Mr. Fluxus: A Collective Portrait of George Maciunas, 1931-1978

The vague recollections that make up this book serve neither George Maciunas, the eccentric master of what one colleague termed an ""uncharted vision,"" nor the Dada-like art movement of the 1960s that he christened ""Fluxus."" Maciunas (1931-1978), a Lithuanian native who studied art, graphics and architecture in the U. S., lived with his mother until he was 37. In addition to organizing a movement that attempted to break down artistic conventions, he organized the first cooperatives in New York's SoHo district in order to provide affordable housing for artists. Although many of his productions, such as a Fluxmass where smoke bombs replaced candles, were frivolous, some of his activities were not. To chronicle them, Fluxus activist Williams and British painter Noel have gathered reminiscences from his friends and presented them in an order that corresponds roughly to episodes in Maciunas's life. Because the editors offer as much documentation on his habit of buying food in large quantities as they do on his more meaningful pursuits, the book lacks any sense of proportion. It's also unfortunate that certain of the most famous proponents (Yoko Ono, for example) weren't more forthcoming and that the excerpts didn't have better attribution, and thus context, within the book. Ultimately, the image that emerges is bloated and badly blurred. 100 illustrations. (May)