Wk 7 - Artist - Allan Kaprow

Allan Kaprow

About the Artist

Allan Kaprow (August 23, 1927 – April 5, 2006) was an American painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. He combined painting, music and theater and questioned art as object and formulated the concern for uniting art and life. He was one of the most influential artists of the second half of the 20th century, yet one of the least well known. He invented and coined the term "Happening", and continues to provide terms of reference for many artists today. Kaprow’s objectless artistic practice has, however, largely disappeared from the public's conscience. In 1970 Allan Kaprow spent some time in Berlin during a DAAD artist residency. The Nationalgalerie will take this stay as an occasion to initiate several "re-inventions" of one of his most famous Happenings, Fluids.

Analysis

In 1958, Kaprow published the essay "The Legacy of Jackson Pollock". In it he demands a "concrete art" made of everyday materials such as "paint, chairs, food, electric and neon lights, smoke, water, old socks, a dog, movies." In this particular text, he uses the term "happening" for the first time stating that craftsmanship and permanence should be forgotten and perishable materials should be used in art.

The "Happenings" first started as tightly scripted events, in which the audience and performers followed cues to experience the art. To Kaprow, a Happening was "A game, an adventure, a number of activities engaged in by participants for the sake of playing." Furthermore, Kaprow says that the Happenings were "events that, put simply, happen." There was no structured beginning, middle, or end, and there was no distinction or hierarchy between artist and viewer. It was the viewer's reaction that decided the art piece, making each Happening a unique experience that cannot be replicated. These "Happenings" represent what we now call New Media Art. It is participatory and interactive, with the goal of tearing down the wall a.k.a. "the fourth wall" between artist and observers, so observers are not just "reading" the piece, but also interacting with it, becoming part of the art.

One such work, titled Eighteen Happenings in Six Parts, involved an audience moving together to experience elements such as a band playing toy instruments, a woman squeezing an orange, and painters painting. For the 90-minute 18 Happenings, Kaprow constructed three rooms within the gallery from plastic sheeting and wooden beams, each meant to house six separate but simultaneous actions—such as a woman seated and squeezing oranges, two performers proclaiming a nonsensical series of single-syllable words, and painters emblazoning lines and squares on either side of a hanging canvas. Kaprow orchestrated the events with the help of a meticulously planned script of stage directions and scores. Invitations had been sent out informing spectators that “you will become part of the happenings; you will simultaneously experience them.” Each audience member was given instructions upon entering the gallery, specifying when to move seats or applaud.

His work evolved, and became less scripted and incorporated more everyday activities. Another example of a Happening he created involved bringing people into a room containing a large abundance of ice cubes, which they had to touch, causing them to melt and bringing the piece full circle.

Fluids was first executed in California in 1967. Kaprow erected several structures from ice blocks with the help of volunteers, and then left them to the elements. The temporality and materiality of this legendary Happening as well as the involvement of the public challenged the conventional perceptions of art in public space.

On the possible future treatment of his work, Kaprow wrote in October 2004: “While there was an initial version of Fluids, there isn't an original or permanent work. Rather, there is an idea to do something and a physical trace of that idea. By inventing a version of Fluids … [one] is not copying my concept but is participating in a practice of reinvention central to my work. Fluids continues, and its reinventions further multiply its meanings. [Its history and artifacts are catalysts], an invitation to do something.”