Art & Art History
Influx
Artists: Susan Abelson, Skip Arnold, Nayland Blake, Adam Brooks, Gary Cannone, Meg Cranston, DeFlux Collective, Guerrilla Girls, Perry Hoberman, Charles LaBelle, Liz Lamer, Curtis Mitchell, Ben Pranger, Allan Wexler, and more
Influx, a group exhibition of works by more than forty artists, is on display as part of Fluxus Festival Chicago 1993. The exhibition presents installations, objects, books, mail art, film, video, and audience participatory projects by contemporary artists whose work demonstrates a Fluxus sensibility.
The Fluxus movement left a legacy that is felt by many artists working today, but unlike Fluxus artists of the ’60s and ’70s, the artists in this show share neither movement nor manifesto. Rather, the commonality of the artists presented in Influx is the result of a shared sensibility akin to that of the original Fluxus artists. The manifestation of both groups’ sensibilities can be found in the political edge of the work, its wit and humor, a connection between art and everyday life, a use of the aleatoric, ephemerality, and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Both share a playful consideration of serious issues and challenge the boundaries of art, working to expose the hierarchical structures of art classification. In addition, both generations bait their audiences into acknowledging a generalized cynicism toward the arts.
Some of the artists in the exhibition include Susan Abelson, Skip Arnold, Nayland Blake, Adam Brooks, Gary Cannone, Meg Cranston, DeFlux Collective, Guerrilla Girls, Perry Hoberman, Charles LaBelle, Liz Lamer, Curtis Mitchell, Ben Pranger, and Allan Wexler.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Hannah B. Higgins presents a public lecture at Gallery 400 on the influence of the Fluxus movement, with a follow-up context talk by Randy Alexander on works in the exhibition. An evening of performances and audience participatory events titled Automat, produced in conjunction with WhiteWalls and N.A.M.E., also accompanies the show, along with a program of music, video, and film works shown in the gallery itself. As part of Fluxus Festival Chicago, other related exhibitions are also taking place around the city.
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
Influx is supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art and Design’s College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning.
Fluxus Festival Chicago 1993 is a collaborative production of Gallery 400, the School of Art and Design and the College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University; the Arts Club of Chicago; and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and was partly supported by the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Air transportation services are provided by American Airlines, the official carrier of the Fluxus Festival Chicago 1993.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Artner, Alan G. “Making Something from Nothing: Freewheeling Fluxus movement illuminated the art of the everyday.” Chicago Tribune, Nov. 14, 1993, Section 13, p. 14.
Schelewitz, Jenny. “UIC Takes Part in Chicago Fluxus Festival 1993.” Chicago Flame, Nov. 9, 1993, Inferno section, p. 5.
PRESS RELEASE
Influx
Gallery 400
Chicago, IL
November 1–December 4, 1993
Opening Reception: November 3, 1993, 4–7pm
Lecture: November 15, 1993, 6pm
Performances at Alumni Hall: November 17, 1993, 7–10pm
Performances at Gallery 400: November 30, 1993, 6pm
Influx, a group exhibition of works by more than forty artists, will be on display at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Gallery 400 November 1 through December 4, 1993, as part of FLUXUS FESTIVAL CHICAGO 1993.
According to Gallery 400 director Karen Indeck, the Influx exhibition will present installation, objects, and object multiples, books, mail art, film, video, and audience participatory projects by contemporary artists whose work demonstrates a Fluxus sensibility.
“The Fluxus movement left a legacy that is felt by many artists working today, but unlike Fluxus artists of the ’60s and ’70s, the artists in this show share neither movement nor manifesto. Rather, the commonality of the artists presented in Influx is a result of a shared sensibility akin to that of the original Fluxus artists,” she said.
The manifestation of both groups’ sensibilities can be found in the political edge of the work, its wit and humor, a connection between art and everyday life, a use of the aleatoric, ephemerality, and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Both share a playful consideration of serious issues, and have challenged the boundaries of art, working to expose the hierarchical structures of art classification. In addition, both generations bait their audiences into acknowledging a generalized cynicism toward the arts.
Some of the artists in the exhibition include Susan Abelson, Skip Arnold, Nayland Blake, Adam Brooks, Gary Cannone, Meg Cranston, The DeFlux Collective, Guerrilla Girls, Perry Hoberman, Charles LaBelle, Liz Lamer, Curtis Mitchell, Ben Pranger, and Allan Wexler.
Hannah B Higgins will present a public lecture at Gallery 400 on the influence of the Fluxus movement, with a follow-up context talk on works in the exhibition by Randy Alexander at 6:00pm, November 15, 1993.
An evening of performances and audience participatory events titled Automat, produced in conjunction with WhiteWalls and N.A.M.E., is scheduled for November 17 from 7:00–10:00pm in the Great Space in Alumni Hall at 400 South Peoria Street.
An evening of music, video, and film works is scheduled for November 30 at 6:00pm in the gallery.
FLUXUS FESTIVAL CHICAGO 1993 FluxBus Guided Tour will be December 4. For further information on the bus tour, phone (312) 787-3997. Reservations required.
FLUXUS FESTIVAL CHICAGO 1993 is a project of Gallery 400, the School of Art and Design and the College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University, the Arts Club of Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was partly supported by the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Air transportation services provided by American Airlines, the official carrier of the FLUXUS FESTIVAL CHICAGO 1993.
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
Susan Abelson
Ear, 1993
Performance
Simon Anderson
100% Recycled Idea, 1993
Installation (paper)
Michael Arata
Disposable Drawings, 1990
Mixed media, 20 x 11 x 4 in.
Dot to Dot Drawings, 1993
Photocopies, 11 x 8 1/2 in.
Skip Arnold
Appendage, 1990–91
Photographic documentation of activity, 8 x 10 in.
Closet Corner, 1987
Photographic documentation of activity, each 10 x 8 in.
Gargoyle, 1992
Photographic documentation of activity, 10 x 8 in.
Shoot Me, 1992
Photographic documentation of activity, 10 x 8 in.
Study for A Sculpture in a Fountain, 1988–89
Photographic documentation of activity, 8 x 10 in.
Beuyscouts
Felt Condom
Mixed media, 6 1/2 x 4 x 1 in.
Foucault Text
Mixed media, each 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 1 in.
Grab Bags, 1992
Mixed media, each 9 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 1 in.
Piss Bush
Mixed media, 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1 in.
Nayland Blake
Butterfly, 1992–93
Installation
Robert Blanchon
Untitled (Robert), 1993
C-prints and strats, dimensions variable
Adam Brooks
Street Signs, 1988–93
Mixed media, 8 x 8 in.
Angela Bulloch
Rule Series, 1993
Photocopies, 11 x 8 1/2 in.
Ken Butler
Bat/Brush/Viola, 1992
Mixed media, 27 x 9 x 4 in.
Norman Colp
Absence of Malice (for Richard Serra), 1989–90
Black-and-white photographs, 4 x 6 in. folded
Meg Cranston and Chris Wilder
Ives/Duchamp/Cage: Meg Cranston and Chris Wilder Piano, Mock-Up for Album Cover and Liner Notes, 1993
Bubble jet photocopy, 12 1/4 x 98 in.
DEfLUXE Collective
5 Bus Events, 1993
5 x 5 x 1 in.
DEfLUXE AIR, 1993
Mixed media, 5 in. diameter x 3 in.
DEfLUXE Authority Kit, 1993
Mixed media, 5 x 5 x 1 in.
DEfLUXE Sampler, 1993
Mixed media, 5 x 8 x 2 in.
DEfLUXE Street Theater, 1993
Mixed media, 5 x 9 x 2 in.
Michael DeLia
4 Bags with the Sound of Their Own Consumption, 1993
Mixed media, 5 x 9 x 20 in.
Tom Denlinger
Strips, 1993
Photo emulsion, ceramic, and cardboard, 4 1/2 x 19 x 11 in.
David Dunlap
D.A.D. (NBC #2), 1986
Acrylic on wood, fadio, notebooks, and cross by Albe Jean Dexhimer, 42 x 36 x 12 in.
Tom Friedman
Untitled, 1993
Installation, spaghetti
Karen Giusti
Pope Soap on a Rope, 1993
Soap and rope, 23 x 4 1/2 x 3/4 in.
Kenneth Sean Golden
Handkerchiefs, 1993
Cyanotype on fabric, each 16 x 15 in.
Kenneth Goldsmith
Oh No Yoko Ono, 1992
Ink on paper, 53 x 41 1/4 in.
Ilona Granet
Street Sign from the Emily Post Series, 1993
Plastic, 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.
Greg Green
Suspicious Looking Package I, 1991
Mixed media, 5 x 11 1/2 x 5 in.
Guerrilla Girls
Definition of a Hypocrite
Printed matter, 17 x 22 in.
Ethics for Art Museums
Printed matter, 17 x 22 in.
Perry Hoberman
Windshield, 1992
Mixed media, 15 x 24 x 7 in.
Anna Holmer
Pharmacia Poetica, 1987–93
Mixed media, 26 x 36 x 10 in.
Robin Kahn
W.P.M. 1992, 1992
Wood, fabric, and thread, 6 3/4 in. diameter x 1/2 in., 4 1/2 in. diameter x 1/2 in.
Charles LaBelle
Colonies, 1992
Mixed media, 38 x 35 x 35 in.
Colonies (Red and Black), 1992
Mixed media, 4 x 16 in. diameter
Dan Lander
Motphiko, 1988
Audio cassette, Polaroids, and paper, 15 x 8 1/2 in.
Sean Landers
Cartoon (Pay Dirt), 1992
Ink on paper, 3 1/2 x 6 in.
Dennis Laszuk
Things for You to Steal, 1993
Mixed media, 36 x 48 x 10 in.
Leone and MacDonald
Nipple Napkin Rings, 1993
Iron, each 3 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.
Mary Lum
Final Results of Psychoanalytic Treatment, 1991
Printed matter, 7 x 4 1/4 x 1/4 in.
Lou Mallozzi
Ha Vent, 1993
Audio installation
Tony Mendoza
I Attended 5 Years, 1987
Black-and-white photograph, 20 x 16 in.
Michael Merchant and Andrew Norton
Remote Control, 1993
Mixed media, 12 x 9 x 3 in.
Dan Mills
Record: Simple Museum for Birds (Side A), Record: Bird Wunderkammern (Side B), 1993
Collage on record and jacket cover, 12 in. diameter and 12 1/4 x 12 1/4 in.
Curtis Mitchell
Untitled (Subway Stripe), 1990
Dirt, cement, and subway stripe, 3 1/2 x 34 x 34 in.
Maurizio Nannucci
There Is No Reason to Believe Art Exists, 1990
Printed laminate, 3 7/10 x 2 3/8 in.
Lois Nesbitt
Trespassing, 1992
Mixed media, 54 x 101 x 1/2 in.
Roxie Paine
Drone, 1991
Blowers, steel, glass, and water
Roland Politi
Tuggies
Plastic, 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 4 in.
Ben Pranger
Parachute, 1992
Mixed media, 90 x 60 x 36 in.
Karen Reimer
Red/Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple/Black/White Food, 1993
Mixed media, 10 x 32 x 6 in.
Ginger Roberts
Poise, November 3, 1993
Performance and documentation
Allen Ruppersburg
Preview, 1988
Serigraphs, ten prints, each 25 1/5 x 15 in.
Kenny Scharf
One-of-a-Kind T-Shirts, 1993
Silkscreen on fabric, various sizes
Christopher Schiff
Living in the Past: An experiment in organic form, 1990
Text on paper and audio component, 11 x 8 x 1 in.
Ned Schwartz
Pay Pay Pay, 1993
Mixed media, 36 x 30 x 6 in.
Sarah Schwartz
Rubber Bands
Rubber bands and ink, 4 1/2 x 6 x 1 in.
Soap Sets, 1993
Soap, wood, and rubber band, 7 x 4 x 1 1/4 in.
Elisha Shapiro
Nihilist Calendar, 1994
Printed matter, 17 x 11 in.
Tony Tasset
Untitled (Performance Photograph), 1992
Color photograph, 4 1/2 x 6 3/4 in.
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Untitled (Who Comes First), 1992
Installation
Brendan de Vallance
Appliance Trading Cards, 1992
Printed matter, 4 1/2 x 3 in.
Marshall Weber
Closet History, 1991
Installation, documentation of performance
Lint man, 1992
Artist’s belly button lint, 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.
Andrew Wells
Real Stuff, 1993
Mixed media, each 10 x 5 in.
Allan Wexler
Ink Leak Table, 1990
Mixed media, 60 x 22 x 36 in.
B. Wurtz
Untitled (from the Lock Series), 1986
Wood and lock, 8 x 20 3/4 x 6 in.
Karen Indeck has been the Curator and Director of Gallery 400 and the Visiting Artists-In-Residence Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 1986. Shows that she has previously curated include NATURE/nature (1990), The Billboard Project (1992), Laughing Matters (1993). Indeck received a BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Artist Sara Hartland-Rowe was born in 1958 in Uganda. She is well known for her pictorial investigations of the human condition in broad allegorical narrative paintings and drawings, and her experimentations with alternative forms to the rectilinear canvas such as large scale site-specific wall paintings, multipanel installations, and “sewn” drawings. Her art summons the ghosts of history to structure and bolster our artistic experience by telling stories; sometimes well known, sometimes not, accessible through the here and now. Hartland-Rowe studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston between 1986 and 1987. In 1990 she received a BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. In 1993 she received an MFA at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
PRINT COLLATERAL
Poster: Fluxus Festival
Flyer: Influx