FLUXUS MUSIK ZONE WEST. From Beuys to Moorman
Curated by Judith Waldmann
Stiftung Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
13 August 2023 – 7 January 2024

FLUXUS MUSIK ZONE WEST explores the interplay of music and art within the internationally radiant FLUXUS movement. With over 2,500 exhibits, Museum Schloss Moyland houses one of the most comprehensive FLUXUS collections, which is brought into focus for the first time with the group show.

The exhibition shows the enormous variety of formats of music-based FLUXUS art. These range from simple instructions to elaborately staged concerts in which musical instruments were performatively destroyed according to fixed scores. Special attention is paid to milestones in FLUXUS history that were written in North Rhine-Westphalia. These include, for example, the FLUXUS festival “FESTUM FLUXORUM” (Düsseldorf Art Academy, 1963), the “24-hour happening” in Wuppertal (Parnass Gallery, 1965) or concerts and actions performed in Düsseldorf’s legendary “CREAMCHEESE” venue (1967-1976). A place that became a melting pot for FLUXUS actions, KRAUTROCK concerts and ZERO art.

FLUXUS MUSIK ZONE WEST mainly shows first-generation-fluxus-artists. The presentation of now historical works is interrupted by the integration of an outstanding contemporary position, which stands in the tradition of the FLUXUS movement: David Horvitz, the 2020 recipient of the George Maciunas Grant. His multi-sensory works transform the facade of Museum Schloss Moyland as well as the park and the staircase.

Artists: Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, Mark Brusse, John Cage, Henning Christiansen, Philip Corner, Adam Henry, David Horvitz, Ute Klophaus, Milan Knížák, Kraftwerk, Ferdinand Kriwet, George Maciunas, Charlotte Moorman, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Benjamin Petterson, Takako Saito, Emil Schult, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier and many more.

Photos by Johannes Hüffmeier