Jonas Mekas, Jurgis Machyunas
St. Petersburg, The Hermitage, Main Headquarters, Palace Square, 2
21.09.2013 - 03.11.2013
21.09.2013 - 03.11.2013
FLUXUS: Russian Atlases, a singular exhibition that will bring FLUXUS works held by the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center in Vilnius, Lithuania to Russia for the first time will open at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg on September 20th.
The central piece of the exhibition will be a series of maps drawn by FLUXUS founder George Maciunas that retrace the history of Russia (1953). The works of Ay-O, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, John Lennon, Nam June Paik, Geoffrey Hendricks, Jon Hendricks, Alison Knowles, Larry Miller, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier, Robert Watts, Emmitt Williams, Henry Flynt, Peter Moore and others are included in the exhibition. Also included are FLUXUS manifestos and charts.
Lithuanian-born artist, architect, designer and "chairman" of the FLUXUS movement, George Maciunas (1931-1978) radically challenged the idea of avant-garde art – as object, concept or commodity. FLUXUS, an international community of conceptual artists, poets and composers, redefined the role of the artist by substituting art for everyday tasks, experiences, actions, and sensations.
Alongside of Maciunas’ "Russian Atlases", the exhibition will feature visual works, videos and film stills by the legendary avant garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas who was a close friend and colleague of George Maciunas.
"We are very proud that this exhibition is being held at the Hermitage and are thankful to Director Mikhail Piotrovsky for his vision that will allow an entirely new audience of art lovers and those who appreciate the unexpected to view FLUXUS works at one the world’s most prestigious museums. It’s a historic moment that is witness to the fact that art is a truly universal language," says Arturas Zuokas, Mayor of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The central piece of the exhibition will be a series of maps drawn by FLUXUS founder George Maciunas that retrace the history of Russia (1953). The works of Ay-O, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, John Lennon, Nam June Paik, Geoffrey Hendricks, Jon Hendricks, Alison Knowles, Larry Miller, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier, Robert Watts, Emmitt Williams, Henry Flynt, Peter Moore and others are included in the exhibition. Also included are FLUXUS manifestos and charts.
Lithuanian-born artist, architect, designer and "chairman" of the FLUXUS movement, George Maciunas (1931-1978) radically challenged the idea of avant-garde art – as object, concept or commodity. FLUXUS, an international community of conceptual artists, poets and composers, redefined the role of the artist by substituting art for everyday tasks, experiences, actions, and sensations.
Alongside of Maciunas’ "Russian Atlases", the exhibition will feature visual works, videos and film stills by the legendary avant garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas who was a close friend and colleague of George Maciunas.
"We are very proud that this exhibition is being held at the Hermitage and are thankful to Director Mikhail Piotrovsky for his vision that will allow an entirely new audience of art lovers and those who appreciate the unexpected to view FLUXUS works at one the world’s most prestigious museums. It’s a historic moment that is witness to the fact that art is a truly universal language," says Arturas Zuokas, Mayor of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.