The Role of the John Cage Concept of Simultaneity in the Blending of Arts in the Fluxus Movement (Case Study: 1950-60s)

This research examines the development of the blending of arts and the blurring of their boundaries in Fluxus International Art Movement. Fluxus, the core of which was formed in the experimental composition classes of John Cage, included artists who employed diverse artistic media based on similarities of arts, to create various works with infinite possible interpretations. This collage-like and blended character, which dominates all Fluxus works, is evident in first Fluxus festivals and concerts conducted by George Maciunas, the self-proclaimed leader of the group, as well as in wide activities by other members in various fields. Dick Higgins considers this character the central feature of Fluxus works and refers to it as intermedia. Higgins’ intermedia schema conveys the view of Fluxus that there are no limitations neither on blending experiences from artistic fields with different levels nor on presenting a classification of the blending of arts itself, as the presence of Action Music in the center of this schema emphasizes its importance in the views of Fluxus. Thus, the present study intends to highlight the legacy inherited by Fluxus and the influence of early twentieth-century artistic traditions such as Futurism and Dadaism on Fluxus in the manifestos and diagrams of George Maciunas as well as on Higgins’ intermedia classifications of Fluxus activities. This paper seeks to identify the concepts that have influenced the necessity and possibility of blending arts in Fluxus and explore their evolution with the gradual development of Fluxus. The objective is revealing the perspective of Fluxus on the blending of arts and the development of this perspective during 1950s and 1960s. The research employs a descriptive-analytical method. It relies on library resources specially the writings and records of Fluxus activities.
The history of Fluxus involves two periods in the blending of arts. From late 1950s to the first half of 1960s, we can see the formation and flourishing of the idea of blending arts with a focus on Action Music that involves blends with simple, general, and concise actions. Therefore, the boundaries between arts are still clear. The blending of arts in this period, considering the tendency of Fluxus toward organization of sound and audio-visual elements, indicates the influence “simultaneity” from Cage’s first period. Starting from the second half of 1960s, the blending of arts inclines toward large-scale blending of modern media and technologies, and toward deep and global concepts. Therefore, it seems impossible to distinguish arts. The blending of arts in this period coincides with the development of “simultaneity” during Cage’s second period and in some cases, such as large-scale performance and use of some modern media, its impact on Cage’s concept of simultaneity should be acknowledged. We also witness an inverse interplay in the transformation of the scores of Fluxus and Cage. So that the text scores of Fluxus in the second period, under the influence of Cage, tend toward visual scores, while Cage’s graphic scores tend toward the text scores of Song Book where the impact of Fluxus on Cage is visible.