> Nevermind: I found it: " Pathetic leeches. Just like you > feed on the corpse of FLUXUS."
Bertrand Clavez replies: So, in fact, at my small level and scale, I more have the feeling to feed
the Fluxus corps (without e) than the contrary,
Aha! I think this is a very important point, that Bertrand Clavez is making here. I'd like to jump on it. I think he is right and speaks for many of us "serious fans" of Fluxus (Fluxus in this case meaning "the original group of Fluxus artists and anything they are still doing under the Fluxus banner). Many serious fans of Fluxus have wound up giving more to Fluxus than probably they've gotten back (this is especially true for those of us who aren't artists and don't have a professional stake in the art world). This isn't a complaint because most fans (of anything) are quite happy to contribute...a gallery show, a website, street-corner proselytizing, cheer leading, assistance...it's all more a labor or love than a delusion of grandeur. This is not to say that the serious fan doesn't also hope to get some acknowledgement of their efforts or some feeling of "being a part of" so that they don't feel like a complete chump. On the other hand, I also understand that fans can be a gigantic pain in the ass offering little, hoping for a lot, and being dangerously fickle.And all this does not mean that I don't take something from what they bring : as any fluxus fan, I'm greatly fed by fluxus art, and my deep pleasure to see their work and attend/organize their concerts is still full and present.
Here's my assertion about many of the original Fluxus folks who are still alive: they are a contentious lot (among themselves and with others) who have done a very poor job of organizing or harnessing the (external) admiration, energy, and resources of those who have come and are still coming to Fluxus. This has actually hurt Fluxus. Their suspicion of outsiders and their fear of being ripped off (as well as internal personal/political struggles) have kept many of them from recognizing and tapping into the goodwill and positive energy that still flows to Fluxus. It's like the last magical scene in the movie "Field of Dreams" where a stream of people are suddenly arriving at the baseball field...only in the current Fluxus version of this movie the Fluxus folk have baracaded the drive to the farm and are sneeringly turning people away with the question "What do YOU want?!" This Fluxus may not be dead. But it's pulse is weakening...and its still refusing help. This is kind of sad.
My assertion doesn't apply to everyone in Fluxus or to everyone equally. Dick Higgins, Ken Friedman, and Emily Harvey have been, in my experience, the most open to embracing and encouraging serious, positive outside Fluxus energy. Dick is dead. Eric Anderson and others have attempted to undermine Ken by questioning his Fluxus authenticity and casting him as being an unwanted self-serving outsider (after he has given an incredible amount of time, life, and energy to promoting Fluxus for the last 35+ years). Ken also has extremely high standards and a fairly narrow definition of Fluxus and does not suffer just anyone declaring themselves to be Fluxus very well...although he is the ONLY Fluxus artist I know of who has ever organized a show of non-original-group Fluxus artists and promoted their work ("Young Fluxus" in Washington, DC, sometime in the 80s?). Emily Harvey is probably the biggest and most gracious fan of Fluxus, who understands what it's like to be a Fluxus fan. At the same time Emily is connected to the Fluxus inner circle through friendships and because she also has something valuable to offer the Fluxus folk (exhibitions in New York and Venice), and has done so unselfishly for 20+ years (when she probably could have had more success and fun surfing the latest art world trends).
FLUXLIST is a serious fan of Fluxus. We may be treated like orphans, but we can still use our energy, talents, and Fluxus-admiration to do interesting, fun, and wonderful things. Like Fluxlist Box #2.
