Keith Buchholz and I met for the first time at event called Wall Ball, a fundraiser for a non-profit I work with, the South City Open Studios and Gallery (SCOSAG). That night I was wearing a red gingham apron while painting, Keith remarked that I would fit-in well with his kitchen. I laughed. Keith and his partner Paul have become good friends of mine. In many ways Keith is like an older brother, we often have weekly coffee dates in his apartment talking about art and sharing ideas. We became better friends this past year while in a fellowship program through the Regional Arts Commission this past year called CAT (Community Artist Training). Saint Louisians love their acronyms. He has contributed a set of poetry cards for SPORE.
Keith is a Fluxus artist and runs a publication known as Fluxus St Louis and Art Farm. Keith's blog is occasionally updated with shows and events. You can see a collection of his work online at the Flux Museum site. Keith will be in New York on September 11th for Flux Fest (see flier).
Fluxus is similar in spirit to the earlier art movement of Dada, emphasizing the concept of anti-art and taking jabs at the seriousness of modern art. Fluxus artists used their minimal performances to highlight their perceived connections between everyday objects and art. Fluxus art is often presented in "events" consisted of a minimal instruction, opening the events to accidents and other unintended effects.
The Fluxus artistic philosophy can be expressed as a synthesis of four key factors that define the majority of Fluxus work:
- 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 is fun. Humour has always been an important element in Fluxus.
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