I N T E R M E D I A   •   N O T E S    &    E X C E R P T S

Miller’s history with Fluxus and Intermedia stems from his background in theater studies, music and the avant-garde. From his first encounters with George Maciunas in 1969, he began contributing to Fluxus events, notably the Flux Mass and Flux Sports presented at Rutgers University in 1970, and writing scores which Maciunas included in these events. The inclusivity of Maciunas’s concept of Fluxus was in effect: Miller then worked closely for several years on Fluxus matters with Maciunas and others in the loosely defined group activities, as well as on the development of Soho Flux-House Cooperatives. He also participated in several of the Avant-Garde Festivals in NYC organized by Charlotte Moorman.

When Fluxus was invited to the famous Soho-Berlin exhibition in 1976, Miller was sent ahead to produce the elaborate Flux Labyrinth. He there presented “The Suitcase”, a live event with projections and found object, and performed in the Flux Harpsichord Concert along with other artists of the collective including George Brecht, Robert Filliou, Nam June Paik, Ben Vautier, Joe Jones, Robert Watts.

Miller’s essential video interview w. Maciunas is well known, translated, cited and widely distributed. (see section on Artists Videos). It expanded into an extensive project of detailed conversations with other artists of the collective. After Maciunas departed, Larry organized the Flux-Concert at The Kitchen in NYC in 1979, which was based on careful research from extant performance scores, with a mission to be inclusive of the many associated artists. The Flux Concert at The Neuberger Museum followed in 1983, presenting classic works by numerous performers. Subsequently,  Miller continued to organize and present concerts, projects and events at the requests of Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Nam June Paik, René Block, and for commissions by the Walker Art Center, Santa Barbara Museum, Whitney Museum and more.

Videotapes  of compelling interview/conversations with the other artists,  including footage from events Miller organized and directed in New York, Germany, Netherlands, London, Korea and the US, plus from many performances “on the road” in Europe with the collective group of Fluxus and related artists, are currently being organized for further study as original research material.

Among many examples, the list below represents historical projects for the public that have been critically defined through the term “Intermedia” to underscore the many threads of practice within the fabric of Fluxus, performance art and the Fluxus collective:

  • Flux Sports/Flux Olympiad  (presented at Rutgers University, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Tate Modern).
  • Motor Vehicle Sundown Event by George Brecht (presented in Santa Barbara, Cologne, Newark, Basel, Miami).
  • Fluxus Ala Carte (representative scores offered on an elaborate “menu”, delivered to audience by performers). (presented at Judson Church, NYC, Amsterdam Hilton, Chicago Arts Club).

FLUX-CONCERT AT THE KITCHEN, NYC

In 1979, Miller organized the first official Fluxus concert after Maciunas departed, carefully researching the pieces that are now considered “classic” Fluxus scores, to an over-crowded audience at The Kitchen, then on Broome Street in Soho, NYC. Videotape of this concert is widely available and demonstrates the enthusiastic response. For in depth analysis of the concert and its resounding effects, please see article on The Kitchen Archives.

“Flux Speed”, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich. DateTK, Photo © Simon Anderson

CABARET VOLTAIRE

Individual performance by Miller within a larger group of presentations at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich in DATE needed, references multiple takes on the noted hare in performances of Joseph Beuys, who was famously associated with Fluxus in the early 60s when he joined performers Emmett Williams, George Maciunas, Dick Higgins and others in Weisbaden.

THE LONG WEEKEND AT THE TATE MODERN

The Tate Flux Olympiad and Flux Concerts were designed as spectacle-scale events, transforming the Turbine Hall into a multi-level performance space and sports arena in May of 2008. Miller organized three days of concerts, ambient experiences and sports events, adapting the originating proposal by Maciunas for a Flux Olympiad (1960) and presenting classic Fluxus scores performed by multiple performers in concert format.

Above, from left: Balloon Race, Slow Bicycle Race, Zen Sprint, Headstand, Flux Chess and Drip Music by George Brecht. All photos © and courtesy of Elin von Spreckelsen and Tate Modern.

An Appreciation for Willem de Ridder, page contribution to the Willem de Ridder Krant, April 2023