it would be an honor. But the boat is sailing, and it's not going to wait at the dock any longer. Those who don't jump on board will simply be left behind.
There are no more questions for the new Fluxus artists to answer. We ARE Fluxus. We welcome the support of those who preceded us, but we don't need their approval. The only remaining question for those of the original generation of Fluxus is, "Do you want to be on the boat, or do you want to be left behind on the dock?" We have room for you. We will welcome you with open arms. We will give you all of the respect and admiration that you deserve. But we will not wait for you.
This is what Fluxus is today. It is pretty much the same as what Fluxus was, but the old actors have been replaced by new ones. And behind our generation Fluxus artists there is already a new generation ready to displace us. We welcome them.
FLUXUS TODAY:
Fluxus today is built on the solid foundations of Fluxus yesterday. The artists may be new, but the work they are making is as much a part of Fluxus tradition as the work that came before. Here is what Ken Friedman wrote in 2002. A version of his essay was first published in 1989 by the Emily Harvey Gallery as "Fluxus and Company".
...Emmett Williams once wrote, "Fluxus is what Fluxus does - but no one knows whodunit." This concise description makes two radical statements. The statement that no one knows "who done" Fluxus rejects the idea of Fluxus as a specific group of people. It identifies Fluxus with a frame of action and defines Fluxus as a cumulative, aggregate of Fluxus activities over the past forty years or so. While Emmett is famous for playful conundrums, he may not agree with this reading of his text. Dick Higgins did.
Dick explicitly rejected a notion that limited Fluxus to a specific group of people who came together at a specific time and place. Dick wrote, "Fluxus is not a moment in history, or an art movement. Fluxus is a way of doing things, a tradition, and a way of life and death."
For Dick, for George Maciunas, and for me, Fluxus is more valuable as an idea and a potential for social change than as a specific group of people or a collection of objects.
We, the Fluxus artists of the 21st century have taken these words to heart. We are Fluxus and we are making Fluxus work. Friedman, building on previous work by Dick Higgins, described Fluxus as a "laboratory characterized by twelve ideas".
We live and work under the umbrella of these twelve ideas.
1. globalism,
2. the unity of art and life,
3. intermedia,
4. experimentalism,
5. chance,
6. playfulness,
7. simplicity,
8. implicativeness,
9. exemplativism,
10. specificity,
11. presence in time, and
12. musicality
FOUR FLUXUS PRINCIPLES
I have used ideas from Friedman, Owen Smith, Maciuanas, and Higgins, along with direct observation of Fluxus work past and present, to create an even more concise set of Four Fluxus Principles:
- Fluxus is an attitude. It is not a movement or a style.
- Fluxus is intermedia. Fluxus creators like to see what happens when different media intersect. They use found and everyday objects, sounds, images, and texts to create new combinations of objects, sounds, images, and texts.
- Fluxus works are simple. The art is small, the texts are short, and the performances are brief.
- Fluxus should be fun. Humor has always been an important element in Fluxus.
As with Friedman's 12 ideas, my four principles are flexible guidelines, not commandments carved in stone. They are meant to help people understand and work with Fluxus, not to confine them or restrain their creativity.
We, the Fluxus artists of the 21st century, know that we owe George Maciunas, Dick Higgins, Ken Friedman, and all of the original Fluxus artists a debt of gratitude for building the ship that we are now sailing on. Anyone, anywhere, is welcome aboard. Just remember that the ship has already started to sail.
Allan Revich
March 21, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Fukushima,Radiation, Fear & Cancer
Japan : Radiation, Fear & Cancer "Do not go outside”
End Quote Yukio Edano Chief Cabinet Secretary
"Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health," said the chief cabinet secretary.
He told residents: "Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight.
...
"Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang your laundry indoors."
The crisis has been prompted by last Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan.
On Tuesday morning, reactor 2 became the third to explode in four days at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
A fire also briefly broke out at reactor 4, and is believed to have caused radioactive leaks.
Reactor 4 had been shut down before the quake for maintenance, but its spent nuclear fuel rods are still stored on the site.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said they were closely watching the remaining two reactors at the plant, five and six, as they had begun overheating slightly.
He said cooling seawater was being pumped into reactors one and three - which were returning to normal - and into reactor two, which remained unstable
Japan also announced a 30-km no-fly zone around the plant to prevent planes spreading the radiation further afield.
After Tuesday's blast, radiation dosages of up to 400 millisieverts per hour were recorded at the site
.In a televised address, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: "There is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out."
RADIATION AND CANCER
* Experts say even small radiation doses, as low as 100 millisieverts, can slightly raise cancer risk
* Exposure to 1,000 millisieverts is estimated to increase risk of fatal cancer by about 5%
* Leukaemia, a bone marrow cancer, is the most common radiation-induced cancer
* Others include cancer of lung, skin, thyroid, breast and stomach; can take years to develop
* Half of those exposed to between 4,000-5,000 millisiverts die in a month
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12740843
-visual poem by Litsa Spathi
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Battle for Libya
6 March 2011 Last updated at 04:23 GMT
Battle for Libya: Gaddafi troops engage Zawiya rebels
Col Gaddafi's heavy armour is poised outside the town of Zawiya
* Eyewitness: Tripoli in fear
* Global diplomacy
Fierce fighting has rocked Libya's Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, as rebels repelled government efforts to retake the key city.
Pro-government forces were pushed out of the city centre in heavy fighting on Saturday morning, but regrouped for a fresh assault.
Early on Sunday, heavy gunfire was heard in the capital.
Rebels fighting Col Muammar Gaddafi have taken control of the port of Ras Lanuf to the east of Tripoli.
The rebels have pushed further west towards Sirte, Col Gaddafi's heavily guarded hometown, and captured the town of Bin Jawad, 160km (100 miles) from Sirte.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12654670
-visual poem by Litsa Spathi
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Allan Revich and Reid Wood by Cecil Touchon
Monday, February 28, 2011
He Is no Longer One of Us'l
He Is no Longer One of Us'
Post-Gadhafi Era Begins in Eastern Libya2011/02/28
As opposition forces put Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi under increasing pressure, the post-Gadhafi era has already begun in the eastern part of the country. Victorious rebels are turning to the task of governing, but no one knows what will replace the despot...'s system. By SPIEGEL Staff.
A young man named Hussam, a 26-year-old with a Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder, controls access to liberated Libya. Passports? What for? Hussam is more interested in finding out how someone entering the country feels about this enormously important event in his life. "What do you think about our revolution?" he asks.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,748033,00.html
- visual poem by Litsa Spathi
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
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