Robert Crise, Jr., was an undergrad art student at Kent State (Ohio) when I
met him in the late 70s. He was doing a bunch of archiving/database
projects as part of his art work at the time. I got interested in this
because it seemed to me that Robert was an artist using science/data
collection processes and I fancied myself (a psychology grad student at the
time) as being a derailed social scientist who was interested in trying to
use research methods and forms to do creative/"arty" things. We hooked up
and, among other things, started "Fluxus Midwest" (originally "Fluxus West
Midwest"). Bob had known Don Boyd since he was a kid (Don had been friends
with his folks, I believe)...so we felt we had some "official" connection in
starting a Fluxus sub-collective. But I diverge (and it sounds like a
Fluxus Indian story, anyway, doesn't it?)...
Found object archive
Robert spent a lot of time picking up objects he found on the ground, in
buildings, etc. These found objects were often broken or damaged. He
would dutifully document each finding on a "data sheet" recording the
location, time, and description of the object (categorizing materials,
colors, etc.). He would carefully bag the found object in an appropriate
size clear plastic bag stapled shut with a cardboard card (like those used
for hanging retail items). He assembled a vast archive of these objects
which gave him the freedom to construct different displays along different
dimensions and object attributes. I remember one visually pleasing display
in which all the objects were pink or had something pink in them. These
"pink" objects were displayed in neat rows on an art gallery wall, each
bagged object accompanied by its data sheet (which had been copied onto pink
paper). Sometimes he just displayed or presented the data sheets. If you
have a lot of objects linked to a large database (e.g., a categorization
scheme with many attributes) then there are lots of games you can play with
the objects themselves, the data-base itself, or both. This project
demonstrated what has become increasingly apparent--that the data-base can
be more interesting, powerful, or valuable than the "objects" themselves.
Robert's found object archive still feels to me like it was the science of
taxonomy gone-fluxus.
Future Fossils
One of Robert's other big "data" projects was the creation, burial, and
archiving of "future fossils." He would encase objects (larger found
objects, often broken, damaged, or used) in plastic resin blocks. Over
several years he had these objects buried all over the world. Some he
buried himself, and many others were buried by a network or friends and
associates. For example, an old 50s type radio buried on a mountain in
Australia. When he learned I was going to San Francisco one time, he
enlisted me: I planted one of his future fossils at the edge of the Pacific
ocean by throwing it off the middle of the Golden Gate bridge. There was a
very heavy emphasis on the data-base in this project, too. He carefully
documented what was buried where by whom and when. He created an archive of
data sheets, maps, photos and text descriptions of objects and locations.
Sometimes he would display an object and his plans for where it was to be
buried. Other times he would display just the archival data. The data
archive was, in the long run, more central than the objects.
So what ever happened to Robert Crise, Jr? When he was an MFA student in
sculpture at Cranbrook in the early 80s, he had the opportunity to meet Jon
Hendricks who was often coming to Detroit working on cataloging the
Silverman Fluxus collection. Robert and I were working on The Fluxus Toy
Catalog at the time. Jon Hendricks suggested to Robert that "Fluxus was
dead," that continuing to use the "Fluxus" label would present few
advantages and many disadvantages for a young artist seeking professional
respect and commercial success. (i.e., Silverman wouldn't be buying any of
Robert's fluxus stuff). Robert seemed to buy this "advice" and began to
distance himself from "dead" Fluxus. I, of course, continue to believe that
Jon Hendrick's assertion that Fluxus is dead, was a self-serving strategy
for (very narrowly) defining Fluxus as the stuff Silverman collected, that
Jon was archiving and that they were both promoting.
Last time I saw Robert was a little more than a year ago in Detroit. He was
having a one man show at an interesting urban gallery. Mostly large,
stenciled spray paintings and some sculpture. You can see some photos at
http://www.nutscape.com/crise/ . When I talked to him he told me that Gil
Silverman had been by earlier to look at his stuff. Still wasn't buying.
I think things would be better if Robert Crise hadn't left fluxus and if Gil
Silverman and Jon Hendricks had skipped over it.
