Fluxus

Fluxus is an avant-garde art movement which was popular in the 1960s; it is unique from other movements of the time as it was inspired by music from the 1950’s from the great composers such as John Cage and has a strong element of performance art. The period also has close links to Dada and Futurism as artists were inspired by the freedom of those movements. One of the main Fluxus artists, Marcel Duchamp, who was previously involved in Dada became a Fluxus artist and was particularly key within the period for his use with everyday objects. The main artists were all based in New York however the period did spread worldwide and inspire artists across the globe, as it was the Fluxus artists goal to spread art into each aspect of the world.

The start of Fluxus came from the artist George Maciunas in 1962. He described the period as a renewed Dadaism trying to connect culture, social and political revolutionaries into a united front. Maciunas and the other Fluxus artists did not agree with the authority of museums determining the value of a piece of work, and instead believed that everyone had the right to view and understand artwork whether educated or not. Inspired by consumerism they believed that art should be made in masses and viewed by the masses. One of their main goals was to banish the boundaries of the bourgeoisie view point and abolish the class system of the world.

The Spring Summer 2013 fashion collections saw a surge in popularity for Avant Garde. Fluxus was specifically experimented with by designers such as Derek Lam, Jason Wu and Rachel Roy. Fluxus as an art period was about freedom and breaking the boundaries of classic art of the past, therefore the collections inspired by this movement are made of experimental fabrics with free flowing patterns and bold colour blocking all creating looks of structured femininity.