Harry Stendhal Presents: “Mapping Maciunas” and “Exercise”

Stendhal Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of two exhibitions, “Mapping M

aciunas” and “Exercise” on February 3, 2011. Both exhibitions examine the work of Flux
us artist, George Maciunas, who blended his education in architecture, graphic d
esign and musicology to produce new ways of thinking about the state of contempo
rary society.
New York, NY, January 19, 2011 -- Stendhal Gallery is pleased to announce the op
ening of two exhibitions, “Mapping Maciunas” and “Exercise” on February 3, 2011. Both ex
hibitions examine the work of Fluxus artist, George Maciunas, who blended his ed
ucation in architecture, graphic design and musicology to produce new ways of th
inking about the state of contemporary society.
Throughout his life, Maciunas prided himself in the creation of “learning machines
,” charts and diagrams to find precedents, clarify and advance the
experimental art of his time. “Mapping Maciunas,” exhibits various charts and diagra
ms relating not only to Fluxus and the avant-garde but to history and arts educa
tion.
The documentation of Fluxus personalities and events lead to the creation of Mac
iunas’ “Diagram of Historical Development of FluxusŠ” (1973), arguably a masterwork, whi
ch posits Fluxus in a continuum of radical art history brought center stage by D
ada, Marcel Duchamp and John Cage.
Setting his sights on more practical matters, Maciunas undertook a 1968-1969 gra
nt supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to improve arts education i
n the United States. His research for “Proposals for Art Education,” resulted in a s
eries of charts and diagrams including “Contemporary Man” and a “Curriculum Plan” for bo
th art majors and non-major programs.
Just as Maciunas’s charts connect strains in historical movements rather then simp
ly depicting history as a precession of events, “Exercise” takes an approach to unde
rstanding Fluxus, finding the forebears of Fluxus attitude not simply in Dada or
other avant-garde movements in relation to which Fluxus is often contextualized
, whether it be pre-Socratic philosopher and believer in “universal flux” Heraclitus
, or fourteenth century philosopher and originator of the Ockham’s Razor principle
William of Ockham, “Exercise” alleges that the Fluxus attitude long predates Fluxus
, George Maciunas, or Duchamp.
On display in “Exercise,” is an installation inspired by Maciunas’s charts tracing the
Fluxus attitude. Alongside this installation are Fluxus artworks by George Brec
ht, La Monte Young, Chieko Shiomi, Yoko Ono, Ken Friedman, Hans Richter, Giussep
e Chiari, Nam Jun Paik, Robert Filliou and other artists who embody this attitud
e by using the concision of a haiku or a punch line to rupture our epistemologic
al categories and encourage us to create our own. Juxtaposed with these works ar
e artworks by David Bernstein, John Robert Moore, Nicole Demby, Narumi Iyama and
Harry Stendhal, conceptual exercises that use Fluxus an a template for making o
ne’s own templates.
The opening of the exhibitions will feature a performance by David Bernstein.
“Mapping Maciunas” and “Exercise” will be on view at the Stendhal Gallery until February
26th.
This exhibition has been produced and organized by Harry Stendhal and sponsored
by George Maciunas Foundation Inc. a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt non-for-profit arts o
rganization.
© 2011 Stendhal Gallery, All Rights Reserved | 545 West 20th Street New York, NY 1
0011 | 212 366 1549 |
Contact:
Harry Stendhal
Stendhal Gallery
545 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212 366 1549
info@stendhalgallery.com
http://stendhalgallery.com