American conceptual artist and composer (1926–2008)
George Brecht
1964 portrait by George Maciunas
Born
George Ellis MacDiarmid [1]
(1926-08-27)August 27, 1926
New York, United States
Died
December 5, 2008(2008-12-05) (aged 82)
Cologne, Germany
Nationality
American
Education
USP New School for Social Research
Notable work
Water Yam
Movement
Conceptual art Fluxus
George Brecht (August 27, 1926 – December 5, 2008), born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer, as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Mobil Oil. He was a key member of, and influence on, Fluxus, the international group of avant-garde artists centred on George Maciunas, having been involved with the group from the first performances in Wiesbaden 1962 until Maciunas' death in 1978.
One of the originators of participatory art,[2] in which the artwork can only be experienced by the active involvement of the viewer, he is most famous for his Event Scores such as Drip Music 1962, and is widely seen as an important precursor to conceptual art.[3][4][5] He described his own art as a way of "ensuring that the details of everyday life, the random constellations of objects that surround us, stop going unnoticed."[6]
^Cite error: The named reference Johnston was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^George Brecht: Events, A Heterospective, Robinson, Walter König, p36
^Independent Obituary
^Brecht is the first artist mentioned in the text of Lucy Lippard's seminal history of Conceptual Art, Six years: the dematerialization of the art object from 1966 to 1972, and is referred to as 'Independently and in association with the fluxus group, Brecht has been making "events" that have anticipated a stricter "conceptual art" since around 1960.' Six Years, Lucy R Lippard, University of California Press, 1973, p11
^Brecht used the term as early as 1957–58 in an essay Project in Multiple Dimensions; 'The primary function of my art seems to be an expression of maximum meaning with a minimal image, that is, the achievement of an art of multiple implications, through simple, even austere, means. This is accomplished, it seems to me, by making use of all available conceptual and material resources.' Quoted in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, K Stiles, P Selz, University of California Press, 1996 p333
^Cite error: The named reference Obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
GeorgeBrecht (August 27, 1926 – December 5, 2008), born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer, as well...
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright...
part in Fluxus activities, including Joseph Beuys, Willem de Ridder, GeorgeBrecht, John Cage, Robert Filliou, Al Hansen, Dick Higgins, Bengt af Klintberg...
important role, specifically the Fluxus artists Joe Jones, Yasunao Tone, GeorgeBrecht, Robert Watts, Wolf Vostell, Dieter Roth, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Walter...
were artists. They included Jackson Mac Low, Allan Kaprow, Al Hansen, GeorgeBrecht, Ben Patterson, and Dick Higgins, as well as many others Cage invited...
include the following: Saâdane Afif Arman Joseph Beuys Guillaume Bijl GeorgeBrecht Jake and Dinos Chapman Greg Colson Joseph Cornell Tony Cragg Salvador...
aligned with that of the photograph. "Event cards" of Fluxus-artists like GeorgeBrecht, Dick Higgins and Yoko Ono prefigured Kosuth's concern with the difference...
independent. However, she did collaborate with Maciunas, Charlotte Moorman, GeorgeBrecht, and the poet Jackson Mac Low, among others associated with the group...
GeorgeBrecht and Dick Higgins. In 1962 in Germany Fluxus started with the: FLUXUS Internationale Festspiele Neuester Musik in Wiesbaden with, George...
unpublished typescript Journal (May 15, 2011). "To Ray J, GeorgeBrecht Knows, GeorgeBrecht's Nose by Julie J. Thomson". Black Mountain College Museum...
in her/his imagination. 1958: GeorgeBrecht invents the Event Score which would become a central feature of Fluxus. Brecht, Dick Higgins, Allan Kaprow,...
prosecution case soon fell apart. Their sole witness to the shooting, GeorgeBrecht, admitted on the witness stand to having a criminal and mental health...
students included Fluxus founding members Jackson Mac Low, Al Hansen, GeorgeBrecht and Dick Higgins. Fluxus encouraged a do-it-yourself aesthetic and valued...
Riley. He contributed to the early Fluxus newspaper VTre, edited by GeorgeBrecht, and was also an early member of the Velvet Underground, having been...
piece entitled Dithyramb with music and objects by the Fluxus artist GeorgeBrecht. The Swedish composer, Ture Rangström, 1884–1947, wrote an early symphonic...
subsequently moving to New York in 1964. She was closely associated with GeorgeBrecht, Jackson Mac Low, John Cage, Joe Jones, Nam June Paik, and Ay-O, among...
Research in New York City along with fellow students, Dick Higgins, GeorgeBrecht, and Allan Kaprow amongst others. Hansen was a frequent visitor to The...
Robert Watts, Geoffrey Hendricks and Roy Lichtenstein, artists GeorgeBrecht and George Segal, and undergraduates Lucas Samaras and Robert Whitman. Through...
Kinder) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four...
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